AFTER ARTISTIC RESEARCH - What follows the establishment and the realization of the establishment of the phenomenon

! AFTER&ARTISTIC&RESEARCH& What&follows&the&establishment&and&the&realization&of&the&establishment&of&the&phenomenon& ! ! ! Ana!Catarina!Moreira!Pinto!da!Fonseca!Almeida! & & & TESE&DE&DOUTORAMENTO&EM&EDUCAÇÃO&ARTÍSTICA& DOCTORAL&THESIS&IN&ARTS&EDUCATION& ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Tese!orientada!por:! Thesis!supervised!by:! ! Professora!Doutora!Catarina!Silva!Martins! Universidade!do!Porto,!Portugal! ! ! 2015& ! ! ! & & i! !! Acknowledgements& ! The!long!process!of!thinking!and!of!elaboration!of!this!thesis!has!experimented!several! different!phases,!in!what!concerns!its!rhythm!of!construction!and!my!moods!and!motivation.! Different!people!were!important!to!keep!me!on!track,!each!contributing!in!their!own!different! way.!A!few!were!my!emotional!backbone!and!fundamental!for!me!to!balance!the!contrasting! feelings!and!conflicting!thoughts!crossing!my!overwrought!mind.!Others!were!my!intellectual! challengers,!to!whom!I!owe!the!most!productive!moments!of!writing.!Others!probably!are! unaware!of!how!important!they!were!in!the!right!moments!for!just!not!giving!a!damn!about! artistic!research.!I!am!grateful!to!all!of!them.! I!would!like!to!thank!my!family,!in!the!first!place,!especially!my!mum!and!dad,!who!have! helped!and!still!help!me!out!in!everything!I!need.!I!have!to!thank!you!for!being!always!there!for! me!and!tirelessly!concerned!with!my!concerns.!Also!I!feel!very!blessed!for!being!among!my! beloved!grandparents!for!whom!my!affection!goes!far!beyond!words.! I!thank!my!supervisor,!Professor!Catarina!Martins,!for!challenging!me!every!now!and!then,!and! for!inciting!me,!for!enlightening!me,!and!for!clearing!my!confused!mind!in!important!moments! of!my!investigation.! My!recognition!goes!also!to!the!group!of!colleagues,!friends!and!teachers!in!the!Faculty!of!Fine! Arts!of!University!of!Porto!and!the!Institute!of!Research!in!Art,!Design!and!Society,!together! with!whom!I!have!shared!ideas!and!grew!up!a!lot,!and!who!are!responsible!for!my!belief!that! there!is!a!way!out!through!research.!In!between!coffees!and!lunch,!we!daily!push!each!other! further!in!frequent!discussions!and!commentary.!Thank!you!everyone,!especially!Catarina! Martins,!José!Paiva,!Sofia!Reis,!Tiago!Assis,!André!Alves!and!Paulo!Mesquita.! To!my!best!friends!forever,!thank!you!for!being!always!so!supportive,!for!making!me!laugh!and! for!taking!care!of!me!when!needed.!Thank!you!‘crochet!das!5’.! I!am!also!very!grateful!to!the!people!I!have!met!in!Helsinki,!from!the!TAhTO!group,!from!the! Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts,!and!from!the!Theatre!Academy,!and!whose!work!I!follow!with! admiration.!My!thanks!go!especially!to!the!person!of!Anita!Seppä!for!officially!receiving!me,! and!also!to!Simo!Kellokumpu,!Saara!Hannula,!Leena!Rouhiainen,!and!the!generality!of!the! TAhTO!students!and!board!members.!! Similarly!my!gratitude!is!also!directed!to!the!people!I!have!met!in!The!Hague!and!Leiden,!in!the! PhDArts!doctoral!programme,!who!were!always!incredibly!nice,!available,!and!interesting!all! the!way.!I!am!thankful!to!Janneke!Wesseling!and!Frans!de!Ruiter,!who!have!officially!accepted! me!there,!and!I!extend!my!gratitude!to!Judith!Westerveld,!Brigitte!Kovacs,!Ato!Malinda,!Yota! ii! ! Ioannidou!and!the!rest!of!the!students!of!PhDArts!whose!discussions!have!been!quite! insightful!and!influential!on!me.! A!special!acknowledgement!goes!to!every!and!each!of!my!interviewees,!who!generously! contributed!with!their!ideas,!their!time!and!availability!to!hear!and!answer!my!research! concerns!(thank!you!Simo!Kellokumpu,!Leena!Rouhiainen,!Saara!Hannula,!Ato!Malinda,!Yota! Ioannidou,!Judith!Westerveld,!Erik!Viskil!and!Janneke!Wesseling).! I!would!like!to!thank!the!team!with!whom!I!have!organized!the!international!seminar! Conversations!on!Artistic!Research,!which!took!place!in!November!2014!at!the!Faculty!of!Fine! Arts!of!University!of!Porto.!It!constituted!a!fundamental!moment!in!the!direction!of!my! doctoral!research.!They!are!André!Alves,!Roberto!Correia,!Sofia!Reis,!Joana!Vale,!Catarina! Martins!and!José!Paiva.!A!special!appreciation!goes!to!the!invited!speakers!and!moderators!of! the!seminar:!Anita!Seppä,!Annette!Arlander,!António!Olaio,!Fernando!Rosa!Dias,!Gabriela!V.! Pinheiro,!Janneke!Wesseling,!Jeremy!Diggle!and!José!Quaresma.! I!am!also!grateful!to!Miguel!Esteves,!for!his!work!on!the!interview!transcriptions,!and!to!Sofia! Reis,!for!proofreading!the!thesis.! A!final!thanks!goes!to!FCT!–!Fundação!para!a!Ciência!e!a!Tecnologia,!for!the!doctoral!grant!I! was!assigned!with!for!a!part!of!my!studies,!and!through!which!I!was!able!to!further!develop!my! ideas!by!actively!involving!myself!with!the!doctoral!activities!both!in!Helsinki!and!in!The!Hague.! ! ! ! ! iii! ! Abstract& Although!not!incisively!approached!in!the!text,!the!places!of!departure!of!this!research!are!the! Faculty!of!Fine!Arts!of!the!University!of!Porto!and!my!involvement!in!the!Research!Institute!in! Art,!Design!and!Society.!Serving!as!my!background!for!some!years!now,!their!contexts!and!the! activities!developed!in!both!institutions!were!highly!influential!and!motivational!for!the!takeg off!of!the!present!work.!In!the!late!months!of!2014!I!organized!Conversations!on!Artistic! Research!in!the!Faculty!of!Fine!Arts!in!Porto,!an!international!yet!focused!event!for!the! discussion!of!several!topics!concerning!artistic!research.!For!Conversations!was!invited!an! ensemble!of!speakers!whose!inputs!hugely!contributed!to!the!ensuing!definition!and!reg definition!of!my!interests,!concerns,!and!the!direction!of!my!research.!The!strengthening!of! individual!relationships!and!the!affinity!found!bridging!my!own!research!interests!and!those!of! some!of!these!guest!speakers!were!decisive!in!the!further!phase!of!my!studies.!This!last!year! was!the!time!when!conditions!were!created!for!me!to!temporarily!leave!the!grounds!of!the! Faculty!of!Fine!Arts!of!University!of!Porto!and!investigate!in0loco!two!of!the!most!important! European!academies!where!artistic!research!currently!actually!happens!–!and!whose! pioneering!spirit!is!worth!to!mention!as!well.! In!the!first!semester!of!2015!I!was!a!visiting!researcher!in!the!Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!of! University!of!the!Arts,!Helsinki,!and,!afterwards,!at!the!Royal!Academy!of!Arts,!The!Hague,!part! of!Leiden!University.!The!two!institutions!are!well!renowned!in!the!international!scene!of! artistic!research!expertise,!and!their!staff!members!perform!influential!roles!at!different!levels! in!the!field.!With!this!in!mind!I!thus!planned!my!move!to!become!acquainted!with!the! organization,!discursivity,!and!practices!of!research!in!arts!higher!education!in!the!specificity!of! such!cuttinggedge!environments.!My!stimulus!was!based!on!the!conviction!that!if!I!wanted!to! know!more!about!artistic!research,!I!had!to!reach!the!places!where!artistic!research! supposedly!happens!and!to!contact!with!the!people!that!presumably!work!on!it;!I!had!to!be! directly!in!touch!with!artistic!research!that!is!happening!right!now!in!order!to!more! significantly!investigate!my!object!of!study!without!depending!exclusively!on!third!parties!and! mediated!discourses.!Therefore!the!personal!impression!on!artistic!research!that!I!construct! and!converse!through!this!thesis!is!not!limited!to!the!interpretation!of!the!overflow!of! literature!that!theoreticians!produce!since!some!years!to!the!present!day,!but!it!is,!more! accurately,!based!on!what!these!artists,!students,!teachers!and!researchers!do!and!speak! about!in!the!legitimated!contexts!of!artistic!research!–!especially!those!two!that!I!visited! abroad,!and!the!one!where!I!grew!up!as!a!researcher.! AFTER!ARTISTIC!RESEARCH!is!a!thesis!stimulated!by!the!necessity!of!clarification!of!the!state!of! iv! ! affairs!in!artistic!research.!Perceived!as!a!grey!area,!artistic!research!has!been!nonetheless! considered!in!the!published!literature!a!disciplinary!field,!since!its!establishment!in!academic! contexts!is!thoroughgoing!and!its!recognition!as!a!specific!stance!in!the!art!world!field!has!also! been!consummated!–!even!if!in!a!perhaps!unorthodox!way,!as!intends!to!show!part!of!this! doctoral!text.!In!the!present!day,!artistic!research!entails!teaching!positions!and!departments,! official!reports,!funding!programmes,!political!decisions,!research,!essayistic!literature!and! exhibitions,!all!in!the!name!of!an!idea!of!‘artistic!research’!that!is!anything!but!consensual.!The! growing!body!of!materials!that!has!been!giving!shape!to!artistic!research!is!not!rarely! conflicting!and!supported!in!tensional!relations,!dividing!academics,!artists!and!policy!makers! in!different!degrees!of!enthusiasm!and!skepticism.!It!was,!in!part,!the!contradictory!positions! felt!within!the!academic!environment!that!has!constituted!the!impetus!that!triggered!and! fueled!this!research,!and!the!reason!for!my!preference!for!the!term!‘phenomenon’!when! referring!to!the!reality!of!artistic!research.! Through!this!text!I!have!argued!that!the!tensions!that!largely!characterize!the!identity!and! activities!in!the!field!of!artistic!research!do!not!necessarily!preclude!neither!limit!it,!but!rather! contribute!to!the!fundamental!dynamics!of!a!productive!field!(in!a!resisting!and!disrupting! perspective),!instead!of!a!productivitist!field!(as!soon!as!crystallization!takes!place,!the!field! shifts!from!productive!to!productivitist).!In!addition!to!the!tension!between!productivism!and! productivitism,!others!are!explored!while!chapters!unfold!–!iconoclasm!and!iconolatry,!writing! as!artistic!medium,!benefits!and!harms!of!institutionalization,!among!others!g,!with!special! emphasis!in!the!conflict!between!dematerialization!and!new!materialism,!a!relation!sketched! as!a!possible!digest!of!the!current!fragile!yet!potential!situation!of!artistic!research.!Again,!and! besides!the!fact!that!the!suggestion!of!a!new!materialism!rises!from!critique,!it!is!not!meant!to! dictate!an!early!end!to!artistic!research.!On!the!contrary,!the!title!AFTER!ARTISTIC!RESEARCH! suggests!a!fresh!page!turn:!in!the!aftermath!of!the!recognition!that!the!phenomenon!is! established!as!a!disciplinary!field,!it!is!time!to!step!further!the!preparatory,!technical!and! bureaucratic!conversation,!and!to!finally!shift!from!the!talk!about!doing!artistic!research!to! actually!do!artistic!research.!This!small!yet!fundamental!difference!in!the!positioning!towards! artistic!research!is!what!possibly!divides!the!heritage!of!inconclusive!literature!that!has! seriously!embargoed!the!field!from!its!eventual!realization!in!a!joint!venture.!The!effectiveness! of!artistic!research!is!to!become!real!in!the!making!of!art!practice!and!research!in!the!academic! context,!in!a!permanent!dialogue!(instead!of!either!denial!or!submission)!with!the!constraints! that!simultaneously!inhabit!the!art!world!and!the!academic!structures.!! v! !! However,!this!effectiveness!is!something!slowly!becoming!and!happening!since!only!less!than!a! decade.!For!what!is!yet!to!come!in!what!concerns!this!realization!of!potential,!ultimately!the! practice!of!artistic!research,!this!thesis!argues!that!it!should!be!regarded!with!selfgrestraint,! considering!that!what!is!at!stake!is!simply!the!affirmation!of!a!territory!of!activity,!in!its!proper! idiosyncrasies,!and!by!no!means!a!land!of!salvation!(from!a!view!in!overexcitement)!nor!a! sterile!ground!condemned!from!the!outset!(from!a!view!in!skepticism).! ! Keywords:! Artistic!research;!phenomenon;!tension;!productivitism;!dematerialization;!new!materialism;! academy;!artistic!practice;!Porto;!Helsinki;!The!Hague.! ! ! & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & vi! ! & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & vii! ! Resumo& Embora!não!sejam!directamente!abordados!no!texto,!os!pontos!de!partida!desta!investigação! são!a!Faculdade!de!Belas!Artes!da!Universidade!do!Porto!e!o!meu!envolvimento!no!Instituto!de! Investigação!em!Arte,!Design!e!Sociedade.!Servindogme!de!pano!de!fundo!há!vários!anos,!os! seus!contextos!e!as!actividades!desenvolvidas!em!ambas!as!instituições!influenciaram!e! motivaram!o!impulsionar!do!presente!trabalho.!! No!final!de!2014!organizei!Conversations!on!Artistic!Research!na!Faculdade!de!Belas!Artes!do! Porto,!um!seminário!internacional!focado!na!discussão!de!temas!de!investigação!em!arte.!Para! Conversations!foram!convidados!oradores!cujas!apresentações!e!pontos!de!vista!muito! contribuíram!para!a!sequente!definição!e!regdefinição!dos!meus!interesses!e!questões,!e,! portanto,!da!direção!da!minha!pesquisa.!O!reforço!das!relações!individuais!e!a!afinidade! encontrada!entre!os!meus!interesses!de!investigação!e!alguns!entre!os!exibidos!pelos!oradores! foram!decisivos!na!fase!mais!adiantada!deste!estudo.!No!último!ano!criaramgse!as!condições! para!que!pudesse,!temporariamente,!deixar!a!Faculdade!de!Belas!Artes!da!Universidade!do! Porto!e!investigar!in0loco!duas!das!escolas!europeias!mais!significativas!no!que!à!investigação! em!arte!diz!respeito.!São!locais!onde!investigação!em!arte!é!uma!prática,!e!das!quais!o! pioneirismo,!especialmente!no!caso!finlandês,!merece!ser!mencionado.! No!primeiro!semestre!de!2015!fui!visiting!researcher!na!Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!da! University!of!the!Arts!de!Helsínquia,!e,!posteriormente,!na!Royal!Academy!of!Arts,!de!Haia,!que! se!associa!à!Universidade!de!Leiden!para!manter!o!programa!PhDArts.!As!duas!instituições!são! reconhecidas!na!cena!internacional!de!investigação!em!arte,!e!os!seus!membros! desempenham!papéis!influentes!na!área.!Tendo!tudo!isto!em!conta!planeei!a!minha!ida!de! modo!a!familiarizargme!com!a!organização,!discursividade!e!práticas!de!investigação!em!artes! no!ensino!superior!na!especificidade!destes!ambientes!instauradores.!O!meu!estímulo!baseoug se!na!convicção!de!que,!se!eu!queria!saber!mais!sobre!investigação!em!arte,!eu!deveria,!então,! envolvergme!nos!locais!onde!supostamente!acontece!investigação!em!arte,!e!entrar!em! contacto!com!as!pessoas!que!presumivelmente!trabalham!investigação!em!arte.!Eu!tinha!que! estar!em!contacto!directo!com!a!investigação!em!arte!que!está!acontecer!agora,!a!fim!de! investigar!de!forma!mais!significativa!o!meu!objecto!de!estudo,!sem!depender!exclusivamente! de!terceiros!e!de!discursos!mediados.!Desta!forma,!a!impressão!pessoal!sobre!investigação!em! arte!que!eu!construí!e!explanei!nesta!tese!não!se!limita!à!interpretação!do!fluxo!de!literatura! que!teóricos!vêm!produzindo!desde!há!vários!anos!até!aos!dias!actuais,!mas!é!formada,!mais! precisamente,!com!base!no!que!esses!artistas,!estudantes,!professores!e!investigadores!fazem! e!dizem!nos!contextos!legitimados!de!investigação!em!arte!g!especialmente!aqueles!dois!que! viii! ! eu!visitei!fora!de!Portugal,!e!este!onde!tenho!sido!investigadora.! AFTER!ARTISTIC!RESEARCH!(DEPOIS!DA!INVESTIGAÇÃO!EM!ARTE)!é!uma!tese!estimulada!pela! necessidade!de!clarificação!do!estado!da!arte!na!investigação!em!arte.!Percebida!como!uma! área!cinzenta,!a!investigação!em!arte!vem!sendo,!no!entanto,!considerada!como!um!campo! disciplinar!na!literatura!publicada,!dada!a!verificação!da!sua!implementação!em!contextos! académicos!e!dado!como!consumado!também!o!seu!reconhecimento!como!um! posicionamento!específico!no!mundo!da!arte!g!ainda!que!de!forma!talvez!pouco!ortodoxa,! como!pretende!mostrar!parte!deste!trabalho!de!doutoramento.!Actualmente,!a!investigação! em!arte!gera!cargos!de!ensino!e!departamentos,!relatórios!oficiais,!programas!de! financiamento,!decisões!políticas,!investigação,!literatura!ensaística!e!exposições,!tudo!em! nome!de!uma!ideia!de!‘investigação!em!arte’!que!é!tudo!menos!consensual.!O!corpo!crescente! de!materiais!que!tem!dado!forma!à!investigação!em!arte!não!raramente!é!conflitante!e! apoiada!em!relações!de!tensão,!dividindo!académicos,!artistas!e!decisores!políticos!os!quais!se! movem!com!diferentes!graus!de!entusiasmo!e!cepticismo.!Foram,!em!parte,!as!posições! contraditórias!sentidas!em!ambiente!académico!que!constituíram!o!ímpeto!e!alimento!desta! pesquisa,!tendogse!também!tornado!na!razão!para!minha!preferência!pelo!termo!‘fenómeno’! para!referir!a!realidade!da!investigação!artística.! Ao!longo!deste!texto!vou!argumentado!que!as!tensões!que!caracterizam!grande!parte!da! identidade!e!actividades!no!domínio!da!investigação!em!arte!não!impedem!nem!limitam,! necessariamente,!mas!antes!contribuem!para!uma!dinâmica!que!é!fundamental!à!manutenção! de!um!território!produtivo!(olhando!numa!perspectiva!de!resistência!e!ruptura),!em!vez!de!um! campo!produtivitista!(productivitist)!(assim!que!a!cristalização!ocorre,!o!campo!produtivo! passa!a!produtivitista).!Além!da!tensão!entre!o!produtivismo!e!produtivitismo,!outras!são! exploradas!no!desdobrar!dos!capítulos!g!iconoclastia!e!iconolatria,!escrita!como!medium! artístico,!benefícios!e!malefícios!de!institucionalização,!entre!outros!g,!com!especial!ênfase!no! conflito!entre!a!desmaterialização!e!novo!materialismo,!uma!relação!esboçada!enquanto! possível!sumário!da!actual!situação!de!fragilidade,!porém!imbuída!de!potencial,!em!que!se! encontra!a!investigação!em!arte.!Mais!uma!vez,!e!além!do!facto!de!que!a!sugestão!de!um!novo! materialismo!advém!de!uma!visão!crítica,!não!é!minha!intenção!ditar!um!fim!precoce!à! investigação!em!arte.!Pelo!contrário,!o!título!AFTER!ARTISTIC!RESEARCH!sugere!uma!viragem! de!página:!na!sequência!do!reconhecimento!de!que!o!fenómeno!está!já!plenamente! estabelecido!como!um!campo!disciplinar,!é!altura!de!ultrapassar!a!conversa!preparatória,! técnica!e!burocrática!e,!finalmente,!passar!de!falar!sobre!fazer!investigação!em!arte!para! realmente!fazer!investigação!em!arte.!Esta!diferença!aparentemente!discreta!é,!todavia,! fundamental!no!posicionamento!em!relação!à!investigação!em!arte,!e!é!o!que,!possivelmente,! 3! ! the!Sea!at!Scheveningen”!became!a!very!famous!work.!In!2002!it!was!valued!in!US$3!million,! yet!an!event!at!the!end!of!the!year!has!boosted!its!value!three!times!the!former!price.!It!thus! became!famous!and!high!priced.!On!the!early!hours!of!the!7th!of!December!of!2002,!the!van! Gogh!Museum!in!Amsterdam!has!awakened!with!a!decreased!estate.!It!was!Saturday!and!two! hours!prior!to!the!opening!of!the!museum.! After!smashing!the!glass!with!a!covered!elbow,!two!men!entered!the!Rietveld!designed! building!through!a!window!on!an!upper!level!and!quickly!left!carrying!two!artworks!authored! by!van!Gogh.!A!4,5!meters!high!ladder!was!needed!for!the!climbing!and!left!at!the!crime!scene.! The!escape!was!accomplished!by!sliding!a!rope,!also!abandoned!for!the!policemen!to!retrieve.! The!robbers’!procedures!sound!quite!simple,!ironically!almost!admirable.!Apart!from!the!not! enough!fast!reaction!of!police!officers,!nothing!can!be!seen!as!having!failed!in!security!plans.! The!director!of!van!Gogh!Museum,!John!Leighton,!recognized!that!every!museum!is!exposed!to! similar!situations!and,!seemingly,!they!could!not!prevent!it!in!any!way.!The!idea!is!that!in!the! future!it!seems!plausible!to!carry!out!a!similar!plan!with!high!probability!of!success.!The!works! taken!were!“View!of!the!Sea!at!Scheveningen”!(painted!Aug.!1882)!and!“Congregation!Leaving! the!Reformed!Church!at!Nuenen”!(painted!Feb.!1884).! ! ! ! ! Figs.!3,!4!and!5.!Van!Gogh!Museum,!2015.!Used!with!permission.! ! The!episode!relates!to!the!idea!of!lost!artworks!and!the!presence!through!absence.!This!is!a! presence!which!is!ironically!owing!to!its!simultaneous!absence.!Art!robbery,!in!this!sense,!can! be!approached!in!the!context!of!an!imagegbreaking!or!iconoclast!attitude.!Robbery,!as!well!as! the!imagegbreaking!are!most!often!due!to!motives!completely!detached!from!the!theme! depicted!in!the!artworks.!Aesthetic!accession!is!inexistent,!and!thus!the!quality!and!the! content!of!the!image!are!totally!neglected.!Market!value!is!the!guiding!force,!along!with!other! pragmatic!conditions!such!as!size!and!weight.!“View!of!the!Sea!at!Scheveningen”!is!not!big! sized.!Its!dimensions!are!only!34.5!cm!x!51.0!cm.!The!portability!of!the!two!paintings!might! have!been!decisive!for!their!abductors,!much!more!than!the!scenes!portrayed!or!any! biographical!remark!of!the!objects.!But!this!is!my!mere!speculation.! 4! ! During!the!2000s!in!The!Netherlands!a!rumor!was!spread!about!the!activity!of!an!organized! gang!stealing!art.!The!modus!operandi!of!the!heist!of!these!two!van!Gogh’s!in!2002!followed! the!same!procedures!of!other!robberies!sweeping!the!country!in!the!same!year:!all!the!three! cases!registered!(Haarlem,!The!Hague!and!Amsterdam)!used!the!smash!and!grab!technique,! deluding!security!systems!and!escaping!from!the!crime!scene!before!police’s!arrival.!Add!to! this!the!previous!years’!occurrences!(2001,!Amsterdam,!1999,!Bilthoven!and!Bussum),!and!the! public!sphere!soon!was!inquiring!whether!there!was!a!common!motivation!supporting!such! dark!period!for!Dutch!art!estate.!Nevertheless,!most!of!the!robbery!art!cases!end!with!the! successful!recovery!of!the!objects!in!a!safe!condition!and!the!arrest!of!criminals,!but!to!this!day! are!still!missing!both!“View!of!the!Sea!at!Scheveningen”!and!“Congregation!Leaving!the! Reformed!Church!at!Nuenen”.! There!is!something!worth!a!note!about!Dutch!law!that!might!have!an!influence!in!these!art! heists.!There!is!something!deeply!ironic!that!insufflates!with!more!infatuation!the!performance! carried!out!by!the!two!men!that!invaded!van!Gogh!Museum!on!that!2002!morning.!Apparently! in!The!Netherlands!art!stealers!can!lay!claim!to!legal!ownership!of!a!work!of!art!they!have! stolen!and!kept!for!20!to!30!years!(the!first!for!private!art,!the!latter!for!public!art).!This! unforeseen!law!turns!The!Netherlands!into!art!thieves’!paradise.!However,!beware!it!is!not!all! roses.!In!order!to!reap!the!rewards,!a!criminal!has!to!be!able!to!prove!the!authorship!of!the! robbery.! Security!cameras!were!turned!on!at!the!van!Gogh!Museum!on!the!7th!of!December!of!2002.! They!have!captured!two!male!individuals!forcing!entry!into!the!building!and!taking!state! property!with!them.!The!fake!mustaches!they!wore!were!not!enough!to!mask!their!real! identities.!A!year!later,!Henk!Bieslijn!was!caught!in!Amsterdam!and!convicted!4!years.!Octave! Durham!–!known!as!The!Monkey!by!authorities!for!previous!involvement!in!art!crimes!–!got!4! years!and!a!half!and!was!arrested!in!Puerto!Banús,!a!luxury!suburb!of!Marbella,!on!an! international!warrant.!Puerto!Banús!is!a!marina!built!in!the!70s!that!backgrounds!wealthy! tastes!and!is!popular!among!international!celebrities.!Rolls!Royce,!Ferrari,!Lamborghini!and! other!supercars,!as!well!as!impressive!yachts!are!common!in!the!neighborhood!and!brought!to! the!sight!of!possible!buyers!by!dealerships.!Five!million!people!visit!the!place!annually,!coming! from!northern!Europe!and!the!middle–East!countries!such!as!Kuwait!and!Saudi!Arabia.! Salvador!Dali’s!3,6!tons!