Coincidances. Attentional Cadences Against Political Decadences

Abstract

Drawing on the Latin root for falling (cadere), this article analyzes several examples of cadences in the arts of attention (literature, music, and dance) to see how they can help us escape the paralysis of eco-anxiety. Several recent books on the fear of a dead white planet and on the liberation of attention, an article by Hito Steyerl, and a few songs by the indie rock band Ventura, serve as pivots for identifying a dozen attentional gestures that can inspire “coincidences.” Beyond “falling together” (co-in-cadere) in a politically decadent world, these coincidences can become attentional practices of everyday choreography that help counter the predicted arrival of fascism and ecological disasters.