Dr. Volker Harlan

Dr. Volker Harlan is a visiting research fellow of the Social Sculpture Research Unit at Oxford Brookes University. He is active in the research cluster focusing on Goethe's scientific work, new organs of perception, Beuys' concept of evolution and the significance of these questions for the development of the field of social sculpture.

His research builds on the scientific approach of Aristotle and Goethe (as opposed to mainstream modern thought that derives from Plato, Galileo and Kant) which sought to arrive at a theory (which originally meant ‘insight') of what the senses can perceive. This theory differentiates between the necessary and the accidental conditions of phenomena; Urphaenomen (Archetypal Phenomenon), Urbild (Archetypal Image) and Type. 

A central aspect of Volker's work concerns correlations of plant growth with social processes. He brings this focus into his work with the University of the Trees project, exploring connections between plants in a forest and other biotopes with democratic social models.

Volker co-founded the first independent university in Germany, the University of Witten/Herdecke. Between 1985-1995 Volker was President of the university's Academic Forum and Research Fellow in the Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Morphology.

He studied arts, theology and biology, has a doctorate in natural science, and lectures widely on aesthetics and the philosophy of nature. For many years Volker has also been been a priest of the Steiner-based, Christian Community in Bochum, Germany.  He is currently Visiting Professor at the Fachhochschule Ottersberg for Art Therapy, Theater in Social Context and Fine Arts; Lecturer in History of Art and Colour Theory at the Free Academy of Fine Arts (fadbk), Essen; and lecturer on Sacramental Substance and Colour at the Christian Community Seminaries in Stuttgart, Hamburg and Chicago.

Since 1998 Volker has worked actively alongside Shelley Sacks, contributing regularly to the Masters programme in Social Sculpture, her Tate Modern Social Sculpture Research Seminar series and advising on several SSRU projects.

His many publications include essays on artists like Katherina Severding, articles on morphology and evolution, a monograph entitled Das Bild der Pflanze in Wissenschaft und Kunst  -bei Aristotles und Goethe, der botanschen Morphologie des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts und bei den Kunstlern Paul Klee und Joseph Beuys, and his well known book Was Ist Kunst?. This book centres round a conversation with Joseph Beuys, with additional essays by Volker. Was ist Kunst has been published in German, French, Dutch, Rumanian and . It has been available in English since 2004 as "What is Art? A conversation with Joseph Beuys. Edited with essays by Volker Harlan". This English edition includes introductory texts by Volker Harlan and Shelley Sacks.