“Rhinoceros!dressed!in!lace"!adds!the!convenient!artistic!scent.!Puerto! Banús!is!what!looks!like!an!interesting!place!to!sell!art!to!private!collectors.!Even!if!stolen!art!is! the!case.!What!Octave!Durham!was!doing!in!Puerto!Banús!is!beyond!public!knowledge.!One! can!only!guess:!was!he!enjoying!a!small!fortune!earned!at!the!costs!of!van!Gogh’s!paintings?! Was!he!trying!to!sell!them!yet?!Was!he!just!hiding!the!police!and!passing!time!among!rich! 5! ! people?! The!crime!scene!in!Amsterdam!was!left!full!of!evidence.!Incriminatory!remarks!were!so! numerous!that!it!is!not!out!of!the!question!that!these!thieves!actually!wanted!to!be!identified.! The!paraphernalia!included!the!rope,!the!cloths!used!to!involve!their!arms!in!the!glass! breaking,!the!hats!they!wore!that!kept!many!hairs,!the!surveillance!images.!Even!though!the! two!men!always!denied,!to!this!day,!any!involvement!in!the!robbery,!both!were!charged!and! condemned.!However,!in!face!of!so!obvious!evidence!the!fanciful!press!proposed!a!script! suggesting!they!actually!intended!to!be!charged.!According!to!the!gap!in!the!Dutch!law,!this! was!the!necessary!detail!worth!assurance!in!advance!for!them!to!prove,!in!the!coming!year! 2032,!the!legal!ownership!of!the!two!van!Gogh’s!paintings.!A!few!millions!of!American!dollars! in!exchange!of!4!and!4!and!half!years!in!prison!do!not!sound!too!absurd!but!ironically!a!good! business.!!! For!the!effect,!it!was!likely!they!were!staging!a!deskilling!mise!en!scène.!This!is,!all!in!all,!still!an! open!question.!It!could!be!the!case!that!“The!Monkey”!and!his!accomplice!were!performing! amateurism,!in!such!a!convincing!way!that!we!would!no!longer!believe!what!our!eyes!see!but! only!trust!what!our!analytical!and!rational!competence!tells!us!to.!The!final!image!is! incomplete.!The!image!is!broken.!The!paintings!are!gone!but!what!is!left!speaks!aloud.! Nevertheless,!deskilling!strategies!in!the!art!world!have!this!double!ironic!effect!which!are! findable!in!a!more!general!level!in!most!aspects!of!the!conflict!of!art!meeting!academy!as! research!(or,!in!other!words,!of!artistic!research):!what!at!first!sight!sounds!like!a!critical!review! of!the!status!quo,!risks!to!become!a!reinforcing!act.!In!a!critical!reaction!to!the!current! economy!of!knowledge,!the!art!world!has!recently!been!conducting!several!events!dedicated! to!the!exploration!of!the!idea!of!deskilling!(Claire!Bishop2),!but!a!critique!of!this!criticism!is!also! needed!since!the!ideas!behind!deskilling!seem!biased!from!the!beginning,!since!deskilling!is! only!possible!after!the!learning!of!a!skill.!At!first!sight!this!sounds!a!contradiction!as!a!strategy! to!counteract!the!economy!of!knowledge,!even!with!the!risk!of!becoming!a!nourishing!gesture.! In!a!metaphorical!way!and!caricature!mode,!Durham!and!Bieslijn!proved!to!be!professional! amateurs,!which!they!needed!to!be!in!order!to!break!the!system(s)!–!both!of!security!and!law.!!! Luxury!art,!yachts,!and!businessmen!are!known!to!be!a!profitable!triangle.!In!2010,!Roman! Abramovich!acquired!his!third!private!yacht!and!gave!it!the!name!Eclipse.!It!is!a!170!meters! giant!worth!US$420!million.!Protected!against!missiles!and!paparazzi,!two!of!the!most! disquieting!threats!in!high!seas!and!in!marinas!(such!as!Puerto!Banús?),!Abramovich!still!had! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2!The!conference!took!place!in!Amsterdam,!at!the!Rietveld!Academy,!curated!by!Claire!Bishop!and!the!theme!was!deskilling!and!its! new!aesthetic!possibilities.!More!info:!http://clairebishopresearch.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/aregyougstillgalivegrietveldg academie.html.!Last!access!on:!30.06.2015.! 6! ! one!problem!left!awaiting!resolution:!the!interior!decoration!of!the!yacht.!A!Bloomberg!article! (Reyburn,!2010)3!accounts!for!the!issue!and!launches!a!range!of!names!of!artists,!art!dealers,! and!collectors!as!possibly!having!decision!over!the!contemporary!art!purchases!of!Abramovich! –!remember!he!was!the!recent!buyer!for!both!Francis!Bacon!and!Lucien!Freud!works,!and!a! tycoon!of!this!caliber!entering!the!art!market!is!always!good!news!for!the!business.!For!the! present!purpose,!the!gossip!names!on!charge!of!decorating!Abramovich’s!new!acquisition!are! not!important.!The!highlight!here!is!that!there!is!a!supergprotected!yacht,!money!and!a!taste! for!purchasing!art.!! Following!these!events,!Water!McBeer!Gallery!and!Andrew!McClintock!state!to!have!curated! an!exhibition!hosted!in!Roman!Abramovich’s!yacht!Eclipse,!in!2013.!A!very!particular!one! astonishingly!announced!as!“a!very!exclusive!48!hour!viewing!of!Vincent!van!Gogh's!‘View!of! the!Sea!at!Scheveningen’!1882”!(McClintock,!2013)4.!The!singular!exhibition!was!not!only!an! opportunity!to!see!the!painting!but!also!to!purchase!it,!knowing!in!advance!that!“fifty!percent! of!the!proceeds!will!be!donated!to!the!Iranian!Ministry!of!Defense!and!Armed!Forces!Logistics! (MODAFL)!at!the!request!of!the!owner”.!According!to!the!gallery!public!statement,!the!event! resulted!from!a!delicate!and!generous!negotiation!that!actively!involved!the!philanthropist! Sheikh!Khalifa,!President!of!the!United!Arab!Emirates!and!emir!of!Abu!Dhabi,!and!the! anonymous!owner!of!van!Gogh’s!artwork.!The!unforeseen!fabulous!exhibition!is!reported!to! have!happened!in!May!and!to!have!taken!place!in!faraway!international!waters!in!the! proximity!of!Dubai.!Andrew!McClintock!and!the!Water!McBeer!gallery!are!programming!a! series!of!“black!market”!auctions!in!the!likes!of!this.!So!why!didn’t!Octave!Durham!and!Henk! Bieslijn!keep!the!paintings?!Wasn’t!the!apparatus!left!on!the!museum!on!purpose?!Didn’t!they! want!to!be!found?!Weren’t!they!deskilled!thieves,!or!are!they!really!just!sloppy!amateur! thieves?! Some!photos!of!the!exhibition!are!to!be!found!in!the!Water!McBeer!gallery’s!webpage.! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3!Retrieved!from:!http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adeWnMSygj00.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 4!Retrieved!from:!http://watermcbeer.org/andrewmcclintockvangoghveiwoftheseaatScheveningen.html.!Last!access!on! 30.06.2015.! 7! ! ! ! ! Figs.!6!to!11.!View!at!the!Sea!of!Scheveningen,!2015.!Used!with!permission.!Images!of!Water!McBeer!and!Andrew!McClintock! exhibition!hold!in!international!waters.!Their!website5!shows!images!of!the!opening,!depicting,!among!others,!Damien!Hirst,!Koons! family,!the!recently!deceased!Chris!Burden!and!USA!President!Barack!Obama.! ! A!different!report!spots!“View!of!the!sea!at!Scheveningen”!at!a!different!location.!Previously!to! Water!McBeer’s!exhibition,!the!painting!is!said!to!be!seen!in!Monaco.!More!precisely,!it!was! reported!aboard!a!yacht!in!the!marina!of!Monte!Carlo.!These!are!the!words!of!James!Twining! narrating!Tom’s!occasional!sighting!of!the!artwork:!! ! Up!close,!the!yacht!was!even!larger!than!it!had!appeared!from!the!shore!–! perhaps!400!feet!long,!with!sheer!white!sides!that!rose!above!him!like!an!ice! shelf…!Tom!counted!five!decks!in!all…!Treading!stealthily,!Tom!made!his!way! up!a!succession!of!steep!teakglined!staircases!to!the!main!deck…!The!second! open!doorway!revealed!the!main!sitting!room.!Hanging!over!the!mantelpiece! was!a!painting!that!Tom!recognised!as!the!View!of!the!Sea!at!Scheveningen,! stolen!from!the!Van!Gogh!Museum!in!Amsterdam.!This!room,!too,!had!been! set!up,!although!in!readiness!for!what!looked!like!cocktails!rather!than! breakfast:!champagne!cooling!in!an!ice!bucket,!an!empty!bottle!of!‘78!Chûteau! Margaux!standing!next!to!a!full!decanter,!glasses!laid!out!on!a!crisp!linen!cloth! (Twining,!n.d.)6.! ! Tom!is!Tom!Kirk,!a!retired!art!thief,!appointed!to!help!FBI!in!the!investigation!of!a!Caravaggio! painting!stolen!40!years!before.!What!he!couldn’t!know!is!that!he!was!about!to!find!van!Gogh’s! painting!while!investigating!in!favor!of!Caravaggio.!James!Twining!is!reporting!a!much!bigger! conspiracy!case!involving!grave!robbing,!antiquities!smuggling,!secret!warehouses!and!famous! museums.!The!case!eventually!received!the!name!“The!Geneva!Deception”!and!is!published!by! HarperCollins!Editors.!Twining’s!website!shows!a!photo!of!the!luxurious!yacht!moored!in!the! harbor!at!Monte!Carlo:!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5!Retrieved!from:!http://watermcbeer.org/andrewmcclintockvangoghveiwoftheseaatScheveningen.html.!Last!access!on! 30.06.2015. 6!Retrieved!from:!http://www.litmir.me/br/?b=123072&p=54.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 8! ! ! Fig.!12.!Perolus,!2010.! ! After!looking!at!dozens!of!pictures!of!luxurious!yachts!made!available!by!the!extensive! catalogue!of!Google,!the!identity!of!the!mysterious!vehicle!was!finally!revealed!in!my! investigation.!Its!similarities!led!me!to!Perolus.!Perolus!is!part!of!the!fleet!of!Roman! Abramovich.!For!two!times!the!stolen!painting!of!Vincent!van!Gogh!is!to!be!found!in! Abramovich’s!facilities.!Maybe!it!is!just!a!coincidence.!! This!is!how!the!story!ends.!! Opengended.!! While!2032!doesn’t!get!to!December,!we!can!only!guess!about!what!took!Octave!Durham!and! Henk!Bieslijn!to!enter!the!Rietveld!designed!building!of!van!Gogh!Museum!in!Amsterdam!and! remove!two!art!pieces!from!the!main!exhibition!hall.!They!might!be!43!yearsgold!now,!as!both! aged!31!at!their!arrest.!Thirteen!years!have!passed!by!and!although!the!sentence!is!served! they!still!claim!innocence.!To!my!knowledge!Roman!Abramovich!was!never!interrogated!by!the! police!neither!the!FBI.!His!name!was!never!related!to!our!antigheroes!story!except!in!this! narrative.!! There!is!no!concrete!evidence!of!van!Gogh’s!“View!of!the!Sea!at!Scheveningen”!to!be!in!the! possession!of!Abramovich.!Some!images!of!Water!McBeer’s!exhibition!suggest!that!the! painting!and!its!damaged!frame!–!as!it!already!was!back!in!the!time!when!it!was!purchased!by! the!father!of!the!lady!who!afterwards!bequested!it!to!Dutch!state!–!have!been,!at!least! temporarily,!on!his!properties.!However!and!in!the!first!place,!it!does!not!imply!him!directly,! and!secondly,!these!images!are!broken!and!incomplete!because!while!they’ve!created! information!on!the!one!hand,!they!lack!information!on!the!other.!They!are!here!the!reification! of!the!productivity!of!iconoclasm:!something!is!born!out!of!absence.!! I!put!the!‘antigheroes’!epithet!to!Durham!and!Beislijn!in!regards!of!the!appreciation!of!the!art! world.!Like!any!antighero,!they!would!be!said!to!be!the!good!and!the!bad,!loved!by!some!and! hated!by!others!in!the!art!world.!The!two!are!regarded!simultaneously!as!being!iconoclast!and! the!iconolater.!For!the!former!they!have!made!the!images!disappear.!But!an!artistic!point!of! view!would!regard!them!as!iconolater!heroes:!after!all!they!risked!themselves!to!remove! artworks!from!the!deadly!museum.!Wherever!these!works!are!today,!they!are!safe!from! 9! ! harmful!mediation!and!mediators.!In!the!trail!of!Boris!Groys’!“The!curator!as!iconoclast”! (2007),!purists!would!welcome!the!art!market!rather!than!the!museum!or!anything!touched!by! a!curator.!In!the!art!market,!as!in!private!collections,!art!works!are!by!themselves,!freely! engaging!with!their!viewers!who!are!no!longer!disempowered.!! No!rumors!have!been!spread!of!either!Durham!or!Beislijn!being!spotted!in!Venice!recently.!The! Biennale!opened!last!May,!after!the!pomposity!of!“all!world’s!futures”!as!a!punch!line.!ISIS!is! said!to!be!participating!with!a!whimsical!pavilion.!Although!Hyperallergic!source!states!that! Okwui!Enwezor!and!Paolo!Baratta!have!publicly!informed!that!ISIS’!application!to!integrate!The! Biennale!was!officially!rejected,!there!is!nothing!they!can!do!to!stop!the!Islamic!State!to! approach!by!water.!The!Floating!Pavilion!of!Art!Destruction!is!said!to!be!their!representative! despite!the!organization’s!refusal,!and!“all!world’s!futures”!never!sounded!so!frightening.!On! the!Floating!Pavilion!the!“…participatory!programming!will!allow!visitors!to!bring!artworks! onboard!and!create!viral!videos!of!their!destruction!with!ISIS!members…!Visitors!will!be!invited! to!queue!at!the!boat!for!a!ritual!of!destruction!using!a!golden!auction!hammer!against!a!green! screen!that!will!be!livestreamed!for!viewers!around!the!world”,!as!quoted!from!the!online!New! York!forum!(Hyperallergic,!2015)7.!The!same!source!also!forwarded:!“A!few!months!ago,!we! realized!that!there’s!a!long!tradition!of!what!ISIS!has!been!doing!in!contemporary!art,!and! what!better!way!to!continue!our!mission!than!to!go!to!the!source,”!algDulaimi,!the!curator,! said!in!the!press!conference.!“By!encouraging!the!public!to!bring!us!art!—!be!it!their!own!or! pieces!taken!or!‘liberated’!from!others!—!we!are!tapping!into!the!increasingly!experiential!and! embodied!nature!of!aesthetic!experience.!Everyone!is!talking!about!the!potential!for!art!to!go! viral,!and!we!know!how!to!do!that!better!than!anyone”.!Talaat!algDulaimi!has!made!a!few! points!here.!The!Floating!Pavilion!is!but!one!among!other!experiments,!in!the!era!of! experimentalism!of!postgContemporary!art,!into!the!aesthetic!regime!–!a!regime!in!which! aestheticization!(Groys,!2014)!is!a!sort!of!image!breaking!or,!in!other!words,!an!iconoclast!act.! “So!it’s!OK!for!‘artists’!to!destroy!artworks!and!call!it!art,!but!not!OK!for!us?”!one!ISIS!artist! cited!by!Hyperallergic!has!inquired.!There!are!no!reports!of!his!Dutch!nationality,!so!it!is!not! likely!that!he!could!be!Octave!Durham!or!Henk!Bieslijn,!either!trying!to!get!rid!of!“A!View!of! the!Sea!at!Scheveningen”!or,!eventually,!performing!the!antigcapitalist!artist!looking!to!destroy! the!typical!object!of!artgasgcommodity.! Wherever!van!Gogh’s!painting!is,!the!capitalist!within!us!hopes!it!has!not!been!physically! destroyed.!Not!because!we!acknowledge!that!the!absence!of!this!painting!has!made!it!more! present!and!more!valuable,!but!because!there!is!also!this!Romantic!scent!that,!as!much!as!time! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 7!Retrieved!from!http://hyperallergic.com/195279/isisgtogexhibitgfloatinggpaviliongofgartgdestructiongatgvenicegbiennale/.!Last! access!on!30.06.2015.! 10! ! goes!by!and!society!changes,!it!will!never!abandon!the!art!world!and!its!actors.!And!despite! this!Romantic!persona!is!not!directly!dealing!with!the!rigor!of!money!numbers,!still!it!deals! with!the!praise!of!the!object!of!desire!that!is!artgasgcommodity.!! One!of!the!struggles!associated!with!a!critical!performance!of!artistic!research!lays!on!the! commitment!of!artist!researchers!to!fight!selfgevidence!of!art!and!all!its!hegemonic!structures,! ranging!from!explanatory!metagnarratives!to!economic!permeability!ultimately!regarded!in! awe!as!the!driving!force!of!artistic!endeavors.!In!a!certain!way!research!is!seen!to!have!the! capacity!–!or!regarded!in!the!hope!for!it!–!to!critically!analyze!the!influence!of!such!market! forces!and!defy!them!in!a!variety!of!creative!strategies!relying!on!artistic!practice.!The! dematerialization!movement!of!Conceptual!Art!(Lippard,!1973)!that!bridged!the!60s!to!the! present!day!is!an!artistic!narrative!unfolding!against!the!limiting!and!distorting!objectification! carried!out!by!liberalist!entities!and!market!forces!of!a!far!more!complex!intellectual!process! leading!the!making!of!art.!Artistic!research!can!be!appointed!as!a!consequence!of!this! development.!Ironically,!though,!individual!and!institutional!research!highlighting!the! disruptiveness!and!critical!advantages!of!research!in!the!practice!of!art!–!against!these!and! other!menaces!–!are!paradoxically!generating!an!overflow!of!published!materials,!university! departments,!and!expertise!jobs!across!Europe,!USA!and!Australia.!What!becomes!abundantly! clear!is!that!in!the!aftermath!of!dematerialization!of!art!and!the!advent!of!artistic!research!(as! an!immaterial!artistic!process),!a!new!materialism!(Simon,!2013)!is!increasingly!taking!place,!as! “…!a!compulsion!to!produce,!to!be!sure,!that!not!only!pertains!to!the!manufacture!of!objects,! but!also!to!the!realm!of!discourse…!”!(De!Baere!et!al,!2006,!p.!7).! When!the!cure!and!the!disease!seem!to!be!both!taken!by!the!powerful!neoliberal!governing! forces,!what!is!left!is!the!charming!utopia.!Michel!Foucault!has!previously!explained!that! power!relations!are!dependent!on!resistance!acts,!and!their!intergdependency!is!what!assures! a!dynamic!situation!that!makes!possible!their!refinement!and!survival.!In!art!as!well,! interesting!situations!are!dependent!of!the!acknowledgement!of!institutionalization! consequences!and!the!possibilities!left!blank!for!a!creative!research!to!explore!and!disrupt.! Utopia!comprises!this!productive!sense!of!irony:!a!conscience!of!inescapability!that!is!what,!at! the!same!time,!allows!for!continuity!in!the!attempt!of!counteracting!what!is!believed!as! indestructible!–!even!if!there!is!so!little!margin,!if!any,!to!stay!outside!the!system!that! constantly!subjectifies!and!instrumentalizes!us.! A!new!economy!of!power!relations!is!what!the!charming!utopia!offers,!something!more! centered!in!microgpolitics:!in!more!empirical,!local!and!immediate!targets,!instead!of!general! abstract!and!future!issues.!This!where!is!prompted!from!the!power!of!the!specificity!of! complex!narratives,!in!place!of!general,!abstract!and!generally!inconclusive!metagnarratives.! 11! ! Octave!Durham!and!Henk!Bieslijn!are!the!charming!protagonists!of!one!of!those!micro! narratives.!They!have!performed!one!of!those!exciting!cinematographic!escapes!in!the!art! world.!And!I!have!just!fixed!a!frame,!the!final!scene!right!before!the!credits!fell!in.!! ! & Fig.!13.!View!at!the!Sea!of!Scheveningen!in!my!Facebook!wall,!2015.!Used!with!permission.& & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & 12! ! & & & 19! ! degree!included!a!performance!of!her!authorship!to!which!she!was!dedicated!in!her!written! part.!Contrary!to!what!has!been!tradition!in!the!Faculty!of!Fine!Arts,!particularly!in!the!Arts! Education!doctoral!course,!Vicente’s!contribution!is!insightful!to!the!extent!that!it!proved!that! a!dialogue!is!possible!between!the!academic!constraints!and!artistic!freedom!(or!is!it!artistic! constraints!and!academic!freedom?),!something!that!avoids!“institutionalization”!by! “instituting”!difference!and!new!possibilities!–!just!to!use!some!of!Esa!Kirkkopelto’s!terms,!to! which!I!abundantly!resort!to!in!this!text.!In!Helsinki!I!have!come!across!complex!yet!quite! stimulating!writing!processes!in!the!sample!of!texts!that!I’ve!read!while!visiting!the!TAhTO! group!activities.!I!have!found!especially!noteworthy!the!rousing!link!that!HennagRiikka!Halonen! is!exploring!between!her!writing!part!and!her!artworks.!In!both!parcels!the!creation!of!mise0 en0abyme!situations!and!the!production!of!complexities!are!characteristic!features.!Her!case! seems!to!meet!the!advocated!by!Mika!Elo,!which,!in!turn,!is!influenced!by!Walter!Benjamin,! that!is!the!notion!of!“writing!as!translation”!(I!have!a!section!in!chapter!4!where!I!explore!the! notion).!Halonen’s!writing!and!artistic!practice!almost!overlap,!as!she!applies!the!same! “mechanisms!of!making!sense”!in!one!place!and!in!the!other,!achieving,!nevertheless,!different! results!(although!with!intriguing!similarities).!“Writing!as!translation”!is!never!a!case!of!saying! the!same!things!through!different!languages,!but!is!about!producing!meaning!around!the!same! problems!yet!using!different!settings.!Thus,!and!according!to!Jan!Kaila’s!conviction,!text!and! practice!in!artistic!research!are!to!occur!separately,!and!to!dream!of!the!junction!of!both!in!a! doctoral!environment!is!utopian!and!let!alone!desirable,!since:!“[p]reventing!the!split,!merging! the!theory!and!the!works!into!one!whole,!would!call!for!the!creation!of!a!set!of!standards!for! artistic!research!that!would!favour!artists!who!make!only!textual!works!(in!practice,!texts).!This! would!be!absurd!for!Finnish!art”!(Kaila,!2008,!p.!7).!My!parenthesis!now:!this!merging!is!one!of! the!initial!ideas!that!I!have!abandoned!while!investigating!artistic!research.!At!first!I!thought! that!the!challenging!at!stake!in!artistic!research!was!precisely!the!interflow!of!theory!and! practice,!that!is!of!writing!and!art!making,!into!something!unforeseen!and!exceedingly!exciting.! The!problem!in!this!difficult!merging!was,!I!thought!back!then,!located!in!language!itself,!since! there!was!no!known!word!that!referred!to!theory!and!practice!simultaneously.!At!the!time!I! was!even!concerned!with!inventing!new!words!that!could!serve!this!purpose!and!presented! them!as!artworks!–!or!as!“expositions”!to!the!Research!Catalogue!maintained!by!the!Society!of! Artistic!Research.!Although!in!a!different!manner!of!HennagRiikka!Halonen,!also!Itay!Ziv!(a! colleague!of!TAhTO!group)!is!looking!for!the!accordance!of!style!of!writing!and!format!in!text,! where!he!adopted!epistolary!writing!forwarded!to!an!unknown!or!imaginary!remittee!who!is! his!“Mr.!DFA”.!Hereby!the!setting!better!fits!his!topic!which!is!escapism.!Ziv!uses!escapism!as! both!a!methodological!tool!and!as!artistic!topic!in!his!research.!Halonen!and!Ziv’s!projects! 20! ! receive!further!attention!in!the!already!pointed!“Microgpolitics!in!art!as!complex!narratives”! (chapter!2)!and!“Writing!as!translation”!(chapter!4).!! Later!on,!when!I!was!already!in!The!Hague,!I!witnessed!that!writing!there!is!also!perceived!as!a! highly!important!element!of!artistic!research.!Although!approached!differently,!writing!tasks! seem!to!receive!special!attention!both!in!the!Nordic!and!in!the!Dutch!contexts.!Perhaps!due!to! University!of!Leiden’s!historical!weight!and!heritage,!at!PhDArts!the!staff!is!apparently! adopting!a!more!formal!and!academic!posture!in!regards!of!the!use!of!text,!whilst!in!Finland! their!concern!with!writing!is!less!related!to!scientific!writing!and!more!focused!on!its!artistic! dimension!and!entanglement!with!the!research!concerns!of!the!students.!The!Finnish!main! concern!is!that!the!artistic!dimension!of!artistic!research!is!never!damaged!in!favour!of!writing.! All!and!all,!the!differences!in!the!way!to!approach!and!to!consider!the!role!of!writing!are!many! from!place!to!place,!and!it!is!these!different!approaches!that!assure!the!vital!dynamics!and! unexpected!features!to!it.! At!the!same!time,!a!number!of!authors,!among!which!are!for!instance!Jan!Svenungsson!(2007)! and!Magnus!Bärtås!(2013),!has!contributed!profusely!to!the!exploration!of!the!potential!of! writing!in!an!artistic!level,!by!prospecting!text!as!a!creative!means.!The!more!significant! explorations!are!authored!by!individuals!directly!involved!in!artistic!research!programmes!and! some!who!are!also!artists.!The!role!of!writing!in!bending!the!hinges!linking!academy!and!art! world!ranges!from!more!artistic!to!more!scholastic!conceptions,!articulating!either!more! interestingly!or!less!involved!with!the!artistic!practice.!Work!is!still!ahead!to!find!out! unanimous!and!coherent!blends!between!writing!and!artistic!work!at!a!doctoral!context.!But! perhaps!unanimity!is!not!an!aim,!and!this!oscillation!between!varying!degrees!of!conformity! and!disruptiveness,!is,!between!this!and!that,!what!makes!writing!in!artistic!research!a! performative!and!productive!endeavour!for!the!time!being.!This!instability!is!also!what!grants! writing!special!care!in!programmes!and!what!makes!it!a!hot!topic!in!debate!and!motif!for! investigation.! The!delicacy!towards!writing!is!spread!to!other!approximate!ideas!that!have!become! associated!in!artistic!research:!the!act!of!writing!is!ontologically!close!to!conceptualization!and! intellectualization!trends!in!art!making,!and!all!presumably!introduce!the!practice!of!research! and!arguably!share!common!grounds!in!politicization!and!academization!of!art.!Thus!to!stand! against!one!of!these!configurations!is!usually!to!stand!against!the!others,!dividing!supporters! and!skeptics!of!artistic!research!from!this!line!on,!with!the!latter!refusing!the!intellectual! tendency.!! The!assemblage!of!these!ideas!is!nonetheless!important!to!glimpse!the!environment!from! where!emerges!artistic!research!as!a!phenomenon!and!to!sketch!a!context!to!place!it.!Speaking! 21! ! of!setting!up!a!context,!the!following!citation!of!John!Baldessari!is!giving!the!backdrop!to!go! forward!with!the!resistance!to!writing!and!to!introduce!the!subtopic!of!the!duality!of! iconoclasm/iconolatry:!“Do!you!sense!how!all!the!parts!of!a!good!picture!are!involved!with! each!other,!not!just!placed!side!by!side?!Art!is!a!creation!for!the!eye!and!can!only!be!hinted!at! with!words”.!In!1966g68,!John!Baldessari!has!painted!“What!is!Painting”9,!from!where!I! retrieved!the!fragment!pasted!above.!The!most!interesting!thing!about!“What!is!Painting”,!is! that!it!is!a!painting!of!a!text.!And!with!it!Baldessari!says!“Well,!this!is!what!painting!is”.! Although!at!his!background!is!Conceptual!Art,!John!Baldessari!stands!out!among!his! Conceptual!peers!for!a!quite!singular!career.!With!“What!is!Painting”,!John!Baldessari,!who’s! been!an!influential!figure!in!a!process!of!intellectualization!of!art!without,!however,!ever! risking!or!misleading!his!artistic!horizon,!reminds!the!viewer!very!vividly!of!this!intellectual! dimension!of!painting.!More!precisely!in!an!artistic!research!context,!this!intellectual!direction! is!made!evident!through!the!emphasis!placed!upon!words!in!“What!is!Painting”,!and!in! Baldessari’s!indirect!suggestion!that!a!mental!operation!takes!place!to!complete!the!pathway! begun!by!the!eye.!In!the!above!citation,!Baldessari!signals!a!subjective!dimension!through! which!painting!is!eventually!and!fully!accessed,!something!the!eye!alone!is!unable!to! accomplish.!The!way!Baldessari!values!the!textual!dimension!over!the!image!is!a!symptom!of! the!intellectualization!to!which!art!has!been!reverting!to!since!Conceptual!Art.!After!the!partial! return!to!painting!of!the!80sg90s,!and!the!explosion!of!the!digital!and!interactivity!that! followed,!the!conceptualization!that!once!populated!artistic!proposals!in!the!60s!of!the! twentieth!century!is!coming!to!the!forefront!again.!However,!this!conceptualization!has!been! redesigned.!Current!conceptualization!does!not!stand!in!semiotics!anymore;!it!does!not!consist! in!purposely!iconoclastic!endeavours!either,!although!some!naysayers!will!look!at!it!and!name! it!after!that!–!and!it!is!in!this!conflict!that!gains!relevance!the!opposition!iconoclasm/iconolatry! that!I!initially!explore!in!the!first!entries!of!the!second!chapter!“FRAMEWORK”!(especially! “Imagegbreaking!and!iconolatry.!Iconoclast!aestheticization”,!but!also!the!sequent!“From! autonomy!to!new!materialism!or!how!we!moved!from!experienciality!to!experimentalism”).! The!conceptualization!in!question,!largely!characterized!by!what!received!the!name!of!a! “linguistic!turn”!in!the!twentygfirst!century!(Mick!Wilson!and!Irit!Rogoff!both!used!the!term,! among!others),!is!striving!for!the!readjustment!of!the!image,!but!not!for!its!destruction,! disappearance,!despise!or!abandonment,!and!neither!for!its!glorification.!It!is!in!the!sense!of!a! readjustment!that!I!have!called!on!the!notions!of!iconoclasm!and!iconolatry!for!a!balanced! view.!Both!are!brought!to!meet,!in!an!ironic!and!metaphorical!way,!the!different!points!of!view! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9!Retrieved!from!http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/johngbaldessarigwhatgisgpaintingg1966g68.!Last!access!on! 19.05.2015.! 22! ! of!skeptics!and!supporters.!Skeptics!and!opponents!of!artistic!research!consider!such! intellectualization!to!be!damaging,!if!not!destroying,!art,!and!this!is!why!artist!researchers!are! envisaged!by!them!as!iconoclast!subjects.!On!the!other!hand,!those!who!are!highly!passionate! and!fond!of!the!artistic!quality!therefore!are!iconolaters!and!they!leave!too!short!space!of! allowance!for!research!to!happen!in!an!artistic!level.!!Artistic!research!ideal!place!would!be! somewhere!among!one!thing!and!the!other.!In!fact,!artistic!research!is!very!relating!to!image,! object!and!performance!making.!In!view!of!that,!writing!appears!not!as!executioner!of!the! image,!not!as!the!tool!for!its!appraisal,!but!as!a!new!actor!in!the!play.!Writing!earns!a!renewed! importance!and!costume;!it!comes!now!as!research.!Not!that!writing!and!research!are! synonyms,!yet!the!first!is!certainly!an!essential!part!of!the!process!of!the!second.!With!writing,! the!image!–!and!artgmaking!in!general!–!receives!a!new!input,!faces!new!challenges!and! possibly!brings!on!new!results.!Instead!of!being!neglected,!trivialized,!destroyed,!the!image!is! regthought.!This!is!where!lays!the!creative!and!productive!dimension!of!a!supposedly! iconoclast!act,!since!from!wreckage!are!built!new!things.!Or!alternatively!an!escapist!act,!if!it! was!Itay!Ziv!speaking,!and!running!away!from!the!image,!escaping!iconolatry!tyranny,!would! become!an!artwork!and!art!making.! Although!the!tensional!point!of!iconolatry!and!iconoclasm!is!not!intended!to!be!a!main!topic!of! the!phenomenon!of!artistic!research,!it!is!nevertheless!developed!and!included!in!the!set!of! themes!of!this!thesis!for!the!problematic!aspects!associated!with!the!value!of!writing!in!an! artistic!environment,!and!the!criticality!it!generates!from!the!side!of!the!artists!who!are! considered!antigacademic!and,!therefore,!skeptics!in!what!concerns!the!intentions!of!artistic! research.!Previously!I!have!mostly!referred!to!the!resistance!felt!by!art!students!with!writing! procedures!(or!procedures!related!to!an!intellectual!dimension),!and!now!the! iconoclast/iconolatry!dualism!stands!for!a!wider!semblance!of!artistic!research!immersed!in! criticism!and!contestation.!It!is!thus!motivated!by!the!opposing!standing!points!in!regards!of! the!role!of!writing!as!an!artistic!and!research!procedure!that!iconoclasm!and!iconolatry!are! approached:!is!writing!in!artistic!research!an!iconoclast!act,!since!it!competes!with!the! totalitarian!image?!Are!artist!researchers!iconoclast!subjects!since!they!arguably!mislead!art! making?!Or!are!they!the!“artistsgartists”!(Basbaum,!2003)!who!are!iconolaters!instead?! Idiosyncrasies!of!artists’!writing!and!the!iconoclast/iconolatry!duality!that!such!act!contains!are! obviously!intertwined!and,!like!in!a!complex!narrative,!are!hard!to!grab!and!analyze!separately.! I!therefore!have!presented!one!in!relation!to!the!other.! Along!writing!approached!as!a!topic!of!its!own,!and!to!which!I’ve!been!referring!to!for!the!most! part!of!this!“INTRODUCTION”,!also!other!aspects!are!brought!to!the!fore!related!to!the!master! topics!already!mentioned!of!complex!narratives,!and!of!the!tensional!framing!of!writing.! 23! ! Similar!to!the!previous,!these!are!smoothly!introduced!and!appear!in!relation!to!others!from! which!they!derive.!The!experimentation!on!writing!in!the!“PROLOGUE”,!with!loose!usage,! recycling!of!known!facts!and!fiction,!and!flexible!montage,!seeks,!for!instance,!to!demonstrate! that!artists’!quest!for!novelty!and!originality!in!the!postgcontemporary!art!and!artistic!research! domains!has!to!be!relativized!(more!on!this!item!in!sections!“From!autonomy!to!new! materialism!or!how!we!moved!from!experienciality!to!experimentalism”!(chapter!2),!“Microg politics!in!art!as!complex!narratives”!(also!from!chapter!2),!and!chapter!4).!The!theme!of! novelty!is!further!problematized!in!the!repercussion!it!carries!out!to!the!development!(or! stagnation)!of!artistic!research.! My!argument!is!that!the!young!age!that!many!assign!to!artistic!research!is!preventing!its! development.!In!face!of!something!perceived!as!novel,!inconsistency,!uncertainty!and! speculation!are!permanently!allowed!as!almost!natural!states,!even!when!the!alleged!novelty! lasts!for!a!too!long!period!of!time.!Although!perceived!as!novel,!the!truth!is!that!artistic! research!has!been!establishing!for!a!couple!of!decades,!and!is!in!full!force!established!for!the! last!ten!years!–!the!chapter!3:!“ESTABLISHING!the!phenomenon!of!artistic!research!as!a!field”! is!about!this!setting!up.!The!section!“Axioms!and!productivitism”!(final!part!of!chapter!2)!works! this!argument,!being!productivitism!the!term!employed!to!refer!to!the!great!amount!of! literature!and!speculative!materials!produced!at!the!excuse!of!the!novelty!state!of!artistic! research.!In!other!sections!I!add!other!insights!and!framework!to!the!argument!of!novelty!so! that!productivitism!becomes!a!more!contextualized!and!coherent!idea.!Section!“From! autonomy!to!new!materialism!or!how!we!moved!from!experienciality!to!experimentalism”! (chapter!2)!allows!me!to!introduce!the!idea!of!a!new!materialism!in!the!association!of! contemporary!art!and!artistic!research,!with!direct!consequences!to!the!notion!of! productivitism,!and!in!chapter!5:!“THE!IMPACTOF!ARTISTIC!RESEARCH!IN!CONTEMPORARY! ART”!I!look!for!the!formation!of!this!new!materialism!–!being!it!the!appearance!of!a!set!of! materials!out!of!presumably!dematerialized!practices!g!in!manifestations!of!contemporary!art. It!is!in!the!meeting!of!research!endeavours!(and!its!associated!acts!such!as!seminars,! workshops,!and!debates)!and!contemporary!art!that!gains!life!the!“artist!as!producer”!to! whom!Henk!Slager!is!pointing!out!in!The!pleasure!of!research!(2012).! Such!“research!endeavours”!and!“associated!acts”!–!or!“gestures”,!as!I’ve!called!them!before! in!this!“INTRODUCTION”,!referring!to!textual!productions,!organized!seminars,!workshops,! debates!and!others!of!the!kind,!to!which!the!staff!of!PhDArts!(and!artist!researchers!in!general)! seem!to!be!fond!of!g!are!constituting!altogether!new!artistic!materials.!In!other!words,!the! traces!left!by!these!artists!or!the!produced!materials!that!this!specific!kind!of!contemporary!art! –!if!we!accept,!at!least!for!a!moment,!artistic!research!as!being!part!of!contemporary!art!–!are! 24! ! of!this!kind:!seminars,!workshops,!debates,!public!discussions,!theses!and!dissertations,! published!texts.!Add!to!this!the!fact!that!Conceptual!Art!and!most!of!postgConceptual!Art!has! developed!to!avoid!the!‘art!as!commodity’!conjuncture,!struggling!against!capitalism!and! market!totalitarianism,!and!thus!favouring!a!sort!of!dematerialization!in!the!works!for!the! occasion.!In!view!of!this,!the!new!materialism!resulting!in!the!present!day!is!ironic!and! paradoxical,!to!say!the!least.!Since!most!of!these!dematerialized!works!hugely!depend!on! documentation,!new!materials!are!generated!at!largegpace.!When!these!new!materials! contribute!to!stagnate!the!field!in!speculation!instead!of!pushing!it!forward,!a!whole!new! dimension!is!to!be!assigned!to!productivitism,!according!to!what!I!explore!in!the!final!sections! of!chapter!6:!“Create!a!problem!and!then!offer!a!solution”!and!“Lively!publishing!culture!about! not!making!clear!what!artistic!research!is”.! Other!deriving!aspect!to!which!I!have!slightly!referred!to!in!the!beginning!of!the! “INTRODUCTION”!is!the!importance!of!the!research!skills!in!artists!engaging!in!artistic! research.!The!term!gained!relevance!to!me!after!I!have!heard!it!from!one!of!my!interviewees.! To!be!researchgminded!musters!many!of!previously!referred!subjectivities!of!the!contemporary! artists,!such!as!artistgasgproducer,!artistgasgnarrator,!and!artistgetc.!I!regard!this!researchg minded!characteristic!as!a!relevant!feature!to!handle!writing!procedures,!the!production!of! meaning,!and!other!aspects!attained!to!the!image!of!artistic!research!that!I!see!being!formed! in!my!study.!Such!subjectivity!is!also!usually!in!tension!with!the!antigacademic!artists,!who! consider!the!process!of!intellectualization!a!menacing!distortion!of!art.! Also!Henk!Slager!appears!to!highlight!the!importance!of!investigative!skills!or,!in!other!words,! the!ability!of!the!contemporary!art!practitioner!to!understand!the!contexts!where!his!or!her! productions!occur!and!are!to!be!presented,!as!well!as!the!capacity!to!manage!a!variety!of! disciplines!–!or!materials,!to!say!so!–!in!order!to!produce!alternative!meanings!to!the! institutional!status!quo.!The!practice!of!artistic!research!supposes!what!seems!to!be!a!new! subjectivity!of!the!contemporary!artist:!“[w]hat!becomes!abundantly!clear!is!that!today!artists! should!especially!be!able!to!present!and!contextualize!their!projects”!(Slager,!2012,!p.!7).!The! skills!needed!to!produce!are!also!needed!to!present!the!work,!an!act!currently!understood!as!a! production!in!itself.!The!producer!makes!and!presents!the!work.!The!approximation!of! research,!writing,!conceptualization!and!intellectualization,!combined!with!the!subjectivity!of! researchgminded!artist,!reinforce!a!phenomenon,!field!and!practice!that!have!been!given!the! name!of!artistic!research.!This!new!way!to!be!an!artist!is!certainly!one!of!the!core!topics!that! the!present!study!goes!through,!and!to!which!section!“How!research!is!being!made!present!in! the!subjectivity!of!the!artist”!(chapter!5)!is!dedicated.! 25! ! I!came!to!the!conclusion!that!the!investigation!of!the!phenomenon!of!artistic!research!is! necessarily!bonded!with!the!acquaintance!of!a!recently!formed!subject.!To!put!the!emphasis! on!the!subject,!instead!of!the!object,!is!actually,!I!think,!the!most!important!conclusion!to! which!this!work!leads!to!near!its!final!remarks.!Although!this!insight!does!not!reduce!the! complexity!of!the!theme,!it!actually!dislocates!the!anxieties!bonded!to!the!characterization!of! a!type!of!object!that!should!correspond!to!an!idea!of!an!object!of!artistic!research!into!the!very! act!of!performing!an!action.!A!verb!is!dependent!on!a!subject!that!performs!it.!When!I!started! this!research!I!was!determined!to!differentiate!artistic!research!and!artistic!practice,!but!my! focus!was!back!then!put!on!the!outcomes,!instead!of!in!the!process.!My!initial!inquiry!was! approximately!‘what!is!the!difference!between!a!product!of!artistic!research!and!a!product!of! art!making?’,!supported!on!the!idea!that!a!difference!was!necessary!to!be!found!to!distinguish! these!two!activities!of!different!natures.!My!time!in!Helsinki!and!in!The!Hague!was!of!major! importance!to!evolve!this!demand,!to!exchange!points!of!view,!and!lastly!to!shift!my!attention! from!the!object!to!the!subject.!Some!conversations!and!commentaries!I’ve!obtained!through! the!interviews!(whose!edited!transcriptions!are!available!in!the!“Annexes”)!were!important!to! this!change!of!focus,!as!was!the!reading!of!an!interview!made!to!Henk!Slager!a!propos!of!The! Research!Pavilion!at!2015!Venice!Biennale.!In!this!interview,!Slager!admits!that!not!much! difference!exists!between!a!regular!exhibition!and!an!exhibition!organized!under!the!motto!of! artistic!research,!except!for!“that!it![research!exhibition]!includes!a!lot!of!discursive!moments,! so!in!the!same!space!there!are!lot!of!events,!activities,!seminars!that!also!contextualize!the! projects!and!create!other!perspectives.!It!offers!an!ongoing!process”10.!!The!shift!to!subjectivity! serves!as!an!answer!to!my!earlier!inquiry.!On!the!other!hand,!Slager’s!emphasis!on!“discursive! moments”!piloted!my!investigation!on!chapter!5,!where!I!ascertained!the!influence!of!artistic! research!in!contemporary!art!by!verifying!the!existence!and!entanglement!of!those!“discursive! moments”!(seminars,!conferences!and!workshops,!for!instance,!with!other!similar!terms!such! as!“gestures”,!“research!endeavours”,!etc.)!with!artistic!practice!in!art!world!venues.! This!new!subjectivity,!allied!to!the!effects!and!causes!of!its!development!(again!writing!tasks,! intellectualization!of!art!making!and!other!similar!ideas),!is,!therefore,!what!shapes!the!current! idea!of!artistic!research.!Its!intersection!with!artistic!practice!is!of!utter!importance,!since! artistic!research!is!reasonable!only!if!placed!in!an!artistic!realm,!and!therefore!in!close!contact! with!the!art!world.!I!have!attempted!to!direct!part!of!this!investigation!to!the!exploration!of! this!fundamental!relationship!with!the!art!world!(especially!in!chapter!5),!in!order!to!make!up! the!other!already!over!explored!in!literature!relationship!of!artistic!research!and!academy.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10!Retrieved!from!http://www.uniarts.fi/en/blogs/researchgpavilion/birthgpavilion.!Last!access!on!20.06.2015.! 26! ! ! In!the!course!of!artistic!research!subtopics,!the!dimension!of!knowledge!production!in!art!is! also!worth!to!be!noted.!It!is!entirely!dependent!on!the!writing!procedure,!as!its!medium,!and! stands!conceptually!in!the!assemblage!of!writing,!research,!and!intellectualization,!from!where! the!phenomenon!of!artistic!research!arises.!The!“PROLOGUE”!A!view!of!the!sea!at! Scheveningen!serves!also!as!an!entrance!door!to!this!specific!inquiry:!is!this!researchgdriven!or! researchgbased!art,!the!one!about!creating!complex!narratives,!producing!knowledge?!Is!it!like! putting!together!a!certain!amount!of!ideas,!topics!and!interests!in!the!pursuit!of!some!kind!of! meaning!in!the!subjective!sphere?!In!a!sense,!it!could!be!like!finding!meaning,!or!constructing! meaning,!in!what!were!previously!scattered!elements.!! All!and!all,!the!“PROLOGUE”!suggests!that!from!previously!existing!objects,!documents,!props,! one!inquires!a!new!narrative!and!calls!on!the!virtual!meaning!of!these!elements.!Meaning!is! therefore!constructed,!through!a!procedure!embodying!an!antigmodernist!attitude,!or,! leastwise,!a!postgmodernist!one.!Interested!in!the!production!of!meaning,!the!artist!is!no! longer!obsessed!with!the!quest!for!novelty;!instead,!this!narrativegconstructor!artist!has!found! a!wealth!of!possibilities!in!a!directory!of!the!past!now!at!disposal.!Research!methods!are!thus! called!upon!the!dexterity!through!which!such!artist!manipulates!the!archive!and!inscribes!it!in! lively!circumstances!in!the!pursuit!of!meaning.!Resulting!narratives!are!supported!by!a!balance! attained!from!the!combination!of!artistry!and!an!acute!conscience!of!research!potential,!of!the! circumstances!of!documentation,!of!presentation!and!of!context,!resembling!Henk!Slager’s! view!that!“[w]hat!is!at!the!core!of!the!current!discourse!are!artistic!constructions!and! interdisciplinary!activities!which,!going!‘beyond!the!studio’!seem!to!be!able!to!occur!anywhere! if!they!can!adequately!connect!or!respond!to!a!given!or!required!context.!Topical!visual!art,! then,!should!most!of!all!be!‘researchgbased’!and!‘context!responsive’.!This!renders!art!the! freedom!to!deploy!a!range!of!contexts!such!as!architecture,!design,!film,!history,!biology,! sciences,!technology,!and!philosophy”!(Slager,!2012,!pp.!7g8).!Nevertheless!I!do!not!mean!to! suggest!a!fixed!modus!operandi!that!would!pretentiously!aim!to!define!the!practice!of!artistic! research,!not!even!the!practice!of!researchgbased!art.!The!creation!of!complex!narratives,! where!reality!and!fiction!overlap!during!the!development!of!a!topic!to!bring!on!meaning,!is! simply!an!example!of!a!way!to!match!writing,!research,!and!artistic!proposals!in!the!specificity! of!these!contexts.!The!“PROLOGUE”!is!therefore!more!a!personal!rehearsal!on!how!text!can!be! flexible!and!writing!can!be!used!–!and!so!does!research!–!with!a!more!creative!purpose!in!mind! than!it!is!generally!assigned!to!the!academic!sphere.!This!is,!however,!and!as!I!have!noted!in! the!beginning!of!this!“INTRODUCTION”,!the!closer!I!get!to!an!exercise!of!artistic!research!in! this!doctoral!work.!My!motivation!is!to!investigate!artistic!research,!which!is,!as!the!thesis!goes! 27! ! by,!still!independent!from!the!exercise!of!making!artistic!research.!For!the!time!being,!to! investigate!on!artistic!research!does!not!forcibly!require!to!do!artistic!research.!Nevertheless,! by!the!end!of!this!study,!I!will!conclude!that!it!is!about!time!to!shift!from!thinking!about!doing! to!actually!doing!it,!for!the!sake!of!the!potential!contained!in!the!field.!It!is!time!to!break!the! “novelty”!chimera!and!leave!mere!abstract!speculation!in!favour!of!the!locality!and!specificity! of!practice.!It!might!seem!a!contradiction,!but,!at!a!personal!level,!this!more!cogitative! investigation!was!my!shortage!now!fulfilled!so!that!I!could!reach!that!sort!of!turning!point!in!an! unavoidable!and!decisive!way.! “Reflexive!dimension!and!contemporary!art”!in!chapter!4,!and!“Knowledge!in!contemporary! art”!in!chapter!5,!are!both!intended!to!develop!further!the!idea!of!producing!meaning!in!an! artistic!research!context,!preferring!to!turn!the!focus!from!the!epistemology!of!this!knowledge! to!the!circumstances!of!power!relations,!social!changes,!and!artistic!developments!that,! altogether,!allow!for!this!thinking!of!knowledge!in!art.!In!this!sense,!particularly!the!academic! environment!is!important!to!be!considered!in!the!analysis.!The!importance!writing!currently!! receives!in!higher!art!education!is!due!to!a!set!of!occurrences!that!have!been!changing!the! mission!of!the!university!in!contemporary!society!and!the!role!that!art!can!occupy!in!the! current!economy!of!knowledge.!After!expatiate!for!a!while!in!this!subject!in!the! “FRAMEWORK”!chapter,!especially!in!the!last!part!“Axioms!and!productivitism”,!it!is!in!the! section!“Small!antechamber:!university!in!the!knowledge!economy”!of!the!fourth!chapter!that! the!changes!in!university!are!treated!more!willfully,!and!the!effects!of!the!Enlightening! tradition!and!the!hegemony!of!reason!in!Western!thought!are!highlighted.! The!regencounter!with!the!academy,!or!rather!the!redefinition!of!the!role!of!the!academy!by! the!end!of!the!twentiethgcentury!and!beginning!of!the!twentiethgfirst,!assembles!the!main! scenario!upon!which!the!recent!developments!of!artistic!research!are!to!be!placed.!Jan! Verwoert!concludes!that!“the!academy!today!is!no!longer!simply!an!institution!for!art! education!but!also!a!primary!site!for!the!reception!and!production,!presentation!and!collection! of!art”!(2006a,!n/p).!Artistic!research!is!probably!more!an!effect!rather!than!a!cause!of!this!role! reformulation,!embodying!the!new!gaze!of!a!few!contemporary!artists,!“who!rely!less!on!the! market!to!sustain!their!practice!the!seminar!room!has!therefore!become!just!as!significant!as! the!gallery!space”!(Verwoert,!2006a,!n/p).!!Nevertheless,!some!authors!also!stand!in!the! position!of!arguing!that!artistic!research!arises!from!the!desire!of!artists!to!enter!the! community!of!knowledge!producers,!which!eventually!leads!to!a!change!of!role!of!the! academy!in!the!art!world!–!the!interview!of!Janneke!Wesseling!in!the!“Annexes”!shares!her! point!of!view!on!this!aspect.!Artistic!research!developments!are!thus!generated!by!a!conflux:! “The!expression!artistic!research!connects!two!domains:!art!and!academia”!(Borgdorff,!2010,! 28! ! n/p)11.!The!perspective!held!by!this!text!is!positioned!at!that!intersection,!and!although! “[e]very!artist!does!research!as!she!works,!as!she!tries!to!find!the!right!material,!the!right! subject,!as!she!looks!for!information!and!techniques!to!use!in!her!studio!or!atelier,!or!when! she!encounters!something,!changes!something!or!begins!anew!in!the!course!of!her!work”! (Borgdorff,!2010,!n/p),!artistic!research!is!here!envisaged!in!“the!emphatic!sense”.!It!“…!unites! the!artistic!and!the!academic!in!an!enterprise!that!impacts!on!both!domains”!(Borgdorff,! 2010).!Consequently,!all!research!done!by!the!artist!in!an!independent!framework,!that!is!in! the!studio!and!public!space,!outside!the!influence!of!an!art!world!institution!or!educational! programme,!even!though!following!researchglike!procedures,!will!not!be!acknowledged!here! as!artistic!research,!as!I!have!noted!in!the!beginning.!To!be!recognized!as!such,!the!action!has! to!definitely!be!staged!within!a!specific!institutional!environment.!It!is!a!debatable!perspective,! but,!in!any!event,!it!is!the!anchor!chosen!to!undertake!this!investigation!and!so!to!limit!the! object!of!study!and!the!lens!through!which!look!at!it.!Summing!this!up,!in!this!text,!“artistic! research!is!institutional!research,!research!most!often!conducted!in!an!art!institution,!for! instance!an!art!university”!(2011,!n/p)12g!only!to!match!the!straightforwardness!of!Esa! Kirkkopelto,!whom!I!have!quoted!already!to!stress!the!institutional!ground!of!artistic!research! in!the!beginning!of!this!“INTRODUCTION”.! Kirkkopelto’s!institutional!perspective!is!more!complex!than!just!limiting!the!field.!Besides! placing!artistic!research!within!the!realm!of!an!art!university,!his!“institutional!research”!is!also! addressing!the!outcomes!as!“inventions”13,!not!necessarily!as!something!new!but!still!as!a! process!of!finding,!as!medium!or!active!potential!to!something!else:!“…artistic!research!does! not!only!take!place!in!institutions!but!it!should!also!research!institutions,!take!them!as!its! object.!By!this,!I!mean!not!only!the!particular!institution!where!the!research!happens!to!take! place,!but!also!institutions!in!a!different!sense:!from!the!aesthetic!institutions!of!perception! and!affect!to!current!political!institutions…”!(2011,!n/p).!Inventions,!then,!will!impact! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 11!Rerieved!from!http://circostrada.org/IMG/pdf/KarlssonBiggs_Production_Knowledge.pdf!on!11.04.2015.! 12!Retrieved!from!http://circostrada.org/IMG/pdf/Kirkkopelto_Artistic_Research.pdf!on!11.04.2015.!Esa!Kirkkopelto!first!advanced! his!statement!in!2008!in!New!Start:!Artistic!Research!in!Finnish!Theatre!Academy,!Nordic!Theatre!Studies,!20.! 13!Esa!Kirkkopelto!comes!to!the!term!“invention”!as!a!qualification!of!artistic!research!that!avoids!institutionalization!–!by! becoming!itself!institution.!He!says!that:!“The!creative!economy!has!resolved!the!problem!by!choosing!to!speak!about! ‘innovation’.!If!we!want!to!name!the!end!product,!the!outcome,!the!object!of!evaluation!of!artistic!research!projects,!I!argue!that! we!should!use!another!term,!almost!synonymous,!but!crucially!more!ambivalent,!namely!‘invention’…!Inventions!are!not! necessarily!recognized!at!first!as!something!‘new’!but!they!can!also!seem!strange!and!surprising…!An!artistic!outcome!no!longer! manifests!itself!in!its!sheer!originality,!as!pure!invention.!Rather!it!also!shows!and!establishes!its!routes!to!discovery.!In!other! words,!the!artwork!becomes!a!medium!of!invention”.!And:!“The!inventiveness!of!an!invention!is!to!be!assessed!in!relation!to! institutions!that!surround!and!sustain!it:!we!should!ask!to!which!extent!an!invention!has!the!potential!to!change!these!institutions! and,!finally,!why!should!they!be!changed?”.!Still!Esa!Kirkkopelto!says,!resorting!also!to!Cornelius!Castorius:!“Any!discourse!about! art!or!science!as!means!for!developing!and!reforming!society!implicates!that!invention!signifies!institution!in!the!active!and! affirmative!sense!of!the!term,!as!instituting!(Cornelius!Castorius).!The!founding!of!a!new!institution!implies!inventing!and! inventions!are!potential!institutions…!Artistic!research!makes!up!inventions!which,!insofar!as!they!are!of!public!utility,!are!also!(at! least!potentially)!new!institutions,!and!thus!carry!out!critical!changes!in!the!institutional!status!quo.!As!a!consequence,!the!criteria! for!evaluation!would!consist!of!considering!to!what!extent!an!artistgresearcher!is!able!to!present!their!invention!as!an!institution”! (Kirkkopelto,!2011,!n/p).! 35! ! ❷&& FRAMEWORK& in!±!short!essays! ! This!chapter!is!intended!to!introduce!the!key!terms!and!tensional!aspects!that!encompass!the! critical!view!of!the!presentgday!field!of!artistic!research.!Their!reference!is!of!pivotal! importance!to!contextualize!the!perspective!this!text!pursues!to!deploy,!framing!artistic! research!as!an!institutional!creation!focused!on!the!artistic!realm.! ! ImageSbreaking&and&iconolatry.&Iconoclast!aestheticization!& Iconoclasm!is!not!strictly!attained!to!violent!destruction!of!icons.!The!notion!has!been! broadening!since!the!initial!idea!of!the!Byzantine!periods!of!icons!hunt,!in!the!700’s!and!800’s.! In!a!time!when!religion!and!politics!were,!some!would!agree,!dangerously!intertwined,!the! motivations!for!the!rage!against!icons!are!impossible!to!depict!as!being!purely!religious!or!of! exclusive!political!nature.!They!resulted,!however,!in!the!progressive!removal!between!East! and!West!in!what!was!still,!by!that!time,!a!unified!Church.!The!separation!has!been!aggravated! through!ages,!and!a!current!iconoclast!regenactment!is!taking!place!opposing!western!world! and!the!Middle!East.!Religion!is!usually!the!excuse!used!to!set!a!war!in!political!ideologies.!! From!the!religious!point!of!departure,!iconoclasm!finds!easily!legitimation!in!sacred!texts.!Even! though!Christians!are,!especially!in!the!present,!quite!enthusiastic!of!divine!figurative! representations,!one!of!the!Ten!Commandments!points!in!the!direction!of!icons!prohibition:! “Thou!shalt!not!make!unto!thee!any!graven!image,!or!any!likeness![of!any!thing]!that![is]!in! heaven!above,!or!that![is]!in!the!earth!beneath,!or!that![is]!in!the!water!under!the!earth:!Thou! shalt!not!bow!down!thyself!to!them,!nor!serve!them:!for!I!the!Lord!thy!God![am]!a!jealous!God,! visiting!the!iniquity!of!the!fathers!upon!the!children!unto!the!third!and!fourth![generation]!of! them!that!hate!me;!And!shewing!mercy!unto!thousands!of!them!that!love!me,!and!keep!my! commandments”!(Exodus!20:4,!The!King!James!version).!As!a!consequence,!the!fear!of!this! jealous!God!in!straightaway!interpretations!led!to!the!destruction!of!every!object!deviating! from!Orthodoxy!of!Catholicism!of!the!seventh!and!eighth!centuries.!The!image!breaking!was! resumed!in!the!sixteenth!century,!perpetrated!by!Calvinists!of!the!Protestant!Reform.!! The!twentieth!and!the!twentiethgfirst!centuries!have!registered!manifestations!of!wrecking! iconoclasm!occurring!mostly!in!eastern!countries!and!interpreted!by!the!western!world!as! provocations!against!their!culture.!The!destruction!of!the!Bamiyan!Buddhas!and!the! devastation!of!the!Mosul!Museum!in!Iraq!are!two!of!the!recent!retakes!of!iconoclasm! opposing!East!and!West,!but!experts!say!they!are!to!be!seen!as!resulting!from!political!and!not! 36! ! strictly!religious!beliefs.!In!the!western!perspective,!these!actions!are!undertaken!by! ‘barbarians’.!To!prove!their!universalist!ambitions,!Europeans,!Americans,!and!their!allies,!too! freely!employ!the!term!‘barbarians’!to!anything!smiting!their!standards.!Anything,!that!is,!if! undertaken!by!exotic!strangers,!distant!foreigners.!Anyone!who!is!not!them!and!so!becomes! ‘the!other’.!However,!western!countries!lack!the!same!denunciation!for!similar!acts! perpetrated!by!western!people.!For!such!cases,!justifications!range!between!unaccountable! acts,!abnormal!clinical!episodes,!unfortunate!occurrences!or!artistic!gestures.!The!iconic!case! of!“Je!suis!Charlie”14!is!not!seen!by!European!countries!primarily!as!a!consequence!of!Western! violation!of!Eastern!principles,!but!mostly!as!a!tragic!reaction!motivated!by!lack!of!tolerance!on! the!liberty!of!speech!that!Eastern!people!have!towards!the!West.!The!portrait!made!by!the! press!went!more!or!less!on!the!lines!that!the!violent!and!homicidal!reaction!of!two!Islamic! individuals!on!the!boldness!of!Charlie!Habdo’s!illustrators!is!an!undue!attack!on!universal! freedom!of!speech.!After!the!tragedy,!West!considers!that!the!provocative!caricatures!of! Muhammad!should!have!been!regarded!as!art!works,!where!the!degree!of!provocation!would! find!more!acceptance.!Why!weren’t!they?!Add!to!that!the!fact!the!two!attackers!were!Islamic! and!besides!barbarians!they!are!also!called!terrorists.!Iconoclasm,!if!worth!mentioning!in!this! case,!is!completely!owing!to!political!convictions,!and!apparently!unrelated!to!any!artistic! interference.!Have!not!happened!the!homicides!but!only!an!attack!on!the!caricatures,!and!the! conversation!would!probably!rely!more!in!iconoclast!themes!than!in!terrorism.!! The!perpetrators!of!the!destructive!acts!are!well!aware!of!the!explosive!effects!of!social!media! in!today’s!world.!It!is!not!coincidence!that!these!attacks!are!being!recorded!and!fast!uploaded! into!the!World!Wide!Web,!activating!then!numerous!and!varying!reactions.!Since!the!attackers! are!aware!of!the!power!of!visibility!and!communication!at!disposal!through!networked! channels,!it!is!also!safe!to!say!that!at!this!point!the!political!mobile!is!stronger!than!the! religious!motivation!to!prosecute!the!several!defacements!and!overthrows.!And!there!is!also!a! cultural!dimension!that!should!be!highlighted,!since!through!the!destruction!of!icons,!the! perpetrators!create!new!images.!Such!awareness!also!approximates!their!action!of!the! complex!role!of!being!iconolaters!at!the!same!time!that!they!are!iconoclasts.!Mikala!Hyldig!Dal,! artist!and!student!of!PhDArts!in!The!Hague,!works!the!topic!of!images!created!by!the!act!of! destruction!of!other!images.!In!the!draft!of!her!Individual!Writing!Project!one!could!read:!“I! will!suggest!that!a!similar!logic!is!reflected!in!the!stream!of!decapitation!videos!that!currently! flow!from!the!hands!of!IS,!the!aspiring!caliphate!expanding!from!the!catastrophe!of!Iraq!and! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 14!For!more!information!read,!for!instance!Sasha!Goldstein!article!in!The!New!York!Times!retrieved!at! http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/jegsuisgcharliegcharliegtrendsgpostgterrorgattackgarticleg1.2068780.!Last!acces!on! 30.06.2015.! 37! ! Syria,!into!a!global!media!network:!besides!being!gruesome!acts!of!violence!they!can!also!be! seen!as!symbolic!castrations!of!“Western”!imperial!hegemony.!The!outlook!of!my!essay!is! concerned!with!the!act!of!‘killing!images’!and!its!relation!to!the!act!of!killing!human!bodies!to! create!images”15.!Mikala!Hyldig!Dal’s!example!can!be!placed!in!the!productive!sense!of! iconoclasm,!basically!the!idea!that!from!destruction!are!built!new!realities,!and!that!profound! shifts!of!regimes!are!accompanied!by!a!wave!of!devastation!of!the!imagery!of!the!previous! ruling!materiality.!The!change,!as!the!act!itself,!is!made!present!in!the!act!of!disappearing,!as!if! the!absence!of!the!signs!of!the!past!–!or,!better,!their!‘absenceging’,!their!‘going!away’!and!the! public!witnessing!of!such!disappearance!–!were,!simultaneously,!the!presence!of!a!new! regime.!A!destroyed!city!contains!in!the!remaining!debris!the!promise!of!a!new!future!to!come,! the!emergence!of!a!new!paradigm.!When!the!background!is!art!and!culture,!the!iconoclast! attitude!will!be!regarded!as!the!critical!reaction!that!seeks!to!establish!new!ways,!while! refusing!the!previous!aesthetics!and!ideological!programmes.!This!text!is!interested!in!this! attitude!of!the!iconoclast,!rather!than!in!the!iconoclast!act!in!itself.!The!backdrop!is!art!and! therefore,!even!if!at!times!also!literal!attacks!are!inflicted!in!works!of!art!in!exhibitions,!the! sense!of!iconoclasm!that!matters!to!retain!is!the!metaphoric!imagegbreaking:!critically!destroy! some!idea!to!give!space!to!other!meaning.!When!authored!by!artists,!these!iconoclast! endeavors!may!as!well!become!physical,!whereas!not!in!the!vandal!sense.!The!result!of!an! artist!intervening!on!art!will!be!seen!as!an!artistic!intervention!or!artistic!iconoclasm,!not!as!a! manifestation!of!raged!iconoclasm.!In!common!with!all!image!breaking,!even!with!the!literal! religiously!and!politically!led!examples!previously!mentioned,!is!that!there!is!a!willingness!of! nullifying!previous!icons,!seen!as!idols,!and!of!creating!the!space!to!settle!new!routes.!This!is! common!to!religious,!political!and!aesthetic!reactions.!! Modernism!has!offered!an!amount!of!iconoclast!works!of!art,!where!physical!interventions! remade!previously!existing!images!or!reformulated!their!meaning.!Other!modality!of! iconoclast!act!targets!works!displayed!in!exhibitions!and!public!spaces!(quite!often!considered! as!vandalism!performed!by!audience!members!towards!consecrated!works!of!art).!Timelier!for! the!present!text!is!the!first!thread!imbued!by!artistic!purposes!and!the!background!Modernist! narrative!of!progress!constructed!in!rupture!after!rupture,!rather!than!the!discussions!of! sacredness/desecration!and!vandalism.!Hence!Giorgio!Agamben!is!invoked!here!for!his! Profanations!(2007)!implicitly!suggesting!that!the!possibility!of!profaning!an!image!today!is! implying!the!constitution!of!another!image!as!a!consequence!of!the!act!of!profaning!or! destroying!the!first!version.!This!acknowledgment!simultaneously!is!based!in!the!Modernist! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 15!Since!this!document!is!not!made!public!by!the!author,!I!will!not!include!it!in!the!“Bibliography”!of!this!dissertation.! 38! ! iconoclasm!of!the!narrative!of!avant0garde,!and!also!entails!a!productive!possibility!on! iconoclasm!as!a!strategy!of!art!making.!The!extension!of!this!notion!of!iconoclasm!is!what!I! intend!to!focus!on.!Even!though!Clement!Greenberg!himself!did!not!align!with!the!idea!of! rejection!of!the!past!contained!in!common!interpretations!of!Modernism!movements!(1939,! 1960),!favouring,!instead,!the!ideas!of!forwardness!and!continuity,!and!avant0garde!as!the! finding!of!the!path!to!continue!moving,!the!notion!of!avant0garde,!to!which!his!name!is! strongly!related!to,!and!as!widely!perceived!in!a!Modernist!sense,!is!said!to!be!about!denial!of! the!established!world!vision!and!the!sighting!of!a!better!status!quo.!This!movement,!set!in! sequence,!backed!up!by!the!idea!of!a!progress!on!the!run,!was!what!motorized!artistic! movements!and!their!worldgchanging!attitude.!It!is!true!that!today’s!artistic!movement!is!no! longer!prompted!by!the!conviction!of!an!enlightening!progress.!Nevertheless,!the!evangelic! trait!partakes!in!several!theoretical!texts!announcing!the!arrival!of!the!next!era,!since!‘the!next! big!thing’!is!what!a!mediatized!society!is!anxious!for,!and!art!is!not!excluded.!Moreover,!the! succession!of!eras!has!been!accelerated!–!as!time!accelerated,!too!g,!and!accordingly!every! biennial!commitment!to!present!the!best!of!the!next!generation!of!artists!has!made!novelty!a! motif,!and!consequently!shortened!the!novelty!of!these!young!artists!to!the!fleeting!duration! of!two!short!years!–!the!interval!separating!two!biennial!art!exhibitions.! Authors!such!as!Bruno!Latour!(2002),!Giorgio!Agamben!(2007),!and!Boris!Groys!(2008)!have! contributed,!in!more!direct!or!indirect!ways,!to!expand!the!iconoclast!notion!in!contemporary! culture.!Also!large!scale!exhibitions!of!art!–!such!as!Iconoclash:!Beyond!the!Image0Wars!in! Science,!Religion!and!Art,!May!2002!(held!at!Center!for!New!Art!and!Media!(ZKM)!in!Karlsruhe,! Germany,!and!curated!by!Peter!Galison,!Dario!Gamboni,!Joseph!Leo!Koerner,!Bruno!Latour,! Adam!Lowe,!Hans!Ulrich!Obrist!and!Peter!Weibel)!and!Art!under!Attack:!Histories!of!British! Iconoclasm16,!from!October!2013!to!January!2014!(held!at!Tate!Britain,!London)!g!have! contextualized!iconoclasm!beyond!religious!grounds!and!so!have!lent!it!a!more!political,! philosophical!and!artistic!connotation.!This!is!the!kind!of!stage!to!which!I!am!interested!to! bring!iconoclasm,!and!where!I!intend!to!sketch!a!relation!with!the!already!problematic!idea!of! artistic!research.!! Tate!Britain!exhibition!dedicated!to!Art!under!attack!contemplated!cases!driven!by!religious,! political!and!aesthetic!motivations.!Despite!my!introductory!concern!with!the!religious! iconoclasm,!I!will!definitely!stick!from!now!on!to!the!political!implications!and!to!the!aesthetic! driven!examples!of!this!exhibition,!as!they!are!of!utter!relevance!for!the!design!of!a!dualistic! notion!of!artistic!research!that!I!am!interested!to!set!forth.!By!doing!so!I!will!also!be! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 16!More!info!at:!http://www.tate.org.uk/whatsgon/tategbritain/exhibition/artgundergattackghistoriesgbritishgiconoclasm.!Last! access!on!30.06.2015.! 39! ! introducing!relevant!circumstances!for!development!of!this!reflection!on!the!field!of!artistic! research,!as!well!as!my!impression!on!the!recent!developments!and!outcomes,!and,!at!last,! perchance!might!derive!from!them!convenient!ways!of!operating!within!the!field.! Besides!distinguish!between!religious,!political!and!aesthetic!mobiles!of!iconoclasm,!I!would! also!like!to!differentiate!physical!and!symbolic!manifestations.!Imagegbreaking!as!a!synonym!of! iconoclasm!is!not!therefore!hopelessly!attained!to!violent!acts,!as!it!might!be!presupposed.! Also,!as!I’ve!stressed!already,!if!they!are!performed!by!artists,!then!it!is!an!artistic!gesture;!if! they!are!prosecuted!by!‘others’!(out!of!the!art!world),!they!are!either!barbarian!violent!actions! or!naïf!gestures.!! I!will!take!this!idea!of!inclusion/exclusion,!or!us/others,!as!the!figure!that!roughly!sustains!the! duality!of!iconoclasm/iconolatry!in!relation!to!the!practice!of!artistic!research,!namely!its! reflexive!dimension.!While!western!world!excludes!the!others!through!the!notion!of! barbarianism,!the!art!world,!for!the!sake!of!autonomy,!is!not!what!one!would!call!hospitable!to! commentators,!curators,!professors,!critics,!or!anyone!trying!to!dialogue,!sometimes!explain,! sometimes!describe!art,!and!sometimes!just!making!something!verbally!taking!art!as!a!starting! point!–!sometimes,!conversations!are!regarded!as!pure!acts!of!iconoclasm!against!autonomy! and!aura.!Some!artists!would!not!stand!any!of!these!initiatives!for!considering!the!rational! endeavor!over!is!but!an!act!of!destruction!of!art’s!identity.!But!which!identity!is!that!with! universalist!ambitions?! I!am!trying!to!mobilize!three!things!here:!i)!iconoclasm!in!Modern!art!as!a!productive!avant0 garde!strategy,!of!which!I!have!been!talking!about!mostly,!ii)!the!curator’s!iconoclastic!role! (and!what!I’ve!called!iconoclast!aestheticization),!and!iii)!consequences!to!artistic!research.! ! i)!The!Modernist!art!stretched!meaning!of!iconoclasm!stands!literally!for!a!series!of!physical! interventions!towards!works!of!art,!in!a!set!of!specific!examples!that!physically!acted!for!the! regconstruction!of!images!appropriated!from!other!artists!(motivated!by!artistic!purposes,!so! something!different!from!a!mere!destruction!of!images,!and!therefore!unlikely!to!be!regarded! as!vandalism!or!barbarism).!Modern!art!history!and!contemporary!art!are!full!of!episodes!that! more!or!less!resemble!iconoclast!attitudes.!An!early!famous!example!is!1919!Marcel! Duchamp’s!“L.H.O.O.Q”!intervention!on!Mona!Lisa!(on!a!reproduction!of!Mona!Lisa,!to!be! more!precise).!Back!in!the!day!the!motto!was!rupturing,!pushing!Modernist!artistic!movements! in!a!look!for!the!anew,!ultimately!matching!this!novelty!with!artistic!quality!guarantee.!For!that! effect,!the!destruction!of!the!previous!was!the!topic!of!the!day!only!to!bring!on!unheard! elaborations,!as!asked!the!logic!of!vanguards!in!operation.!& 40! ! This!was!the!procedure!for!fifty!years!and!more.!Other!later!examples,!of!a!more!refined!sense! of!artistic!iconoclasm,!include!Fluxus’!“Piano!piece!#13!(for!Nam!June!Paik)”!(1962),!by!George! Maciunas!(and!recently!famously!regenacted!by!Sonic!Youth),!where!all!the!keys!of!a!piano!are! nailed!down!during!the!performance;!1953!Robert!Rauschenberg’s!appropriation!and!erasure! of!Willem!de!Kooning’s!drawing;!and,!the!same!year,!John!Cage’s!iconic!“4’33””.!!Besides! violent!acts,!and!metaphorical!destruction,!iconoclasm!can!still!be!related!to!a!certain!absence,! as!in!the!examples!given!of!Rauschenberg,!of!Cage,!or!also!the!extreme!purism!of!Malevich! (leading!from!iconoclasm!to!a!new!theology)!and!other!monochromes.!The!content!of!such! images!pointed!to!the!absence!or!their!disappearing.!Malevitch’s!“White!on!white”!(1918)!is!a! powerful!example!of!image!breaking.!It!is!said!to!have!been!hung!in!an!upper!level!on!the!wall! the!first!time!it!was!exhibited,!teasingly!replacing!Russian!icons!that!used!to!take!that!position.! Suprematist!and!also!Constructivist!painting!that!followed!have!embodied!an!interesting! ambivalence!with!its!monochromatic!creations.!On!the!one!hand,!as!in!the!primary!colors! triptych!of!Rodchencko,!from!1921,!monochromatic!works!were!ungreferencing!images! produced!with!no!other!meaning!than!their!own!flatness!and!pure!materiality.!Painting!has! thus!reached!an!end!in!its!illusionary!autonomist!journey,!and!was!so!declared!dead.!On!the! other!hand,!and!exactly!due!to!the!lack!of!figurative!references,!space!seemed!infinite!through! these!small!frames!of!monochromatic!views,!proposing!like!a!new!beginning!for!the!art!to! come.!An!iconoclast!step!was!setting!up!the!space!for!new!achievements,!through!symbolic! killing.!Both!the!decision!to!hung!Malevich’s!painting!as!an!icon!and!the!required!competences! of!contextualization!and!interpretation!g!that!is,!of!integration!of!such!act!in!a!broader! narrative!–!are!pointing!at!the!curatorial!and!production!competences!that!artists’!started!to! be!required!for.!After!Duchamp’s!exhibition!of!the!urinal,!these!new!required!skills!became! evidently!needed.!!! I!will!now!report!to!some!of!the!exhibited!works!at!Tate!Britain’s!Art!under!attack!and!combine! them!with!the!idea!of!a!Modernist!iconoclast!artistic!practice.! The!avant0garde!artistic!use!of!iconoclasm!both!owes!to!aesthetics!and!political!motivations.!If,! in!the!beginning,!what’s!been!assigned!to!religious!iconoclasm!could!also!be!perceived!as! politically!committed,!due!to!the!existence!of!nongsecularized!governments,!avant0garde!also! hybridizes!its!iconoclast!sources.!In!truth,!the!attempts!to!separate!politics!and!any!social!or! humanist!gesture!are!always!seemingly!erroneous.!Every!action!has!its!political!referral,!as!well! as!it!political!consequence.!Today’s!globalized!world!even!more!contributes!to!mix!politics!and! aesthetics,!where!overthrows!of!dictators’!statues!and!attacks!to!emblematic!neoliberal! symbols!have!become!aesthetic!gestures!(and!they!are!obviously!political).!Moreover,!political! iconoclasm!is!where!is!most!visible!the!difference!and!the!demands!for!change!such!attacks! 41! ! encompass.!But!art!also!allows!for!these!reactions.!Tate!Britain’s!exhibition!showed!some! examples!ranging!from!physical!imagegbreaking!to!contemporary!art!idea!of!creation!after! destruction.!Even!those!acts!involving!more!physical!destruction!are!therefore!artistic! gestures,!or!were!not!we!at!the!very!heart!the!art!world.!!! Tate!Britain’s!exhibited!works!of!Douglas!Gordon!are!visually!very!iconoclastic!for!the!similarity! of!sculpture!defacement!acts!prosecuted!in!the!East.!Eyes,!entire!faces,!hands!are!the!most! commonly!attacked!body!parts!and!the!first!choice!for!destroyers!to!apply!their!force.! Gordon’s!series!“Selfgportrait!of!you!+!me”!is!very!much!showing!these!eyes!and!face!wrecking.! The!mirrors!the!artist!places!in!the!holes!open!by!fire!in!the!original!image!are!there!to! integrate!the!viewer!into!the!work.!For!Tate!Britain’s!exhibition,!Douglas!Gordon!had!a!huge! art!work!of!this!series!whose!original!image!was!openly!relating!to!Andy!Warhol’s!portrait!of! Queen!Elizabeth.!As!the!other!works!of!the!series,!this!image!was!also!burnt!at!parts!and!given! a!mirrored!image!in!the!holes!created.!! Other!proposals!of!the!exhibition!put!forth!the!dialogical!relation!sometimes!artists!establish! with!previously!existing!works!by!other!artists.!These!interventions!are!also!taken!as!forms!of! commentary,!sometimes!showing!iconoclast!impetus.!The!Chapman!brothers!were!present! with!a!series!of!interventions,!together!with!other!two!artists,!in!portraits!depicting!Victorian! mercantile!class!they!bought!in!secondghand!stores.!Jake!and!Dinos!Chapman!are!most!wellg known!by!their!infamous!reginterpretation!of!Goya’s!original!drawings!on!the!war,!upon!which! they!add!cartoon!like!new!faces!of!clowns,!making!the!scenario!even!creepier!than!Goya’s! original,!but!risking!to!be!seen!as!an!iconoclast!and!desecrating!act!by!others.! Kate!Davis!has!presented!at!that!exhibition!her!series!“Disgrace!VgVIII”,!where!she!“…!traced! the!outline!of!my!own!body!on!to!Modigliani's!female!nude!drawings.!It!is!one!of!several!pieces! in!which!I!responded!to!‘canonical’!works!by!significant!male!artists.!I!chose!art!historical! moments!where!the!conversation!was!very!malegdominated;!I!wanted!to!insert!my!own!voice! into!that!conversation!and!to!rethink!those!artworks!or!moments!through!a!feminist!lens”! (Davis,!2013).!Her!works!are!remarkably!keen!in!the!set!of!a!conversation!with!the!past!by! creating!something!new.!! Iconoclasm!is!then!anything!but!a!strict!and!limiting!concept.!It!is!linked!to!a!multitude!of! dimensions,!ways!of!proceeding,!varied!intents!and!materiality.!Iconoclast!acts!can!thus!be! regarded!as!a!creative!and!a!destructive!thing!at!the!same!time,!turning!it!into!a!very!appealing! concept!for!understanding!much!religious!fanaticism,!political!revolutionary!acts,!avantggarde! and!!contemporary!art.!Through!creation!or!through!destruction,!it!is!very!much!related!to! transformation!and!change.!The!art!world!bounds!with!iconoclasm!foster!this!expanded!view! 42! ! and!even!allow!for!symbolic!and!critical!cutouts.!Boris!Groys!offers!a!very!important!vision!on! this!matter!with!his!curator’s!iconoclast!role.! ! ii)!Iconoclast!aestheticization! The!2007!Boris!Groys’!essay!The!Curator!as!Iconoclast!suggests!that!the!practice!of!curatorship! is!inescapably!linked!to!a!metaphorical!image!breaking,!since!the!curator’s!activity!originally! consists!of!decontextualizing!objects!of!their!original!background!and!insert!them!in!a!novel! ambience!with!which!they!have!no!bounds.!The!gallery,!as!the!new!context!of!these!objects!–! in!the!early!days!they!were!mostly!religious!icons,!daygtogday!instruments,!and!professional! tools!g,!degfunctionalizes!them,!and!their!new!function!is!consequently!tied!to!the!act!of!being! observed.!Initially!designed!as!objects!with!a!purpose!and!utility,!they!have!been!transformed! into!objects!that!passively!are,!that!merely!exist,!a!yet!new!existence!whose!meaning!is! operated!by!the!eyes!of!the!spectator.!The!new!ruling!regime!where!these!regfunctionalized! objects!–!finally!objects!of!art!–!are!deployed!can!be!called!an!aesthetic!regime.!! By!suggesting!the!iconoclast!condition!to!which!is!condemned!the!practice!of!curatorship,! Boris!Groys!is!also!pointing!out!an!understanding!of!the!resulting!aesthetics!into!which!are! contextualized!the!regfunctionalized!objects!in!affinity!to!image!breaking.!! During!Modernism,!and!as!previously!said,!the!iconoclast!driving!force!of!‘the!next!big!thing’! was!driven!by!the!search!and!care!for!autonomy!of!art.!In!the!end!it!proved!to!be!a!suicidal! project!ultimately!accomplished!by!the!‘death!of!painting’,!or,!alternatively,!an!eventual!failure! that!transformed!the!charm!of!autonomy!of!art!into!the!production!of!commodities!for!the! rapacious!bourgeoisie.!The!quest!for!an!absolute!autonomy!had!presumably!pushed!artists! into!an!autistic!journey!disconnected!from!the!world,!a!travel!that!culminated!in!a!found! dystopian!reality.!Events!unfolded!before!the!astonished!eyes!of!Clement!Greenberg!(1960),! whose!project!claimed!that!art!would!conserve!immunity!to!entertainment!precisely!by! demonstrating!the!uniqueness!of!its!experience!as!exclusively!obtainable!through!art,!in!an! exercise!of!refined!autonomy.!! A!very!similar!route!towards!dystopia!was!that!of!the!degfunctionalized!objects!that!Groys’! figure!of!the!curator!‘elevated’17!to!art!(2007).!The!critical!notion!of!artistic!aestheticization! that!I!want!to!highlight!derives!from!this!gesture!of!positing!nongartistic!objects!in!plinths!and! frames!to!transform!them!into!art!for!the!appreciation!of!the!museum!visitors.!The!origins!of! the!curatorial!acts!date!back!to!the!decisions!of!the!revolutionary!French!government!over!the! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 17!Such!term!is!not!in!line!with!the!advocated!by!Boris!Groys.!In!his!essay,!Groys!says!that!the!early!curator!lowered!the!previously! useful!objects!to!mere!objects!of!art!by!placing!them!inside!the!exhibition!space.!On!the!other!hand,!to!artists!was!reserved!the! magic!powers!to!elevate!mundane!objects!to!artistic!works.! 43! ! objects!of!the!Old!Regime.!According!to!Groys,!in!place!of!the!usual!iconoclast!wave!that!swept! the!previous!regime!imagery!in!face!of!a!change,!“[t]he!French!revolutionaries!took!a!different! course:!instead!of!destroying!sacral!and!profane!objects!belonging!to!the!Old!Regime!they! defunctionalized,!or,!in!other!words,!aestheticized!them.!The!French!revolution!turned!the! design!of!the!Old!Regime!into!what!we!call!today!art,!i.e.!in!an!object!not!of!use!but!of!pure! contemplation.!This!violent,!revolutionary!act!of!aestheticization!of!the!old!regime!created!art! as!we!know!it!today”!(Groys,!2014,!p.!7).!Whereas!revolutionary!leaders!may!have!been!aware! of!the!historical!value!of!the!objects,!the!generality!of!the!Parisians!did!not!show!the!same! concern,!and!thus!perpetrated!the!acts!and!reported!episodes!of!iconoclasm!–!here!physical! inflicted!destruction!g!in!the!city,!thus!engrossing!the!book!Iconoclasm!in!revolutionary!Paris!:! the!transformation!of!signs!(2012),!by!Richard!Clay.!The!importance!here!lays!on!the!fact!that! the!iconoclast!perpetrators!acknowledged!the!power!of!unofficial!iconoclasm!to!exert! influence!over!government!policy,!and!so!used!these!acts!as!a!weapon!of!mass!destruction!and! of!political!opposition.!The!presentgday!demonstrations!generated!in!Europe!and!in!the! MiddlegEast,!and!the!international!pressures!resulting!from!the!episodes!of!both!Charlie! Hebdo!and!earlier!the!Mohammad!caricatures!published!in!the!Danish!newspaper!Jyllandsg Posten,!have!been!decisive!in!diplomatic!and!also!newsroom!decisions.!The!fact!that!Jyllandsg Posten!did!not!republish!the!caricature!first!published!by!Charlie!Hebdo!made!its!editor,! Flemming!Rose,!publicly!state!that!the!militant!Islamists!already!control!newsroom!decisions18.! Symbolic!iconoclasm!can!therefore!be!identified!in!the!basis!of!Groys’!aesthetic!regime!of! contemporaneity.!Directed!at!the!status!quo,!contemporary!aesthetical!processes!tend!to!do! the!opposite!of!design!styling.!Whereas!the!last!puts!over!efforts!of!embellishment!of!objects,! to!increase!their!attractiveness!and,!consequently,!sales!–!comprising!a!propensity!for! production!of!objects,!that!is!g,!contemporary!aesthetics!aims!at!image!breaking,!at!the! uncovering!of!dysfunctional!aspects!of!reality,!through!its!representation.!Such!understanding! seems!to!be!in!line!with!Henk!Slager’s!recent!recovery!of!the!importance!of!aesthetics!for!the! fulfillment!of!critical!artistic!research!objectives.!Slager!states!that!it!might!be!contained!in!the! potential!of!a!renewed!aesthetic!regime!the!reframing!of!artistic!research!(which!he!perceives! in!decay!after!a!long!process!of!academization)!(Slager,!2014).!The!new!aesthetic!regime! established!in!a!context!of!dematerialization!of!art!is!majorly!focused!in!selfgreflexivity!and!in! the!avoidance!of!production!of!instrumentalizing!concepts.!Therefore,!an!image!of!the!status! quo!is!an!image!made!to!perceive!it!in!obsolescence,!as!a!mere!passive!corpse.!The!image!of! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 18!“Do!militant!Islamists!control!newsroom!decisions,!DR2!asked!Rose?!‘Yes,!it’s!true,’!he!replied.!‘They!already!do.’”.!Retrieved! from!http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/13/thegnewspapergthatgfirstgpublishedgmuhammadgcartoonsgdoesngtg standgwithgcharlieghebdo.html.!Last!access!on!03.05.2015.! 44! ! contemporaneity!is,!at!the!same!time,!its!symbolic!destruction!–!the!exposition!of!its! dysfunctional!aspects!and!the!uncovering!of!its!instrumentalizing!concepts.!Artistic!research! experimental!processes!can!only!take!place!in!the!trail!of!such!iconoclast!aestheticization! Thereafter,!the!return!to!an!aesthetic!regime!in!art!and!its!embodiment!by!artistic!research!is! not!a!superficially!understanding!of!the!fruition!and!contemplation!of!objects.!It!presupposes! that!a!critical!and!political!operation!takes!shape!as!an!object,!as!an!image!or!as!any! dematerialized!artwork!being!produced.!As!the!aesthetic!regime!breaks!with!the!status!quo,!it! can!establish!relations!with!iconoclast!performances,!but!always!calling!on!its!expanded! notion.!Aestheticization!is!a!process!that!acts!and!questions!its!act,!as!it!gives!a!sight!of!reality! while!criticizes!reality,!as!it!breaks!an!image!while!producing!a!new!image.!The!iconoclast! aestheticization!is!attained!to!a!reconstruction;!it!is!not!about!the!destruction!of!image! (common!sense!for!iconoclasm),!neither!the!appraisal!of!it!(as!could!suppose!an!aesthetic! experience).!Flourishing!perspectives!of!artistic!research!are!placing!it!right!in!the!middle!of! this!tension:!with!eyes!turned!to!artistic!production,!the!performance!of!artistic!research! considers!the!potentiality!of!a!combination!of!reflexivity!and!image!production,!although!a! production!never!prompted!by!the!idolatry!of!art,!but!rather!by!the!attempt!of!understanding! its!processes!and!of!critically!engaging!in!discussions!and!debates.!Such!placement!of!artistic! research!usually!is!shaped!in!hybrid!dissertations!with!a!writing!and!artistic!production.!! Criticism!stemming!from!the!consideration!that!reflexivity!and!the!focus!on!knowledge! cherished!by!artist!researchers!is,!in!itself,!iconoclast!for!it!endangers!a!sacred!nature!of!standg offish!art,!might!eventually!account!for!the!highly!creative!operation!that!a!profane!artistic! research!portrait!might!implicate.! Releasing!an!object!from!authoritarian!impositions,!dislocating!the!intended!destruction!from! the!object!itself!and!directing!it!to!the!set!of!rules!that!determine!the!way!things!are! perceived,!is!iconoclasm!in!a!broader!less!literal!sense.!Thus!revolutionary!acts!and! transformative!performances!are!also!iconoclast.! ! iii)!Not!always!the!artists’!intentions!are!crystal!clear!in!the!materiality!of!their!works,!and! sometimes!misinterpretation!can!take!place,!or!very!personal!understandings!may!not!match! the!creators’!aims.!Douglas!Gordon!work!at!Art!under!attack!could!be!very!easily!mistaken! with!a!critique!to!monarchy,!and!the!Chapman!brothers!work!over!Goya’s!original!images! could!also!be!taken!as!a!personal!attack!on!the!Spanish!master.!If!an!artist!is!willing!to!make! his!or!her!work!more!understandable,!more!discussable!and!open!to!third!person! deliberations,!then!he!or!she!has!to!engage!in!public!discussion!of!the!work.!That!is!in!order!to! 51! ! I’ve!decided!to!apply!iconoclasm!and!aestheticization!as!a!combo!so!to!stress!their!individual! and!collective!dualities,!to!foster!the!tension!I!want!to!bring!to!the!forefront!of!their!use!in!the! context!of!artistic!research.!From!my!observations!in!the!particular!contexts!of!artistic!research! in!Helsinki!and!in!The!Hague,!I!guess!very!appropriate!to!highlight!and!also!to!preserve!the! tension!in!which!artistic!research!is!placed!in!the!current!days.!Contrary!to!what!Henk!Slager! announces!in!the!opening!lines!of!the!editorial!of!Experimental!Aesthetics!issue!of!Metropolis! M!–!“Today,!both!the!practice!and!understanding!of!artistic!research!are!encompassed!by! increasingly!rigidifying!forms!of!academization.!This!asks!for!a!thorough!conceptual! reassessment!of!that!originally!artistic!field.!…!Does!the!present!conceptual!impact!of!artistic! research!still!cover!its!original!and!radical!drive?!Is!artistic!research!still!related!to!processes!of! experimental!thinking!and!creating?!Or!does!a!pervasive!institutionalization!urge!to!reset!the! evergnarrowing!framework!of!artistic!research?”!(Slager,!2014,!p.!2)!–!I!argue!that!the! performativity!of!iconoclast!aestheticization,!assured!by!the!tensional!stage!in!which!it!occurs,! refrains!academization!of!becoming!a!nullifying!pervasion,!and!simultaneously!it!explores! possibilities!grounded!in!the!combination!of!reflexivity!and!art!making!usually!bypassed!by! artistgartists.!! & From&autonomy&to&new!materialism&or&how&we&moved&from&experienciality!to! experimentalism& It!is!often!the!case!that!artistic!participatory!projects!raise!affection!among!the!public.! Additionally!they’re!also!into!the!good!graces!of!curators!and!critics!who!are!not!grumbling! anymore!‘relational!aesthetics’.!Nicolas!Bourriaud’s!eponymous!book!(1998)!caused!quite!a!stir! among!theoreticians,!and!its!ideas,!generally!presented!in!a!light!and!haphazard!manner,!led! to!the!proliferation!of!shallow!takes!in!the!90s!and!early!2000s22.!Anyway,!a!participatory! environment,!for!its!foundational!intents,!suggests!a!crusade!for!a!lost!or!menaced!humanity! whatsoever.!Humans!are!always!more!humans!when!they!relate!to!other!humans,!and! cultivate,!and!show!their!humanity!to!other!humans.!There!is!an!underlying!sense!of! community!that!joins!the!friendliness!and!agreement!met!by!the!huge!majority!towards! participatory!and!relational!proposals,!and!it!is!precisely!the!unanimity!and!uncritical!positive! perception!these!generate!that!places!them!in!dangerous!terrains,!overly!exposed.!Not!that!I! stand!in!the!side!of!devil’s!advocate,!but!in!face!of!an!amount!of!questionable!results,!it!seems! important!to!revise!certain!notions!that!are!usually!automatically!wellgaccepted.!I!am!not!only! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 22!1993!Lyon!Biennale,!curated!by!Nicolas!Bourriaud!with!the!motto!“L’expèrience!de!la!durée”,!was!run!under!his!relational! aesthetics!ideas.!This!biennale!is!often!associated!with!a!praise!for!interactivity,!for!the!sake!of!interactivity,!put!to!work!in! fashionable!way!rather!than!with!the!critical!aspiration!that!is!expected!to!be!found!in!an!artistic!event.!As!a!consequence,!the! results!became!targets!of!critique.!My!impression!is!that!ever!since!‘relational!aesthetics’!became!spotted!and!unbearable!for! many!art!thinkers.!! 52! ! retaining!the!numberless!projects!of!arts!education!centered!in!the!individual’s!interg subjectivity,!in!interactivity!and!communal!activities.!These!are!manifold!and!too!often!clog! every!public!event!dedicated!to!artistic!research!methodologies,!art!and!community,!and! education!through!art,!to!the!extent!that!they!have!been!responsible!for!a!lately!dubious! labeling!of!arts!education!among!artists!and!scholar!thinkers.!But!that!is!a!different!story! altogether,!in!which!psychologization!of!art!and!social!operation!of!control!play!fundamental! roles.!What!matters!here!is!that!I!am!referring!to!the!positive!acceptance!of!participatory! projects!taking!place!in!the!artistic!sphere,!and!also!in!society!in!general.!The!sense!of! togetherness!of!contemporary!society,!or!the!alarming!paucity!of!togetherness!announced!by! the!sogcalled!social!scientists!and!psychologists,!has!made!it!too!likely!to!be!intercepted!by!the! mechanisms!of!biogpower23!(Foucault,!1976).!No!one!excuses!noticing!the!tremendous!social! pressure!of!getting!together,!from!latent!prejudice!against!celibate,!the!marriage!affair,!urban! spaces!conceived!for!social!life!and!an!alarming!preoccupation!with!the!issues!aroused!by! migration!from!peripheral!regions!to!the!main!cities,!so!that!the!newcomers!will!get!connected! to!facilities!and!neighbourhood.!Technology!advertisement!directs!the!spotlight!to!promises!of! connectivity24!and!at!the!same!time!brings!into!conversation!the!division!between!sociability! and!loneliness!as!perpetrated!by!physical!encounters!and!screened!relationships.!Loneliness! has!been!treated!from!several!points!of!study,!from!psychology!to!fashion,!from!urbanism!to! art.!Painter!Edward!Hopper!portrayed!it!in!Nighthawks!(1942):!“Nighthawks!shows!four!people! in!a!diner!at!night,!cut!off!from!the!street!outside!by!a!curving!glass!window:!a!disquieting! scene!of!disconnection!and!estrangement.!In!his!art,!Hopper!was!centrally!concerned!with!how! humans!were!handling!the!environment!of!the!electric!city:!the!way!it!crowded!people! together!while!enclosing!them!in!increasingly!small!and!exposing!cells.!His!paintings!establish! an!architecture!of!loneliness,!reproducing!the!confining!units!of!office!blocks!and!studio! apartments,!in!which!unwitting!exhibitionists!reveal!their!private!lives!in!cinematic!stills,! framed!by!panes!of!glass”!(Laing,!2015).!Commissioned!public!art!has!also!developed!a! complicity!with!urban!planning,!becoming!partially!a!strategy!of!citizenship!to!emotionally! connect!people.!And!it!usually!is!very!successful!in!using!premises!of!spectacle!to!target! people’s!emotions!and!attraction!–!realization!of!mural!painting!events!and!graffiti!designated! areas!illustrate!this!point;!Portuguese!artist!Vhils!is!also!an!exemplary!case!of!how!spectacle! works!to!induce!people’s!sympathy!for!art!making.!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 23!It!concerns!the!set!of!regulatory!practices!of!Modern!State!towards!the!regulation!of!their!subjects!and!the!behaviour!of!their! bodies.!Such!practices!are!usually!related!to!public!health,!but!not!exclusively.! 24!Nokia’s!slogan:!“connecting!people”.! 53! ! Local!governing!entities!are!aware!that!‘placemaking’!(McAuliffe,!2013)25!plays!an!important! role!in!connecting!people!to!places,!both!from!human!and!economic!points!of!view.!A!rhetoric! joining!urbanity,!placemaking!and!humanity!has!high!seductive!chances,!especially!if!directed! at!microglevels,!since!these!are!kept!away!from!the!larger!commercial!and!architectonic! projects!still!associated!with!the!prejudice!of!the!installed!real!estate!and!economic!crisis.!! Humanity!stands!together!with!sociability,!without!which!the!first!is!less!–!the!odd!looks! towards!celibacy,!hermit’s!lifestyle,!or!the!psychotic!Hitchcock’s!Norman!Bates!(1960),!all! reinforce!the!bound!between!a!rich!social!life!and!being!a!healthy!and!happy!human!being.!Are! our!mediated!relationships!through!internet!still!human!relationships?!The!concerns!with! decreasing!of!connectedness!among!human!beings,!so!understood!the!decreasing!of!their! humanity,!is!a!topic!of!this!postgmodern!era.!!Also,!the!appropriation!of!the!idea!of!humanity,! the!subjectivities!it!encompasses,!and!their!sequent!instrumentalization,!have!been!of! enormous!usability!to!the!postgfordist!society.!! Medicalginformed!current!overviews!state!that!people!are!disconnected!to!each!other.!It!is!not! a!matter!of!geography,!since!lowgcost!flight!companies!have!sprout!in!the!last!decade!and! travelling!has!slowly!been!trivialized.!More!and!more!people!have!nomadic!lifestyles!and!are! considered!‘world!citizens’,!transcending!any!possibly!narrowing!locality.!The!problem,!they! say,!is!that!we!are!close!to!those!who!are!distant,!and!distant!to!those!who!are!close.! Disconnectedness!is!perceived!and!diagnosed,!and!simultaneous!urban,!medical,!political! strategies!are!at!stake!to!remedy!it.!! It!is!also!tempting!to!understand!relational!and!participatory!practices!of!contemporary!art!as! fetches!to!reconnect!people,!artists!with!the!world,!artists!with!artists,!artists!with!audience! and!audience!with!the!world!g!in!an!increasing!disconnected!society.!Similar!worries!were! already!sensed!by!Conceptual!artists,!who!have!justified!part!of!their!cheap,!portable,!easy!to! do!and!sped!up!media,!with!their!felt!necessity!of!getting!the!message!out!to!the!public,!not! only!quicker!but!also!independently!of!installed!ruling!structures!of!museums!and!art!critics.! This!is!how!artist!Seth!Siegelaub!has!based!his!found!potential!in!publishing,!as!marginal!and! efficient!artworks!and!ways!of!conveying!artworks.!Catherine!de!Zegher!and!Gerald!McMaster,! curators!of!the!18th!Sidney!Biennial,!agree!with!the!diagnostic:!“In!the!arts,!as!elsewhere,! analytical!reflection!has!led!to!an!understanding!that!human!beings!are!highly!dependent!upon! our!often!overlooked!relationships!with!others!and!with!our!common!world.!While!this! connective!model!is!still!embedded!in!a!few!societies,!established!western!cultural!patterns! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 25!“Placemaking!is!a!philosophy,!originated!in!the!1960s!when!journalists!like!Jane!Jacobs!and!William!H.!Whyte!created!the!idea! that!cities!need!to!cater!for!people,!rather!than!catering!for!cars!and!shopping!centres.!Put!simply,!placemaking!is!about! connecting!people!to!place”.!More!info!at!http://www.triplepundit.com/2013/10/urbanglandscapesgartgbringinggtogether/.!Last! accessed!on!22.06.2015.! 54! ! have!tended!to!emphasize!the!fragmentation!and!isolation!of!the!individual”!(Zagher!&! McMaster,!2012).!In!an!artistic!context,!the!disconnectedness!inheritance!is!regarded!as!owed! to!Modernist!rupturing!strategy!that!favoured!separation.!A!supposedly!new!era,!that!followed! the!deaf!autonomy!Modernist!artists!sought!after,!emerged!in!concernment!to!fix!broken! bounds,!thus!interested!in!connectivity!among!people!and!situations.!Therefore,!2012!de! Zegher!and!McMaster’s!event!was!thought!in!line!with!the!overcoming!of!the!previous! separation!and!the!endorsing!of!connective!artistic!practices!with!symptomatic!social!changes! already!set!in!the!world:!“With!the!creation!of!conditions!for!an!encounter!in!consonance!with! our!surrounding!world,!this!event!will!bring!emphasis!to!what!is!already!happening!at!large”! (Zagher!&!McMaster,!2012).!!Spectatorship!in!the!form!of!reception!of!works!of!art,!and!publicg ness!in!the!sense!of!distribution!of!artistic!practices,!have!been!since!some!years!now!topical! issues!in!the!agenda!of!contemporary!art!thinkers.!Summarizing!this,!a!new!paradigm!in!the!art! has!been!pointed!out!in!terms!of!connectivity!between!people!and!between!people!and! society!at!large,!reacting!against!a!previously!rupturing!Modernist!avantggardism.!Concerns! with!the!relational!have!informed!following!artistic!projects,!through!participatory!and! collaborative!practices,!and!theorization!and!debates!have!taken!upon!the!understanding!and! the!promotion!of!such!connectivity.!The!concern!with!regconnectivity!cannot!be!isolated!in!the! artistic!realm;!it!is!decisively!shaped!by!social!and!political!circumstances.! The!questionable!aspect!of!the!presented!setting!of!disconnectiongreconnection!turns!up!in! the!way!it!has!been!introduced,!first!as!a!Modernist!aggravation,!and!after!as!a!shift!to!a! contemporary!era!that!worksgout!a!resolution.!!In!other!words,!artistic!developments!have! reached!the!point!where!avant0garde!as!a!rupturegaftergrupture!movement!has!been!denied! for!the!disconnectedness!its!dynamics!generated.!Denial!was!envisaged!in!the!arrival!of!a!new! stage!of!reconnection!between!previously!split!or!removed!parts!such!as!individuals!with! individuals,!individuals!with!spaces,!art!with!public.!! But!how!come!a!promise!of!stability!is!again!informed!by!a!new!discontinuity?!‘The!next!big! thing’!has!again!taken!over!the!presumably!counteract,!and!learnt!to!penetrate!the!logic!that! was!being!rehearsed.!Even!in!contemporaneity,!art!and!life!aims!at!the!next!new!thing.! The!difference,!it!seems,!derives!from!the!realization!that!originality!has!been!relativized!as! changing!engine.!Since!structuralists!declared!that!there!is!nothing!beyond!text,!nothing! surpassing!language!as!our!limited!possibilities!of!thinking!the!new!g!especially!Jacques! Derrida’s!stance!that!there!is!no!outside!of!text!g,!that!originality!has!been!perceived!in! sequence!of!previous!events.!It!means!that!no!real!disruption!takes!place!to!the!point!of! denying!completely!a!past.!To!this!sense,!Clement!Greenberg!made!a!point!by!suggesting!that! 55! ! art!might!be!a!continuum!–!although!questionable!directed!to!the!goal!of!total!autonomy! (1939,!1960).! Ruptures!lose!a!great!deal!of!revolutionary!spirit!with!this!in!mind.!It!seems!more!adequate!to! schematize!that!we!are!in!a!continuity!of!historical,!political,!social!and!cultural!events,! constantly!rearranging!the!pieces!and!the!actors!of!the!plot.!Not!a!continuum!with!a!preg established!direction,!as!was!the!case!of!progressive!views,!but!a!continuum!in!a!space!of! scattered!elements.!! This!understanding!of!the!reached!stability!of!reconnection,!not!as!the!promised!stability!–!as! if!it!was!the!case!of!a!promised!land!g!achieved!upon!the!arrival!of!the!new!era,!but!as! reconfiguration!conducted!by!the!circumstances!of!postgstructuralism,!is!also!the!reason!why! we,!in!the!present,!speak!of!experimentalism!instead!of!new!shifts.!Even!though!we!might!feel! stuck!in!experimentalism,!sometimes!even!extremely!limited!for!the!continuum!such!idea! entails,!we!no!longer!look!for!giant!shifts.!The!situation!resembles!more!that!of!a!cul0de0sac! where!imagination!is!imprisoned:!“The!crisis!of!imagination!is!not!brought!about!so!much!by! the!lack!of!potential!to!produce!alternatives!(because!everything!seems!to!be!possible,!at!least! in!the!eyes!of!capital!exchange)!as!by!the!evidence!that!one’s!alternatives!have!no!capacity!to! shift!the!sensed!contemporary.!There!seems!to!be!a!hegemonic!voracity!regarding!the!present,! a!manifestation!of!the!desire!to!normalize!subjectivity!by!controlling!the!mechanisms!inherent! to!political!mobilization…!and!subjective!perceptions”!(Alves,!2014,!p.4).!Supported!by!Nicolas! Bourriaud’s!The!Radicant!(2009),!Andre!Alves!adds!that!“If!one!lives!under!a!sensation!of! inoperability,!of!‘no!alternatives!left’,!then,!in!the!world!of!unlimited!reproduction!–!as!Nicolas! Bourriaud!puts!it!–!subjects!are!left!to!live!under!the!sign!of!permanent!exile”!(Alves,!2014,!p.! 4).! Contemporary!rhythms!have!not!armed!us!with!sufficiently!accurate!tools!or!the!right!frames! to!analyze!events!in!the!globalized!era.!Everything!happens!too!fast!in!the!experimental!regime! –!experiments!succeed,!and!a!focus!in!a!particular!aspect!inevitably!lets!escape!a!huge!amount! of!other!aspects!that!cannot!be!apprehended!with!a!selective!gaze.!Images!produced!in!these! circumstances!are!therefore!playing!the!aestheticization!of!its!content:!the!numberless! biennials!only!rarely!propose!experiments!of!interest!out!of!the!cul0de0sac,!and!also!the!manic! neoliberalgprompted!research!impetus!are!two!good!examples!of!attempts!of!capturing!a! reality!that!in!turn!act!as!their!degfunctionalization.!How!did!we!get!here?! ! *! Participatory!practices!in!art!have!received!a!new!breath!in!the!late!third!of!the!twentiethg century.!They!appear!in!the!debouching!of!a!long!course!of!artistic!developments!bridging!the! 56! ! Second!World!War!failure!of!the!Modern!project!to!the!turn!of!the!century.!Looking!at! Conceptual!art!seems!a!good!starting!point,!as!these!artists’!critical!positioning!against! controlling!categories!has,!to!a!large!extent,!set!the!course!of!their!revolutionary!practices.! Their!contestation!of!institutional!powers,!individuality!and!artgasgcommodity!is!well!patented! in!their!taste!for!duchampiangclaiming!and!appropriation,!for!artgasglife!works,!and!for!their! collective!engagement!in!collaborative!projects!of!shared!authorship.! In!the!late!sixties,!these!conceptualists!looked!for!escapes!to!move!away!from!Minimalist!art,! whose!tonic!on!material!appeared!antagonist!to!those!who!looked!to!ideas!as!the!paramount! of!art.!According!to!this!view,!a!great!deal!of!Minimalism!can!be!perceived!as!an!extreme! sharpening!of!the!formal!purity!advocated!by!Greenberg!(1939)!and!his!artist!followers.!A! purity!that!ultimately!led!to!cultural!confinement,!a!close!down!not!fitting!the!social! convulsions!going!on,!but!to!which!object!status!has!become!the!ensign.!In!a!way,!it!mirrored!a! dark!side!of!autonomy,!which!deliberately!opted!for!isolation!instead!of!bounding!with!the! world.!The!‘death!of!painting’!summed!up!the!confinement,!and!in!face!of!it!Minimalism!has! purposely!opted!to!contain!the!excesses!of!Pop!art!into!boredom!–!or,!alternatively,!into!a! “sharpening!of!formal!purity”,!as!I!said!before.!! In!turn,!Conceptualists!were!keen!on!the!call!of!countergculture!that!would!relieve!them!from! the!framegandgplinth!dictatorship.!Shaped!by!the!political!times!surrounding!them!–!in!the! United!States!unfolded!the!opposition!to!Vietnam!war,!consequent!social!turmoil,!and!civil! rights!explosion!with!according!public!demonstrations!g,!which!constitutes!an!aspect!already! contrasting!with!the!previous!autonomy!quest,!these!artists!engaged!in!an!active!deg commodification!of!art!led!by!two!aligned!purposes!that!can!be!briefly!formulated!as:!i)!the! questioning!of!boundaries!that!formed!systems,!and!ii)!the!impugnment!of!established!art! rules,!namely!those!that!fed!consumerism!and!a!pregneoliberal!government.!Dematerialization! of!art!functioned!in!both!directions,!as!it!challenged!the!logics!operating!and,!by!falling!into!the! unknown,!came!up!with!things!that!allowed!experimenting!with!the!borders,!at!least!for!a! while.!! An!exhibition!curated!by!Lucy!Lippard!in!1969!and!held!at!Paula!Cooper!Gallery!attested!the! conceptual!dematerialization!with!works!of!some!of!the!movement!leaders!‘filling’!an!almost! empty!room:!“Haacke's!'Air!Currents'!(a!small!fan),!Barry's!invisible!'Magnetic!Field',!Weiner's! 'Minute!Pit!in!The!Wall!From!One!AirgRifle!Shot',!Wilson's!'Oral!Communication',!a!'secret'!by! Kaltenbach,!a!small!black!blip!painted!on!the!wall!by!Richard!Artschwager,!Huot's!'existing! shadows',!and!a!tiny!cable!wire!piece!by!Andre!on!the!floor”!(Lippard,!1997,!!p.!xx).!At!the! same!time,!this!exhibition!contained!the!flip!side!of!dematerialization!of!art!objects,!which!has! been!revealed!in!the!increasing!levels!of!production!of!documentation:!“The!smallest!room! 57! ! was,!by!contrast,!crammed!with!printed!matter!g!photo,!text,!xerox,!and!otherwise!shrunken! art"!!(Lippard,!1997,!!p.!xx).!Such!contraposition!was!foreshadowing!and!has!ultimately!given! rise!to!the!emergence!of!a!new!materialism!of!language!and!text,!postgconceptual,!which! populates!the!present!phenomenon!of!artistic!research26.!This!new!materialism,!as!a!return!of! materiality!after!dematerialization!in!art,!will!become!the!image!of!a!forming!inquiring! aesthetic!regime!apparently!stuck!with!an!experimentalism!largely!owing!to!the!following! conceptual!devices:!artgasglife,!postgstructural!language,!and!publishing!formats.!With!the! developments!of!artistic!research,!publishing!has!been!transformed!into!a!new!cul0de0sac!–! “stuck!with!experimentalism”,!but!still!an!impasse!–!responsible!for!productivitism27,!as!I!will! argue!later.!Previously!regarded!by!Conceptualists!in!general,!and!by!Seth!Siegelaub!in! particular,!as!a!promising!alternative!art!making,!the!sometimes!not!so!clear!distinction! between!publishing!as!artistic!practice,!and!publishing!as!documentation!of!artistic!practice,! has!seemingly!compromised!the!potential!of!such!practice.!Also!the!fact!that!dematerialized! art!relied!grossly!in!documentation!has!contributed!to!the!growth!of!the!mentioned!materiality! as!published!objects.!! It!is!not!without!irony!that!the!critique!finds!out!that!the!attempts!to!understand!and! experiment!with!the!Conceptual!artists’!struggle!against!commodification!of!art,!that!drove!the! narrative!of!dematerialization!of!art,!has!eventually!resulted!in!more!materialism,!and,! consequently,!in!a!new!commodity!for!the!presentgday!economic!system!of!the!knowledge! society.!The!challenge!that!the!situation!ascribes!to!artistic!research!is!how!to!publish!without! being!trapped!in!a!commodity!production!system!–!into!which!has!been!transformed!the! contemporary!university,!one!deduces!from!Bill!Readings’!University!in!Ruins!(1996).!Also!in! this!case,!iconoclast!aestheticization!has!been!inverted:!the!absence!of!image!has!been!broken! to!create!an!image/materiality!(about!the!previous!absence).!Answering!Agamben’s!inquiry,! contemporaneity!has!turned!the!profanation!of!an!image!in!a!new!image!whatsoever.! But!back!to!history!and!to!the!art!world.! Publishing!as!an!art!form!received!an!inspiring!whiff!with!the!pursuit!of!alternative!forms!to! the!established!art!circuit!of!Conceptual!artists.!To!this!respect,!Seth!Siegelaub!was!very!active.! He!saw!in!self!and!rapidly!published!artists’!books!a!new!instance!for!art,!instead!of!merely!a! channel!to!document!artistic!events!and!statements!–!as!it!was!the!case!of!sponsored! catalogues!of!the!artistic!circuit!embedded!exhibitions.!This!would!later!become!a!workable! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 26!I!am!opting!to!refer!to!artistic!research!as!a!phenomenon!because!it!expands!the!meaning!of!discipline!and,!at!the!same!time,!it! avoids!the!evangelic!tone!of!paradigm.! 27!I!found!this!notion!in!the!book!edited!for!the!project!A.C.A.D.E.M.Y.!in!2006,!published!by!Revolver.!I!will!go!back!to!it!later.! 58! ! territory!for!the!encounter!of!art!and!design,!and!also!the!object!of!attention!of!much!twentyg first!century!artistic!research28.!! Performance!and!happenings,!first!time!arising!as!artistic!media,!!followed!the!same!logic!of! detachment!from!the!saleable!materialism!into!which!has!culminated!Minimalism,!Pop!and! previous!sculpture!and!painting.!After!all,!being!these!ephemeral!actions!they!could!not!be! hung!on!a!wall!neither!posited!upon!a!plinth,!could!they?!Maybe!not,!although!it!did!not!take! too!long!until!museums!and!collectors!found!ways!to!acquire!these!objects!of!art!as!they!did! with!all!the!previous!others.!Such!ways!were!sensed!already!in!the!smaller!fulfilled!room!of! aforementioned!Lippard’s!exhibition!at!the!Paula!Cooper!Gallery,!in!1969.!The!occasion!of! performative!art!carried!with!it!the!Conceptual!emphasis!on!the!ephemeral,!of!art!as!process,! as!an!event!incorporating!everyday!practices!and!everyday!life!into!it,!as!it!was!visibly!patent!in! Vito!Acconci’s!works!of!the!time,!and!in!Gilbert!&!George’s!living!sculptures.!Besides!these! examples,!in!her!book!Six!years:!the!dematerialization!of!the!art!object!from!1966!to!1972! (1973),!Lucy!Lippard!points!out!1971!Christopher!Cook’s!“…!grandgscale!‘artgasglife’!work!by! assuming!the!directorship!of!the!Institute!of!Contemporary!Art!in!Boston!as!a!yearglong!piece”! (Lippard,!1997,!p.!xvi)!where!the!artist!insistently!tried!to!obliterate!boundaries!between!art! and!life29.!I!chose!to!highlight!Cook’s!endeavor,!sufficiently!odd!in!itself!for!its!time!–!even!for! Conceptual!institutional!critique!it!blurred!the!line!in!a!not!very!clear!way!–!because!it!is! certainly!a!very!inspiring!example!for!the!recent!and!current!artistic!practices!carried!out!by!e0 flux,!by!its!members,!and!also!showing!in!some!of!the!works!commissioned!for!biennials!in!the! last!years,!all!encompassed!by!the!notion!of!educational!turn30!coined!by!Mick!Wilson!and!Paul! O’Neill!in!a!conference!called!“You!Talkin'!to!me?!Why!Art!is!Turning!to!Education”!happened! in!London!in!2008!(which!served!the!publication!in!2010!of!Curating!and!the!educational!turn)! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 28!Graphic!diaries!and!artists’!books!are!widespread!topics!in!postgraduate!arts!education.!My!Master!thesis!reflected!on!notions! of!‘care!of!the!self’,!borrowed!from!Michel!Foucault,!and!the!usage!of!graphic!diaries,!which!I!preferred!to!call!visual!diaries,!by! pupils!at!school.!At!PhDArts!programme!in!The!Hague,!Delphine!Bedel’s!research!is!largely!placed!upon!the!issue!of!publishing!of! artists’!books,!especially!in!a!dematerialized!web!context.! 29!Cook’s!art!piece!ended!with!a!final!exhibition!“…!where!his!office!was!recreated;!videotaped!and!photographic!documentation! of!his!activities!over!the!past!year!were!displayed!along!with!various!papers,!notes!and,!artifacts.!People!attending!the!show! participated!in!the!yearlong!artistic!project!and!were!invited!to!continue!the!process!of!integrating!art!and!life!in!their!own! experience”!(McNiff,!2004,!p.!165).!! 30!A!notion!proposed!by!Paul!O'Neill!and!Mick!Wilson,!as!“a!new!discursive!object!that!encapsulates!the!increasing!presence!of!the! pedagogical!in!art!exhibitions!and!that!acknowledges!that!the!terminology!of!"school"!and!"academy"!has!become!increasingly! significant!in!discussions!of!contemporary!art”!(Tom!Holert,2010).!! The!term!educational!turn!is!about!developments!in!contemporary!art!and!theory!that!have!been!taking!place!since!the!end!of!the! twentieth!century,!and!that!introduced!in!artistic!practices!and!curatorship!notions!of!education!in!the!form!of!pedagogical! methods,!temporary!alternative!schools,!knowledge!production!and!its!sharing.!The!emphasis!of!the!educational!turn!is!therefore! put!in!situations!created!along!the!exhibitions!or!in!the!approach!to!aspects!of!the!exhibitions!that!can!embody!these!educational! notions.!Instead!of!focusing!on!the!artwork!and!artgmaking,!the!educational!turn!is!more!attained!to!the!production!and! problematization!of!discursivity.!Educational!turn!is!also!rooted!in!critical!pedagogy!theories!committed!with!the!development!of! antighegemonic!pedagogical!methods!aiming!at!counteracting!dominant!powers,!cultural!authority!and!bureaucratic!systems.!It!is! in!the!context!of!critical!pedagogy!and!their!exploration!in!the!art!field!through!the!framework!of!educational!turn!that!some! formal!innovations!occurred,!like!the!occupation!of!spaces!unrelated!and!outside!the!white!cube,!for!instance!the!public!space,! libraries!and!schools,!as!well!as!the!adoption!of!collective!acts!such!as!participatory!practices!and!collaborations!induced!by!the! promotion!of!selfgorganization!and!dialogues!between!audiences,!public!and!artists.! 59! ! (Madoff,!2006;!Nollert!et!al,!2006;!Wilson,!2007;!Rogoff,!2008;!Allen,!2011).!Such!tendency!has! been!the!backdrop!at!the!transformation!of!Manifesta!6!into!an!art!school,!or!the!theoretical! ground!that!originated!the!several!educational!events!accompanying!artistic!exhibitions!in!the! form!of!forums,!publications!or!alternative!art!schools.!We!have!the!chance!to!visit!in!2015q! the!first!Research!Pavilion!in!Venice!Biennale,!and!it!certainly!owes!as!much!to!the!educational! turn!as!it!is!informed!–!and!informs!–!the!phenomenon!of!artistic!research31.!In!any!event!the! two!share!interconnected!ideas,!although!they!also!have!a!fundamentally!principle!difference:! whereas!educational!turn!encloses!work!of!mostly!theoreticians,!artistic!research!has!been! since!recent!years!establishing!itself!in!the!artistic!field,!either!encouraging!artists!to!conduct! the!field,!and!focusing!attention!in!artistic!outcomes,!rather!than!in!theoretical!abstract! productions!and!the!application!of!critical!pedagogy!the!artistic!territories.!! Most!of!the!examples!of!art!works!given!until!now!and!the!posted!advances!are!embodying! Conceptual!artists’!attempt!at!counteract!artgasgcommodity,!by!impugning!and!confusing!the! rules!of!the!established!artistic!system!(ii).!For!the!institutional!boundaries!I!have!indicated!in!a! first!thread!(i),!it!is!largely!intimately!related!with!the!second!(ii)!and!building!up!on! institutional!critique,!and!particularly!in!acute!works!approaching!the!exhibition!space!by,!for! instance,!Hans!Haacke!(and!particularly!his!1993!Germania!for!the!45th!Venice!Biennale).!Dadag inspired!appropriation!was!a!shared!strategy!developed!in!Conceptual!art!that!equally!trended! the!institutional!and!nonginstitutional!space!division:!“N.!E.!Thing!Co!categorized!its!work!as! ACT!(Aesthetically!Claimed!Things)!or!ART!(Aesthetically!Rejected!Things);!Robert!Huot,! Marjorie!Strider,!and!Stephen!Kaltenbach!all!did!pieces!that!'selected'!artglike!objects!from!real! life!in!the!city"!(Lippard,!1997,!p.!ix).!This!appropriation!mechanics,!also!owing!to!Duchamp!as! an!inspiring!figure,!regarded!public!domain!as!the!scenario!of!a!relational!exchanging!game!of! information!and!systems,!ultimately!criticized!by!appropriations!in!a!political!sense,!since!they! were!conducted!purposely!oblivious!of!institutional!powers.!Also,!the!ways!some!of!those! appropriation!artworks!were!being!conducted!by!artists!promoted!collaborative!practices,! since!they!included!consented!utilizations!of!fellow!artists’!images!or!words!in!the!works!of! others.!It!was!part!of!a!strategy!against!individuality!and!in!line!with!the!collective!practices!of! the!sixties.! Conceptual!artists!were!well!connected!among!themselves.!They!were!a!closelygknit!group,! and!despite!their!differences!in!how!to!put!in!practice!their!ideas,!a!common!willingness!of! breaking!institutional!rules!and!systems!underwent!the!varied!approaches.!Adding!to!an! awareness!of!the!works!of!their!other!fellows,!to!which!usually!contributed,!they!were!also! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 31!I!wrote!about!this!Research!Pavilion!later!in!the!text.! 60! ! familiar!with!works!of!other!artists!in!different!parts!of!the!world.!In!her!book!Lucy!Lippard! tells!episodes!of!artists!she!came!across!that!lived!outside!of!New!York!and!whose!work!was! influential!on!a!personal!level,!but!also!to!the!movement!that!was!generally!going!on.!!! In!a!1969!Seth!Siegelaub!said!that:!“Communication!relates!to!art!three!ways:!(1)!Artists! knowing!what!other!artists!are!doing.!(2)!The!art!community!knowing!what!artists!are!doing.! (3)!The!world!knowing!what!artists!are!doing”!(as!quoted!in!Lippard,!1997,!p.!xvii).! Unobstructed!links!and!the!good!relations!among!these!artists!assured!that!numbers!one!and! two!were!accomplished,!as!collaborative!works!and!mutuallygagreed!appropriations!were!the! dish!of!the!day!in!late!60s!and!70s.!Siegelaub’s!third!subheading,!however,!was!a!total!different! story!–!one!that!finds!very!similar!parallel!in!today’s!art!produced!under!the!educational!turn! push.!One!of!the!most!devastating!critiques!–!and!perhaps!the!most!thoughtful!g!directed!at! the!work!developed!under!the!umbrella!concept!of!artistic!research!is!one!accounting!it!is! closed!in!on!itself!and!of!little!interest!to!practicing!artists!that!work!outside!the!academic! sphere32.!This,!in!fact,!is!perhaps!the!bigger!handicap!in!the!actual!effects!that!artistic!research! wishes!for!itself,!since!it!is!built!in!the!presupposition!of!having!an!impact!in!the!social! dimension!of!art!practice.!However,!as!I’ve!been!seeing!it,!the!tendency!is!changing.!Since!the! second!half!of!the!2000s!that!the!realization!that!the!artistic!field!was!not!being!the!privileged! focus!of!attention!of!the!discursivity!produced!by!artistic!research,!that!the!field!has!redefined! itself.!Artistic!research’s!command!was!delivered!to!artist!researchers,!and!not!alienated! theoreticians,!and!new!audacious!study!programmes!were!organized!that!gave!the! responsibility!of!the!developments!of!the!field!to!the!ones!actually!working!on!it:!these! students!and!the!staff!members,!eventually!foretokening!the!formation!of!a!community!of! artist!researchers.!In!similar!lines,!Conceptual!artists!experimented!a!good!sense!of!community! among!themselves,!but!their!communication!did!not!reach!the!public!sphere!in!ways!that! matched!their!intents.!Lippard!commented!it!accurately:!“Communication!(but!not! community)!and!distribution!(but!not!accessibility)!were!inherent!in!Conceptual!art.!Although! the!forms!pointed!toward!democratic!outreach,!the!content!did!not.!However!rebellious!the! escape!attempts,!most!of!the!work!remained!artgreferential,!and!neither!economic!nor! esthetic!ties!to!the!art!world!were!fully!severed!(though!at!times!we!liked!to!think!they!were! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 32!I!have!experienced!that!myself,!when,!as!a!researcher,!I!organized!a!seminar!dedicated!to!the!debate!of!artistic!research.!One!of! the!refusals,!after!an!invitation!I!directed!at!an!artist/teacher/researcher!for!lecturing,!was!a!commentary!that!what!I!was! proposing!to!organize!was!found!uninteresting!inboard!artistic!circles,!and!that!artistic!research,!as!a!field,!was!not!taken!seriously! in!the!circle,!except!for!the!damage!it!could!cause!to!an!art!school!–!again,!in!the!eyes!and!voice!of!the!refusing!invitee.!This! critique!was!multilayered,!and!accompanied!me!for!a!long!time,!informing!my!own!research.!It!obviously!separated!artistic! research!from!the!artistic!field,!in!a!biased!manner,!and!deductively!placed!me!outside!of!the!artistic!circle!–!here!aprioristically! presented!as!a!place!where!everybody!wants!to!be!in.!The!critique!summoned!diverse!aspects!that!made!me!realize!that!an! analysis!of!the!field!of!artistic!research!could!only!be!an!interesting!and!useful!contribution!if!aware!of!the!complex!network!it!is! inserted!in,!and!if!accepting!the!challenge!of!ascertaining!the!relation!with!the!art!world.!For!the!effects!that!the!experience!of! organizing!the!event!had!on!me,!I!will!cite!episodes!related!to!it!throughout!the!text.!! 67! ! from!Contemporary!Art’s!‘formerness’?”!(BAK!basis!voor!aktuel!kunst,!2012)40!Does!this!mean! that!the!textual!prolificacy!is!hooked!in!a!neoliberal!framing,!and!that!it!corresponds!to!a! “normalizing!practice”!of!contemporary!art?!Is!it!possible!that!what!was!thought!as!a!liberating! and!empowering!practice!–!isn’t!that!in!the!horizon!of!all!research?!–!is,!after!all,!a! consequence!of!political,!economic!and!social!seismic!activity,!and!part!of!neoliberal! normalization?!Has!the!new!materialism!been!aestheticized?!Is!artistic!research,!understood!in! the!context!of!the!experimentalism!of!artgasgevent,!episodic!iconoclasm?!!!! To!this!respect,!communication!may!not!be!mistaken!with!distribution.!Bookshops,!libraries,! seminars,!workshops,!exhibitions!and!press!releases!all!display!and!supply!the!new!materialism! resulting!from!the!educational!turn!that!anchors!the!artistgasgproducer.!The!access!is! democratic,!because!the!form!is!popular.!In!a!society!of!knowledge!with!an!economy!based!on! information!as!capital,!books,!journals,!and!conferences!gather!the!preference!of!users,!and! “[w]ithin!the!art!world!today,!the!discursive!formats!of!the!extended!librarygcumgseminarg cumgworkshopgcumgsymposiumgcumgexhibition!have!become!preeminent!modes!of!address! and!forms!of!knowledge!production"!(Holert,!2009,!n/p).!The!content,!in!turn,!remains!closed! down!for!the!wide!public,!opening!up!for!the!exclusive!community!of!the!art!world.!The!same! goes!for!artgasgevents!fulfilling!the!biennials!of!the!last!decade,!in!the!trail!of!relational! aesthetics!and!participatory!projects.!As!sensed!with!the!educational!turn,!is!this!prolix! discursivity!being!produced,!confusingly!as!an!experimental!art!form,!or!as!critical!pedagogy,!or! as!a!new!intellectualism!of!artists!concerned!with!the!publicgness!their!works,!or!as!an!adopted! selfgreflexivity!by!postgConceptual!artists,!risking!entailing!the!commodification!of!knowledge! and!aestheticizing!artistic!research?!Are!we!stuck!in!this!situation?! And!how!can!artist!researchers!produce!in!their!own!field!without!seeing!their!outcomes! automatically!seized!by!this!commodification!of!knowledge!and!bureaucratic!entrepreneurship! command!of!contemporary!university?!André!Alves!speaks!of!this!contemporary!attitude!as!an! “aesthetic!of!the!impasse:!a!present!lacking!potential!actuality.!That!is,!the!capacity!and! incapacity!to!use!the!disquiet,!to!profit!from!contingency,!to!imagine!possibilities!without! being!immediately!subdued!by!the!belief!that!they!will!not!effect!any!transformation”!(Alves,! 2014,&p.!5)!–!and,!in!the!worst!case,!that!they!will!actually!nourish!the!realities!that!such!acts! originally!want!to!resist!to.!And!how!to!transform!this!disquiet!of!the!impasse!of! experimentalism!into!something!potential.!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 40!Part!of!the!text!of!the!3rd!Former!West&Research!Congress!that!took!place!on!19!and!20!April!2012!at!the!Academy!of!Fine!Arts! Vienna!and!Secession,!Vienna.!Former!West&is!a!longgterm!international!research,!education,!publishing,!and!exhibition!project! (2008–2016),!which!from!within!the!field!of!contemporary!art!and!theory:!(1)!reflects!upon!the!changes!introduced!to!the!world! (and!thus!to!the!sogcalled!West)!by!the!political,!cultural,!artistic,!and!economic!events!of!1989;!(2)!engages!in!rethinking!the! global!histories!of!the!last!two!decades!in!dialogue!with!postgcommunist!and!postcolonial!thought;!and!(3)!speculates!about!a! “postgbloc”!future!that!recognizes!differences!yet!evolves!through!the!political!imperative!of!equality!and!the!notion!of!“one! world.”!! 68! ! In!conclusion,!the!unobstructed!channels!do!not!necessarily!ensure!that!communication!takes! place!when!the!fundamental!common!ground!necessary!to!set!the!connection!is!missing.!I!will! not!go!so!far!as!to!say!that!the!ubiquity!of!distribution!platforms!is!paradoxically!jamming! communication,!but!their!prosperity!is!an!aspect!to!account!in!terms!of!the!formation,!role,! and!appreciation!of!artistic!research!as!a!field.!! & Fetish&for&collaboration& Considering!that!artistic!practice!is!a!form!of!cultural!production!(a!notion!which,!in!itself,! contains!a!wide!span!of!activities!ranging!from!more!critical!to!more!passive!models),!it!seems! that!a!short!acknowledgement!of!the!frames!of!production!that!currently!operate!in!society! might!be!insightful!to!not!only!contextualize!what!emerged!as!contemporary!art!in!postg Conceptualism,!but!also!to!locate!in!its!womb!the!formation!of!something!eventually!called! artistic!research.!By!saying!this!I’ve!just!revealed!artistic!research!as!not!only!a!direct!branch!of! contemporary!art,!but!I!also!attributed!to!social!circumstances!of!production!its!appearance.! In!the!turn!of!the!twenty!to!the!twentygfirst!century!the!changes!occurred!in!society’s! production!of!culture!are!conceptualized!either!as!a!transition!from!an!industrial!society!to!a! postgindustrial!society,!or!from!a!disciplinary!society!to!a!society!of!control!(Mouffe,!2008).!The! first!focuses!on!how!industry!has!influenced!that!transition,!generally!pointing!cultural!industry! either!as!a!cause!or!as!a!result!in!the!reach!of!the!postgfordist!era,!while!the!second!is! informed!by!an!exercise!of!control!that!expanded!from!the!enclosed!spaces!of!school,! hospitals,!prisons!and!fabrics,!to!new!procedures!linked!to!networks,!accessibility!and! separation!between!belonging!and!not!belonging.!In!the!societies!of!control,!bodies!once! disciplined!in!a!centralized!system!of!production!have!switched!to!bodiless!entities!regulated! by!mechanisms!of!access!and!mobility,!and!glide!now!in!virtual!globalized!environments,! where!smoothness!and!ambiguity!replaced!the!noisy!and!the!hardness!of!metallic!machinery.! The!new!spaces!of!enclosure!for!the!dematerialized!bodies!are!“molds,!distinct!castings”!in! constant!modulation!and!reconstruction.!These!are!the!spaces!of!production!of!subjectivity,! which!in!their!entire!complexity!ought!to!be!regarded!in!the!both!senses!of!a!renovated!biog power!in!the!society!of!control:!as!an!effect!of!governmentality!(in!the!foucaultian!signification! of!the!term)!and,!at!the!same!time,!as!the!possibility!of!resistance!to!the!constraints!of!the! advanced!capitalist!society.!Antonio!Negri!and!Michael!Hardt,!for!instance,!stress!that!the!new! governmentality!in!the!postgindustrial!era!allows!for!more!autonomous!forms!of!subjectivity! (Hardt!&!Negri,!2004),!which,!in!the!context!of!communicability!and!connectedness,!“…!can! express!themselves!freely!and!contribute!to!the!formation!of!a!new!set!of!social!relations!that! will!finally!replace!the!capitalist!system”!(Mouffe,!2008,!p.!152).!Such!freedom!is,!nonetheless,! 69! ! what!makes!the!new!subjects!active!in!their!own!precarisation,!as!portrayed!in!Adam!Curtis! documentary!The!Trap!(2007)41.!Curtis!presents!a!society!modeled!through!data/information! and!directed!at!constant!bettering!of!performance!through!selfgexploitation!and!selfgvaluation.! The!production!of!subjectivities!is!therefore!the!critical!point!of!this!society!of!control,!both! where!its!effectiveness!is!most!felt,!but!also!where!a!chance!of!resistance!–!or!of!salvation,! would!argue!the!most!optimistic!–!is!deployed.!The!potential!of!the!subject!is,!perhaps,!one!of! the!most!fundamental!aspects!of!the!phenomenon!of!artistic!research,!and!where!it!finds!its! true!raison!d’être.!Besides!the!circumstances!of!a!political,!economic!and!social!interest!in!the! approximation!of!art!and!knowledge!production,!and!beyond!the!increasing!selfgconscience!of! artists!in!the!development!of!the!narrative!of!dematerialization!of!the!object!of!art,!artistic! research!finds!in!the!processes!of!subjectivity!its!real!motivation!and!focus!of!activity.!And! carries!with!it!the!tensions!that!largely!characterize!it,!between!being!or!resisting!being;!doing,! or!stay!in!the!impasse;!producing!or!feed!productivitism;!the!tensional!dualities!are!the!organs! composing!the!body!of!artistic!research.!!! For!this!reason,!the!ways!individuals!become!subjects,!either!led!by!resistance!intents!or!with! imposed!regimes!of!truth!in!which!they!selfgrecognize!and!are!recognized!by!others,!is!of! crucial!importance!to!understand!art!in!the!context!of!immanent!capitalism!and!the!sequent! developments!that!made!possible!the!appearance!of!a!field!named!artistic!research.!Certain! axioms!of!the!socialgpolitical!field!have!been!followed!like!artistic!ethos,!and!therefore!require! an!attentive!critical!view.!The!terms!collaboration,!network!and!interdisciplinarity,!have! penetrated!in!the!artistic!field!as!well!as!in!the!literature!of!artistic!research,!seemingly!due!to! the!porosity!of!these!in!relation!to!social!and!political!activities.!Participatory!practices!that!this! text!previously!referred!to!are!also!a!sign!of!this!porosity!and!provide!one!similar!axis!that!has! invaded!specific!areas!of!contemporary!art!since,!especially,!the!90s.! Florian!Schneider!says!that!“Facing!the!challenges!of!digital!technologies,!global! communications,!and!networking!environments,!as!well!as!the!inherent!ignorance!of! traditional!systems!towards!these,!‘working!together’!has!emerged!as!an!unsystematic!mode! of!collective!learning!processes.!Slowly!and!almost!unnoticeably,!a!new!word!came!into!vogue.! At!first!sight!it!might!seem!the!least!significant!common!denominator!for!describing!new! modes!of!working!together,!yet!‘!collaboration’!has!become!one!of!the!leading!terms!of!an! emergent!contemporary!political!sensibility”!(Schneider,!2006,!p.!249).!The!capital!in!a!society! of!control!is!of!immanent!nature!and,!according!to!Paolo!Virno,!in!advanced!capitalism!“…!the! labor!process!has!become!performative!and!it!mobilizes!the!most!universal!requisites!of!the! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 41!More!info!at:!http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0979263/synopsis?ref_=ttt_ov_pl.!Last!access!on!22.06.2015.! 70! ! species:!perception,!language,!memory!and!feelings.!Contemporary!production!is!‘virtuosic’! and!productive!labor!in!its!totality!appropriates!the!special!characteristics!of!the!performing! artist”!(Virno!as!quoted!in!Mouffe,!2008,!p.152).!What!results!is!that!the!mentioned!labour! requisites!overlap!with!life!attributes,!and!all!are!apprehended!with!artistic!practice,!through! process,!collaboration,!networking,!affectivity!and,!especially,!the!production!of!subjectivities:! “In!late!industrial!capitalism,!the!notion!of!teamwork!represented!the!subjugation!of!workers’! subjectivity!to!an!omnipresent!and!individualized!control!regime.!The!concept!of!group! replaced!the!classical!one!of!‘foremanship’!as!the!disciplining!force.!Rather!than!through! repression,!cost!efficiency!was!increased!by!means!of!peergpressure!and!the!collective! identification!of!relatively!small!groups!of!multigskilled!cogworkers”!(Schneider,!2006,!p.!250).! Tero!Nauha42,!currently!exploring!the!relations!of!his!artistic!practice!with!the!context!of! “immanent!capitalism”,!has!appositely!summed!up!this!present!era!as!one!where!we!are! confronted!with!the!fact!that!“…!the!division!between!work!and!leisure!has!become!obsolete,! and!that!the!value!of!production!is!mostly!created!by!the!general!human!abilities!such!as! sociability!or!affective!capacity,!instead!of!with!arms,!legs!and!rational!minds”43.!Most!artistic! practice,!since!Conceptual!art,!has!welcomed!participatory!and!collaborative!projects,!minded! in!the!immanent!capital!framework!and!reinforced!by!sociologic,!and!sometimes!even!medical! informed!theories!spawning!the!benefits!of!the!relational!skills!in!current!times!of!purportedly! fragmentation!and!individualism.!This!is!sort!of!related!to!the!previous!consideration!of!the! generalized!social!pressure!over!individuals!to!be!together!and!to!find!their!humanity!in! sociability.!!Even!without!evidence,!it!is!commonly!imputed!to!the!industrialist!Andrew! Carnegie!(1835g1919),!one!of!the!wealthiest!nineteenth!century!U.S.!businessmen,!the!quote! “Teamwork!is!the!ability!to!work!together!toward!a!common!vision.!The!ability!to!direct! individual!accomplishment!toward!organizational!objectives.!It!is!the!fuel!that!allows!common! people!to!attain!uncommon!results”.!The!fragment!is!widely!spread!in!entrepreneurship! training!events!and!management!of!human!resources!centres,!precisely!because!the!optimism! attained!to!collaborative!work!is!also!resulting!from!management!theory!that!makes!people! think!that!“…in!a!teamwork!environment,!people!are!supposed!to!understand!and!believe!that! thinking,!planning,!decisions!and!actions!are!better!when!done!in!cooperation”!(Schneider,! 2006,!p.!249).!One!can!thus!speak!of!a!collaborative!ethos!inscribed!in!these!subjects,!and!so! widely!accepted!often!without!questioning!its!roots!by!artists!who!uncritically!mobilize!such! capitalist!axioms.!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 42!Teroa!Nauha!is!a!performance!artist!and!student!of!the!doctoral!programme!of!Theatre!Academy!Helsinki!–!TeaK,!and!also!part! of!the!TAhTO!programme,!also!based!in!Helsinki.! 43!Extract!from!Tero!Nauha!“Synopsis!for!the!dissertation”,!written!on!January!3,!2015.!Given!this!is!still!being!worked!on,!I!will!not! include!it!in!the!bibliography.! 71! ! It!is!now!time!for!a!state!of!the!play.!The!presented!scenario!is!brought!by!sociogpolitical! changes!occurred!in!the!sixties!and!seventies,!against!authority!figures,!as!was!happening!the! shift!from!a!disciplined!industrialized!society!to!a!postgfordist!society!of!control.!The!‘working! together’!was!envisaged!as!a!way!to!break!authoritarian!figures,!in!political!life,!art!and!in! education!–!the!model!of!mastergpupil,!and!the!figure!of!the!foremanship,!as!instances.! From!that!time!until!now,!and!intimately!related!to!the!ethos!of!‘working!together’,!persists! the!idea!that!consensus!is!a!democratic!goal.!Therefore,!every!procedure!that!follows!the! similar!principles!of!synchronism,!harmony!and!stabilization,!is!welcomed!as!a!good! unquestionable!thing,!and!its!proponents!are!automatically!regarded!as!goodgdoers.!It!is!not!a! surprise!that!in!times!of!crisis!participatory!projects!–!which!eventually!lead!to!collaborative! processes!–!are!particularly!successful!at!hushing!social!and!political!agitation!due!to!their! egalitarian!propensity.!! However,!a!more!ingdepth!view!reveals!that!at!stake!in!most!of!the!participatory!and! collaborative!practices!is!the!dilution!of!critical!possibilities!that!find!obstruction!under! populist!arguments!such!as!‘inclusion’,!‘negotiation’,!‘everyone’s!voice!having!an!equal!weight’! and!that!‘majority!equals!smartness’!(Miessen,!2010,!pp.!13g14).!In!these!terms,!the!chance!of! diverging!thought,!and!the!possibilities!that!it!succeeds!within!a!group,!are!decreased,!since! ‘criticality’!is!replaced!with!‘majority!of!opinions’.!This!is!how!participatory!and!collaborative! endeavours!can!easily!be!transformed!in!dead!ends,!whose!only!aim!is!to!keep!the!involved! people!occupied!with!the!illusion!of!the!aforementioned!demagogic!terms.!Florian!Schneider! speaks!of!a!“hypocrisy!of!the!supposed!antigauthoritarianism!that!essentially!underlies!many! notions!of!cooperation”,!where!“…!a!presumption!of!equality!actually!extends!both! discrimination!and!exploitation!while!seemingly!providing!continuous!evidence!in!support!of! such!an!illusion,!as!if!there!were!no!radically!different!modes!of!working!together”!(2006,!pp.! 250g251).!! In!the!art!world,!this!establishment!of!collaboration!is!also!evident!and!in!many!cases!has!even! become!the!goal!of!the!proposals,!instead!of!a!procedural!circumstance.!Ubiquitous!in!practice! and!discursivity,!the!axiomatic!idea!of!collaboration!has!contributed!definitely!to!shape!a! certain!way!to!be!an!artist!in!the!turn!of!the!century.!The!opening!words!of!the!seminar!at!Ice! Breaking!Fantasies!Festival!in!Helsinki,!organized!by!TAhTO!in!September!2014,!took!the!form! of!a!short!conversation!between!Esa!Kirkkopelto!and!Leena!Rouhiainen44!about,!exactly:! collaboration.!They!interviewed!each!other,!and!Leena!Rouhiainen!came!up!with!two!ideas!on! collaboration:!first!our!collaboration!with!others,!but!also!the!collaboration!with!oneself.!Being! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 44!The!two!teach!at!Theatre!Academy,!University!of!the!Arts,!Helsinki.!Board!members!of!TAhTO,!and!Leena!Rouhiainen!has! become!recently!a!member!of!the!board!of!the!European!SAR!–!Society!for!Artistic!Research.! 72! ! a!choreographer!and!dance!artist,!she!basically!was!referring!to!collaboration!with!her!body,! and!her!organs,!and!to!such!physicality!needed!for!movement!and!performances.!Despite!such! a!view!could!harbor!in!a!dichotomist!view!of!body!and!originate!a!wholly!new!reflection!on!my! part,!I’ll!just!say!that!the!episode!is!plain!in!showing!how!the!theme!of!collaboration!manifests! itself!with!such!ease!and!plainness,!to!the!extreme!of!the!subject!collaborate!with!herself.!! Among!the!reasons!for!such!emphasis!in!collaborative!practices!within!these!realms!is!the! construction!of!an!interesting!image!to!the!outside,!in!accordance!to!the!sociogpolitical!framing! of!the!consensus.!Also!the!adequacy!to!the!terminology!of!grants!and!funding!applications! encourages!multidisciplinary!and!networked!projects.!The!public!funding!entities!have!latest! been!privileging!networked!collaborations,!sometimes!at!international!level,!encouraging!the! connection!and!relationship!among!a!few!countries!as!a!requisite!for!some!kinds!of!funds!(The! Network!29:!Arts!Education!of!the!European!Educational!Research!Association!–!EERA,!is! project!proposed!for!funding!by!our!Research!Group!in!Arts!Education!in!the!Research!Institute! in!Art,!Design!and!Society,!and!gathers!a!plurality!of!nationalities!among!Convenors,!as!well!as! their!associated!universities:!Portugal,!United!Kingdom,!Spain!and!Czech!Republic.!The! programme!of!the!TAhTO!group,!whose!implementation!was!due!in!part!to!the!dedication!of! Esa!Kirkkopelto,!required!the!joint!organization!of!several!institutions!in!order!to!get!the!fund! by!Academy!of!Finland).!! Be!it!to!adequate!to!sociogpolitical!rhetoric!or!to!earn!funding,!there!is!a!desire!to!correspond! to!pseudogdemocratic!requirements.!Since!collaboration!is!envisaged,!legitimacy!and!interest! are!found!out.! In!what!concerns!funding!supplies,!projects!carried!forward!by!a!set!of!few!entities,!institutions! and!research!groups!are!better!regarded!than!attempts!of!singulars.!The!higher!is!the!number! of!involved!entities,!the!better!for!the!supplying!entity,!who!will!likely!spend!less!money!and! efforts!than!in!the!case!of!several!separate!projects.!This!should!also!not!dismiss!an! enlightened!interpretation!through!the!lens!of!capitalism.! The!fetish!with!collaboration!has!also!entered!the!educational!and!institutional!fields,!to!levels! in!which!sometimes!is!hard!to!uncover!what!is!really!mobilizing!all!the!initiatives,!especially!in! the!cases!where!means!is!confused!with!aims.!An!excerpt!of!a!succinct!overview!of!Henk!Slager! on!the!Dutch!panorama!in!higher!arts!education!gives!evidence!of!the!interconnectivity!of! many!institutional!initiatives.!He!says:!“In!other!Dutch!graduate!programs,!however,!one!sees! cooperations!with!the!humanities!departments!in!local!universities.!Take,!for!example,!the!MA! program!in!Visual!Art!of!the!Frank!Mohr!Institutes,!in!Groningen…!Similar!experiments!occur!at! the!Amsterdam!Sandberg!Institute!–!the!MA!at!the!Rietveld!Academy!–!in!collaboration!with! the!University!of!Amsterdam.!Also!the!Amsterdam!Rijksacademie!–!just!like!the!Jan!van!Eyck! 73! ! Academy!in!Maastricht,!a!postggraduate!program!–!focuses!on!a!collaboration!with!the! University!of!Amsterdam,!albeit!from!a!different!perspective”!(Slager,!2004,!p.!35).!Indeed,!in!a! strategic!perspective,!Royal!Academy!of!Art!in!The!Hague!has!set!up!a!collaboration!with! University!of!Leiden!in!order!to!position!artistic!research!in!a!Humanities!background!and! therefore!be!allowed!to!root!a!doctoral!course!in!art,!the!PhDArts!programme.!Henk!Slager! goes!on:!“The!Rijksacademie!curriculum!emphasizes!an!individual!research!program!by!the! students.!Such!research!concentrates!on!artistic!knowledge!production,!whereby!relevant! academic!disciplines!are!meant!to!help!one!arrive!at!a!dialogue,!a!confrontation,!or!a! collaboration.!….!The!awareness!of!heterogeneity!requires!that!artistic!research!explicitly! appeals!to!a!tolerant,!open!attitude!and!multiple,!interpretative!models.!Deploying! phenomena!such!as!crossgovers!and!foundgfootage,!the!perspective!of!the!multiplicity!and!a! polygaesthetic!attitude!should!always!function!as!a!regulating!guideline”!(Slager,!2004,!pp.!35g 37).!In!a!sense!it!is!present!the!risk!of!lacking!a!predicate!for!collaboration!and!networking:!the! moment!in!which!they!become!regulatory!attitudes!and!thus!turned!into!ethos.!One!has! always!to!ask:!where!is!the!predicate!of!this!collaboration?!Why!was!collaboration!needed?! Whose!interests!did!it!serve?!The!same!goes!for!interactivity!and!networked!environment.!The! relational!aesthetics!showcase!of!the!biennial!of!Lyon!‘95,!cogcurated!by!Nicholas!Bourriaud,! should!not!be!forgotten.!In!“L’experience!de!la!durée”,!the!subtitle!of!the!exhibition,!art,! culture,!fashion!and!spectacle!were!handginghand!to!present!a!set!of!immersive!works! appealing!to!the!most!populist!audience!–!and!leaving!apart!critical!discourse.!! In!the!2004!Artistic!Research!milestone!book,!Annette!W.!Balkema!speaks!about!collaboration! and!think!tanks!in!the!visual!arts!for!the!purpose!of!“liquid!knowledge”.!She!mentions!artists’! interest!in!urbanism!in!the!second!half!of!the!1990s!as!a!new!form!of!collaboration,!to!which! followed!visual!interest!in!music!festivals,!interactivity!and!all!sorts!of!media!artgtype!work.! Balkema!declares!that!“I!do!believe,!though,!that!the!field!of!visual!art!and!other!fields!I! mentioned!could!be!mutually!inspiring!while!working!in!new!forms!of!collaboration!and!new! forms!of!think!tanks.!Such!collaborations!could!be!the!basis!for!experimental!artistic!research! projects!and!produce!liquid!forms!of!artistic!knowledge”!(Balkema,!2004,!pp.!15g16).!Without! prejudice!for!the!expansion!of!possibilities!brought!by!collaborations!and!cooperation,!my! argument!is!that!these!should!be!envisaged!not!as!ends!in!themselves,!but!as!procedural! strategies!that!contribute!to!a!more!satisfying!outcome!of!the!process.!Balkema’s! experimentalism,!in!the!context!of!the!beginning!of!the!twentygfirst!century!has!to!make!clear! which!position!wants!to!occupy!in!the!field,!if!that!of!collaboration!or!of!cooperation,!in!the! terms!Florian!Schneider!describes:!“Collaboration!entails!rhizomatic!structures!where! knowledge!grows!exuberantly!and!proliferates!in!unforeseeable!ways.!In!contrast!to! 74! ! cooperation,!which!always!implies!an!organic!model!and!a!transcendent!function,! collaboration!is!a!strictly!immanent!and!wild!praxis.”!(2006,!p.!253).!In!this!sense!of! immateriality,!what!matters!in!these!collaborative!projects!is!not!the!seizing!of!ideas,!the! achievement!and!fixing!of!products!constructed!at!several!hands,!but!much!more!the! connections!established,!the!networks!entered!and!the!access!gained!instantly!to!otherwise! blocked!stances.!Collaboration!as!taken!in!this!text!is!related!more!to!the!contact!between! individuals,!channels!of!communication!among!them,!than!necessarily!the!being!physically! together!and!making!things!in!presence!of!other!collaborators.!It!might!be!a!very!bodiless! collaboration.!Also,!it!matters!to!remark!the!difference,!collaboration!reunites!individuals!with! singularities,!that!is!to!say,!it!happens!between!individuals!whose!differences!are!the!reason! for!they!being!in!contact;!whereas!cooperation!reunites!a!number!of!individuals!in!order!to! reach!a!common!goal,!disregarding!their!singularities.!Mobility,!so!important!in!the! approximation!of!the!different!selves!in!contact,!has!also!its!dark!side!for!its!‘evergingmotion’! image!is!responsible!for!the!selfgprecarisation!deployed!in!the!instability!generated.!Everything! is!temporary!and!fluid,!including!occupations,!subjectivities!and!skills;!therefore!everything!is! insecure!and!precarious,!“in!constant!modulation!and!reconstruction”!in!order!to!remain! interesting!and!necessary.!! The!words!of!Florian!Schneider!distinguishing!cooperation!as!an!organic!model!operating!with! institutions!from!the!more!fluid!regime!of!collaboration,!find!reinforcement!in!the!confessional! tone!of!Charles!Harrison,!as!he!reports!his!disillusion!with!the!present!state!of!affairs!in!art! academies!and!how!these!are!relating!education!and!research.!To!Harrison’s!view,!the!extreme! competition!for!funding!is!mining!the!work!inside!departments!and!in!university!in!general,! pushing!true!productive!collaborations!out!of!the!institutions!where!they!are!not!affected!by! competitive!edge!among!peers:!“Institutions!are!bidding!competitively!with!each!other!for! money!and,!consequently,!are!also!bidding!competitively!with!each!other!to!attract!staff.!..! And!then!let!us!say!that!you!have!been!successful!in!the!competition!and!that!your! department!has!been!well!funded.!As!the!monies!flow!in,!you!and!your!colleagues,!in!turn,! have!to!bid!in!competition!with!each!other.!This!is!the!world!in!which!we!now!live!in.!Under! this!regime,!on!what!grounds!are!we!going!to!represent!the!value!of!the!projects!in!which!we! are!involved?!If!I!have!a!dream…!of!research!as!something!that!is!cogoperative!and! collaborative,!then!it!seems!to!me!that!I!can!now!only!keep!that!dream!alive!outside!those! institutions!which!offer!me!employment”!(Harrison,!2009,!!pp.!143g144).!!! Back!to!Artistic!research!published!in!2004,!Henk!Slager!points!out:!“The!first!predominant! question!is!directed!towards!the!locality!and!function!of!artistic!practice!in!our!current!and! postindustrial!economic!world.!Isn’t!it!true!that!the!currently!dominant!culture!of!nongmaterial! 75! ! production!requires!new!types!of!artists,!described!by!Neri!and!Hardt!(Empire)!as!people! flexible!enough!to!organize!their!artistic!activities!adghoc?!Such!artists!produce!work!that!can! no!longer!be!characterized!and!defined!by!mere!mediumgspecific!reflection.!Based!upon!a! critical!and!investigative!attitude,!they!also!search!for!novel!media!combinations!and!variable! collaborations!with!different!fields!of!knowledge”!(Slager,!2004,!p.!34).!The!doubt!that!arises!–! and!the!reason!for!never!losing!awareness!in!face!of!axioms!–!is!whether!the!novel!human! abilities!that!value!production!are!necessary!to!live!in!the!postindustrial!contemporaneity,!or!if! it!is!not!the!case!that!these!competencies!are!fabricated!desires!for!a!society!where!no!longer! exists!compatibility!in!the!supply!of!training!and!the!market!demands;!where!there!are!no! more!vacancies!in!the!labor!market!and!so!a!new!ideal!of!worker!has!to!be!constructed!and! sold.!The!desire!is!then!inscribed!in!all!of!us!through!regulative!outlines!present!in!professional! objectives!and!social!achievement!such!as!tolerance,!heterogeneity,!multiculturalism!and! difference!–!and!“multiplicity”!and!“polygaesthetic!attitude”!(Slager,!2004,!p.!37).!After!all,!who! can!possibly!be!against!these!democratic!and!sympathetic!terms?!In!order!to!devalue!and! bridge!the!capitalist!failure!at!the!humanitarian!level,!these!abilities!of!collaboration,! sociability!and!affectivity!are!distributed!as!axioms!and!inscribed!in!the!subjects!as!ethos,! rendering!processes!of!subjectivation!which!spread!in!transgterritorial!rhythms!as!if!a!natural! necessity!of!the!human!being!was!at!stake.!I!do!not!mean!that!collaboration!is!detrimental!for! itself;!I!mean!that!it!is!not!beneficial!and!productive!per!se!in!creative!terms!–!whilst!it!surely!is! so!in!political!terms.! Hans!Ulrich!Obrist!interestingly!says!that!it’s!about!time!to!break!the!consensus!machine,!and! Markus!Miessen,!who’s!been!publishing!about!participation!since!2006,!assures!his!criticality! towards!participation!and!collaboration!is!not!against!an!idea!of!democracy,!but!rather!“…!a! sheer!interest!in!critical!and!productive!change”!(2010,!p.!14).!In!view!of!this,!collaboration! may!be!regarded!as!an!alignment!with!the!willingness!of!the!ruling!system.!At!the!respect!of! the!potential!for!criticality,!also!Bonnie!Honig!(1993),!or!Chantal!Mouffe!(2000),!had!long!pled! for!an!agonist!democracy,!exactly!highlighting!the!importance!of!spaces!of!conflict!for!the! avoidance!of!crystallization!of!the!ruling!powers!due!to!lack!of!public!resistance.!!! The!proposal!of!a!‘conflict!consensus’,!that!is!the!creation!of!spaces!of!conflict!on!purpose,! instead!of!leaning!to!an!incipient!consensus,!could!be!regarded!as!a!way!to!deal!with!such! excess!brought!by!the!installment!of!participatorygcollaborativegnetworked!ethos.!It!would! require!not!a!struggle!against!authoritarian!figures,!by!simply!claiming!for!their!breaking!up,! but,!instead,!would!mean!a!resistance!founded!in!the!recognition!of!those!figures!as! counterweights!for!a!more!informed!and!critical!approach!to!the!world.!Artistic!research!is! appointed!by!some!as!the!territory!in!which!art!has!at!disposal!elements!and!tools!to!explore! 76! ! such!powergknowledge!relations,!since!one!foot!is!within!an!institution!devoted!to! cooperation,!and!the!other!foot!stands!in!the!territory!of!art!world!where!the!practice!has! been!lately!shaped!by!collaborative!impetus.!However,!such!emancipatory!role!cannot!be! taken!uncritically,!once!again,!since!it!is!possible!that!the!more!one!tries!to!explain!and! mediate!knowledge,!the!more!the!distance!and!inequality!is!affirmed!between!a!territory! where!knowledge!stands!–!the!academy,!and!the!grounds!where!stand!those!who’re!willing!to! learn!–!the!artists.!! If!not!within!a!conflict!consensus,!collaboration!cannot!be!taken!as!a!waygtogproceed!in!artistic! research.!Whereas!placed!in!the!academy,!artistic!research!has!forcibly!to!deal!with!the!valuing! of!authorship,!which!is!something!collaboration!goes!exactly!the!opposite!way.!By!cherishing! singularity,!in!the!sense!that!it!is!the!capital!potential!of!each!individual!that!makes!the! collaboration!more!or!less!interesting,!collaborative!projects!do!not!necessarily!value! authorship,!which!in!turn!is!about!having!a!fixed!reference!for!access!and!evaluation.! Collaboration!is!about!temporary!access!and!fluidity,!while!artistic!research!has!still!to!find! ways!of!combining!the!dilution!of!the!authorship!as!a!controlling!reference!for!assessment! with!the!desire!for!fluidity!and!appropriable!culture!–!if,!that!is,!these!two!are!incompatible!in! any!sense.!In!these!terms,!artistic!research!and!the!art!world!may!run!separate!directions.!! ! MicroSpolitics&in&art&as&complex&narratives& There!is,!however,!little!room!to!stay!outside,!marginal,!or!even!none.!It!is!quite!a!task!not!to! follow!the!rules!that!smoothly!are!imposed,!and!not!to!play!along!the!selfgprecariousness,!and! to!be!the!subject!the!system!has!prepared!us!to!be,!and!so!to!be!instrumentalized.!In!his! research!synopsis,!Tero!Nauha!wrote!that!“…!instead!of!aiming!for!the!‘next!big!thing’,!which!is! evidently!a!function!in!the!artistic!and!academic!practice,!I!would!rather!aim!for!small!ideas,! small!thinking!or!thinking!minor!–!as!a!kind!of!heretic!and!acknowledge!the!aspect!of! virtualization!of!the!immanence!in!artistic!practice,!instead!of!to!search!for!an!ontology!of!such! a!practice”45.!With!his!assertion,!Nauha!stresses!an!important!aspect!of!the!advanced!capitalist! society,!which!I!will!sort!as!a!kind!of!stagnation,!ironically!deriving!from!postgCold!War! globalization.!This!“stagnation”!is!the!end!of!the!narrative!of!shifts!that!characterized! Modernism!in!the!arts!as!its!driving!force,!but!which!the!circumstances!of!globalization!have! returned!obsolete.!In!the!stagnation!environment,!one!would!not!anymore!aim!for!“the!next! big!thing”,!no!longer!animated!by!the!will!of!changing!to!the!next!hosting!artistic!narrative,!but! instead!such!stagnation!serves!as!the!ground!of!experimentalism!–!it!does!not!mean!a! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 45!Extract!from!Tero!Nauha!“Synopsis!for!the!dissertation”,!written!on!January!3,!2015.!Given!this!is!still!being!worked!on,!I!will!not! include!it!in!the!bibliography.! 83! ! this!the!other!way!round!is!perhaps!more!accurate:!the!flux!of!money!that!travelled!from!the! private!owners!and!invaded!the!public!sphere!has!settled!the!market!as!the!ruling!force,! removing!from!the!State!the!possibility!of!decisiongmaking.!Bologna!Agreement!has!made!this! quite!clear!in!the!performed!regorganization!of!universities!in!Europe.!If!collaboration,! togetherness,!participation!and!communitarianism!are!instrumentalized!concepts!of!the! current!postgfordist!economy,!it!is!partly!due!to!the!progressive!disappearance!of!the!public! sphere!in!terms!of!decisiongmaking.!! Prior!to!the!fall!of!the!Berlin!Wall,!private!capital!investment!in!the!public!sector!was!majorly! applied!in!the!acquisition!of!symbolic!distinction,!that!is!in!the!purchase!of!art!or!funding!of!art! institutions!and!initiatives.!Capital!was!applied!to!what!the!public!sector!offered!artisticgwise,! submitting!to!its!set!of!rules!in!a!quite!balanced!relationship.!With!the!new!demands!of! globalization!and!neoliberalism!in!the!nineties,!things!started!to!change,!“…and!the!public! system!started!mimicking!the!private!system.!Phenomena!such!as!the!biennale!being!used!as!a! ‘city!marketing’!tool,!the!museum!as!a!way!to!attract!business,!cultural!organizations!that! needed!to!comply!with!new!businessglike!efficiency!standards,!creative!industries!and!the! creative!city!inaugurated!profound!changes!to!the!professional!culture!that!runs!the!art!world”! (Steven!ten!Thije,!2013,!n/p).!This!of!course!leads!to!profound!transformations!on!the!role!of! institutions,!led!by!this!profit!making!tendency:!museums!today!are!entities!that!largely! overpass!the!function!of!collecting!and!conserving!works!of!art,!assessed!like!the!real!business! enterprises!into!which!they!have!been!transformed.!The!same!goes!with!universities,!which! offer!initiatives!that!far!exceed!what!was!beforehand!expected!from!a!higher!education! institution,!and!also!public!libraries!have!diversified!and!hybridized!their!activities!becoming! event!hosting!institutions.!Even!cities!have!been!branded53.! So,!before!1989!a!public!sphere!existed!more!or!less!independently!of!the!market;!after!Berlin! Wall!collapsed,!public!sphere!almost!disappeared!for!the!ascension!of!market!as!the!governing! force.!Since!then!everything!is!ruled!by!capitalist!interest,!which!ultimately!means!that!there!is! no!possibility!of!a!true!exteriority.!Marginality!has!lost!its!possibility!of!existence,!since!no! division!between!private!and!public!can!be!retrieved!and,!therefore,!no!possibility!of! autonomy!seems!to!exist.!The!discourses!aiming!for!marginality!and!exteriority!have!to!be! revised,!and!it’s!in!this!way!that!antigauthoritarianism!is!also!very!often!putting!at!play!in! rather!populist!terms!and!without!accounting!its!essential!impossibility.!The!argument!of!antig authoritarianism!seems!weak!and!so!do!the!breaking!of!figures!of!power!in!the!name!of!an! idealized!freedom.!Furthermore,!this!is!why!it!is!no!longer!possible!to!aim!for!a!true!autonomy! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 53!See!the!Behance!content!about!the!recently!awarded!brand!Porto.!for!the!city!of!Porto,!by!White!Studio!(2014).! 84! ! in!the!artistic!field.!The!hegemony!of!private!sector!allows,!in!the!best!cases,!for!a!temporary! autonomy,!for!periodical!breakings,!for!local!emancipations;!it!allows!for!a!resistance!that! cannot!be!instrumentalized!in!the!name!of!a!never!achievable!freedom!or!permanent! emancipation.!The!collaborative!ethos’!raison!d’être!has!to!be!found!in!agonism,!since! consensus!has!also!been!privatized.!The!present!circumstances!no!longer!allow!for!such!things! as!absolute!independency,!and!thus!the!opposition!to!crystallization,!or!to!unproductive! stagnation,!is!the!constant!redefinition!of!subjectivities!in!order!to!hinder!the!seizing!of! individuals!by!such!regulatory!system.!The!permanent!redefinition!–!or!the!redefinition!as!a! state!–!has!the!flip!side!of!selfgprecarisation.!And!so!productivity!has!the!flip!side!of! productivitism.! In!face!of!these!tensions!and!dualities,!a!new!intellectual!propensity!has!been!designed!for!the! role!of!the!artist.!Artists!have!realized!that!it!was!important!to!explore!what!was!there!for!art! after!the!replacement!of!autonomy!with!the!porosity!acquired.!This!new!intellectual!is!not!only! the!result!of!such!porosity,!but!he!or!she!is!a!purposed!subjectivity!largely!interested!in!the! study!of!these!new!conditions.!Indeed,!aware!of!the!crucial!importance!of!subjectivities!in!the! present!context,!the!new!intellectual!is!concerned!with!selfgreflexivity!and!selfgawareness.!! However,!here’s!the!flip!side!lurking.!The!artistgasgthegnewgintellectual54!has!been!manifest! majorly!in!the!publishing!industry!and!events!dedicated!to!knowledge!production,!such!as! seminars,!symposia!and!lectures!(in!the!advent!of!new!materialism).!The!emergence!of!this! new!figure!and!the!channels!that!were!open!as!a!consequence,!have!also!given!space!to!the! outbreak!of!mediocre!reflexivity,!deployed!in!numberless!publications!where!topics!are! approached!in!a!very!superficial!and!pointless!way.!It’s!the!case!where!the!production! overpasses!by!far!the!consumption,!and!so!the!quality!criteria!are!almost!inexistent.!Market! rules!and!knowledge!events!business!(large!scale!conferences,!symposia,!and!editing!houses)! are!a!very!profitable!business.!This!is!where!productivitism!takes!place,!in!excuse!of!a! productive!intellectual!subjectivity.! The!signs!of!the!increasingly!powerful!private!sector!in!art!are!manifest.!Steven!ten!Thije!has! mentioned!a!few!of!the!instances:!the!sprouting!number!of!biennales!of!art!that!are!being!held! in!almost!every!capital!of!the!world!is!obnoxious,!and!can!only!be!justified!by!the!‘touristic! attraction’!concern,!or!the!“city!marketing”!expression!used!by!ten!Thije!(2013),!which!is! particularly!lucrative!in!a!time!when!the!literature!about!lifestyle,!travelling!and!top!cities!for! everything,!surely!enabled!by!easy!geographical!mobility!and!access!assured!by!the!high! number!of!low!cost!flight!companies!operating,!has!met!great!impulse;!and!the!businessglike! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 54!The!artist!as!public!intellectual?,!edited!by!the!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!of!Vienna,!2008.! 85! ! standards!and!procedures!which!invaded!the!art!field!and!contaminated!practices!and! conditioned!aims;!or!the!business!world!that!imported!artistic!props!to!sell!a!more!creative! image,!as!in!the!cases!of!creative!industries.!! Creativity!has!been!appropriated!indiscriminately!since!companies!have!discovered!it!is!a! selling!term.!It!also!affected!official!documents!intended!at!policegmaking.!Here,!and!due!to!a! convergence!of!interests!ranging!from!governmental!funding!and!corporations’!strategies,!the! way!to!present!and!to!prospect!artistic!research!is!rarely!neutral!and!too!often! instrumentalizes!creativity,!new!immanent!skills!and!expertise!to!disguise!a!profit!oriented! approach!to!research.!Needless!to!say!that!these!documents!are!not!serving!the!purpose!of! truly!transformative!practices!of!artistic!research!and!therefore!ought!to!be!taken!cautiously! and!critically.!An!example!among!others!of!this!commercial!orientation,!can!be!found!in!a!look! into!the!document!The!importance!of!artistic!research!and!its!contributions!to!‘new!knowledge’! in!creative!Europe!(ELIA!European!League!of!Institutes!of!the!Arts,!2008),!where!a!link!of! artistic!research!to!the!European!policy!of!generating!“new!knowledge”!is!made!clear.! Moreover,!a!section!dedicated!to!“Employment”!reads:!“ELIA!will,!in!collaboration!with! member!institutions,!explore!employment!opportunities!of!artists/researchers!within!and! outside!the!creative!industries!and!in!other!relevant!professional!sectors.!It!will!also!explore! the!potential!for!business!creation!and!viability!of!commercial!applications!and!processes!to! support!research!innovation!and!enterprise”!(n/p).!ELIA!reinforces!this!positioning!in!a!later! text,!dating!from!May!2011,!and!named!Releasing!the!Potential!for!Arts!&!Design!Research!in! Europe!0!Proposals!for!the!Future!Research!Programmes!(Corcoran!&!Wilson,!2011)!where!a! very!clear!commitment!into!market!is!shared!in!the!definition!of!art!and!design!research! (equivalent!to!artistic!research,!research!in!and!through!the!arts,!practicegbased!research,!and! others):!“Our!proposals!build!on!the!definition!of!artistic!(or!arts)!research!as!defined!by!the! British!Research!Assessment!Exercise!(RAE)!that!understands!artistic!(or!arts)!research!&! development!as!‘...!Original!investigation!undertaken!in!order!to!gain!knowledge!and! understanding.!It!includes!work!of!direct!relevance!to!the!needs!of!commerce,!industry,!and!to! the!public!and!voluntary!sectors;!scholarship;!the!invention!and!generation!of!ideas,!images,! performances,!artifacts!including!design,!where!these!lead!to!new!or!substantially!improved! insights;!and!the!use!of!existing!knowledge!in!experimental!development!to!produce!new!or! substantially!improved!materials,!devices,!products!and!processes,!including!design!and! construction’”!(n/p).!This!understanding!was!originally!conveyed!in!an!exercise!commissioned! by!The!Higher!Education!Founding!Council!for!England!(HEFCE)!and!dates!from!1996.!Tom! Holert,!referring!to!RAE,!points!out:!“’New!or!substantially!improved!insights’!as!well!as! ‘substantially!improved!materials,!devices,!products!and!processes’!are!the!desired!outcomes! 86! ! of!research,!and!the!Research!Assessment!Exercise!could!not!be!more!explicit!about!the! compulsory!‘direct!relevance!to!the!needs!of!commerce!and!industry’”!(Holert,!2009,!p.7).!! What!these!scraps!do!is!show!that!artistic!research!is!in!the!core!of!conflict!of!epistemology,! artistry,!education!policies!and!political!strategies,!all!at!the!same!time.!As!a!result!it!generates! very!controversial!and!disparate!opinions,!being!almost!impossible!to!speak!of!artistic!research! in!a!linear!way!–!a!complete!outline!of!the!phenomenon!will!always!request!a!very!careful! insight!in!all!the!scopes!involved.!ELIA’s!2011!document!is!a!response!to!the!European!Green! Paper!of!the!same!year!(From!Challenges!to!Opportunities:!Towards!a!Common!Strategic! Framework!for!EU!Research!and!Innovation!funding),!which!focus!on!“innovation”,!“industryg driven”,!“excellence”:!“We!need!to!grasp!these!opportunities,!build!on!our!strengths!and!act! swiftly!and!decisively!to!build!our!future,!enhance!the!welfare!of!our!citizens!and!secure!the! competitiveness!of!our!businesses.!Research!and!innovation!are!key!drivers!of!this!process,!yet! Europe!is!often!outperformed!by!its!competitors!in!these!domains”!(European!Commission,! 2011,!p.!4).!In!this!context!art!faces!a!huge!challenge!to!discuss!its!place!and!the!value!of!basic! research!under!such!decisive!step!in!Europe!into!a!common!policy!–!one!which!expects!equal! performances!by!humanities,!science!and!technology,!without!regards!to!their!specificities.! Moreover!this!is!more!or!less!the!reasons!for!complaint!on!the!theme!of!assessment!policies!in! higher!education!funding!politics.!It!is!transversal!to!all!areas!to!the!point!that!some!authors,! like!Charles!Harrison,!teaching!in!the!UK,!advise!art!to!stay!away!from!public!funding!(which!is! not!public!anymore,!obiter):!“Perhaps!the!point!is!that!certain!kinds!of!conversational!and! critical!activity!are!vulnerable!in!ways!that!we!are!unwilling!to!acknowledge!when!funding!is!at! stake”!(Harrison,!2009,!p.!139).! The!force!of!the!private!sector!is!also!manifest!in!the!distortion!of!the!potential!of!the!desired! selfgawareness!intended!by!the!artist!as!the!new!intellectual.!A!huge!amount!of!literature! makes!this!concern!manifest!through!misrepresentation,!and!stands!itself!as!the!evidence!that! knowledge!and!information!have!been!treated!as!capital!in!the!economy!of!knowledge! production.!A!lot!has!been!written,!spoken!about!and!published,!and!much!money!has!flown! at!the!propos!of!discussing!artistic!research.!However!no!conclusions!were!achieved,!and!no! solutions!were!found.!In!fact,!the!state!of!uncertainty!of!the!hazy!artistic!research!as!favoured! the!bureaucratic!and!commercial!apparatuses!setup!in!the!meanwhile,!precisely!to!dedicate!to! the!clarification!and!reinforcement!of!the!phenomenon!–!or!is!it!to!control!it?!For!this!reason!it! is!so!important!that!artistic!research!occurs!not!without!questioning!its!own!limits.! In!his!explorations!of!powergknowledge!relations,!Michel!Foucault!has!stated!very!acutely!that! power!produces!knowledge.!In!this!sense,!the!similarities!of!the!current!art!world!with!the! current!political!state!of!affairs,!and!the!emergence!of!artistic!research!in!this!context,!kind!of! 87! ! damages!its!public!image.!Artistic!research!has!therefore!a!demanding!responsibility!to!claim! for!a!more!critical!role!for!itself,!otherwise!being!completely!submersed!and!annihilated!in! such!profitgmaking!environment.!The!repercussions!of!being!placed!within!a!neoliberal!context! render!artistic!research!to!the!risks!of!standardization!and!normalization!to!the!requests!of! measurability!and!transparency!also!stressed!by!Bologna!Agreement!in!the!2000s.!! I!have!written,!for!a!2015!number!of!Sisyphus!–!Journal!of!Education55,!a!text!named!The! Problem!of!Artistic!Research!where!I!strived!the!argument!that!some!of!the!aspects!that!are! nowadays!being!perceived!as!problematic!in!the!definition!of!this!field!are!not!really!so,!at! least!not!for!the!sake!of!its!critical!pursuit.!Following!evidence!of!the!great!amount!of!literature! published!about!artistic!research!roughly!since!the!beginning!of!the!twentygfirst!century,!I’ve! inquired!the!reason!of!such!prolixity.!One!could!say!that!it!is!due!to!a!general!but!determined! commitment!of!a!large!number!of!individuals,!academies!and!associations,!in!coming!to!a! clearer!image!of!a!field!that!for!too!long!now!is!comfortably!kept!in!a!blurred!state!of!uncertain! boundaries,!of!unclear!procedures!and!of!plural!goals.!I’ve!started!to!ask!why!a!field!whose! first!steps!date!from!decades!ago,!back!in!the!nineties,!couldn’t!yet!find!a!stabilized!notion!of! itself,!both!in!practical!and!in!critical!matters!–!a!stabilization!that!would!not!endanger!the! necessary!dynamics!of!criticality,!it!should!be!noted.!! Artistic!research!is!an!extremely!heterogeneous!concept!(that!is!why!I!prefer!the!designation! of!phenomenon),!but,!oddly!enough,!that!fact!does!not!prevent!it!to!be!treated!as!a! disciplinary!field!–!and,!consequently,!to!establish!as!in!respect!to!the!requirements!of!a!truly! disciplinary!field!(in!the!next!section!I!will!give!a!renewed!account!on!this!establishment,!also! basing!on!data!evidence).!It!is!precisely!this!situation,!of!a!formal!installment!without!a! synchronized!epistemological!development,!which!raised!my!personal!criticism!on!the!matter.! Since!departments!were!created!in!some!academies!hosting!positions!for!artistic!research,! programmes!developed!under!the!name!of!artistic!research,!groups!of!people!were!formed!for! the!discussion!of!artistic!research,!and!publishing!houses!delivered!books!and!journals!round! the!clock!on!the!topic(s)!of!artistic!research.!The!result!did!not!bring!anything!more!conclusive! than!a!bunch!of!vague!hypothesis!and!repeated!analysis,!making!the!artistic!research!look!far! more!complex!than!it!actually!needs!to!be.!I!started!to!look!at!the!blurred!condition!and! uncertainty!of!the!field!not!as!a!problem,!but!as!a!raison!d’être,!and!not!simply!as!an! idiosyncrasy,!but!as!a!critically!informed!strategy!of!resistance.!! However,!I!doubted!this!was!the!underlying!conscience!of!the!inconclusive!prolixity.!The! reason!seems!to!be!found!right!in!the!knowledgegasgcommodity!understanding:!it!appeared!as! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 55!More!info!on!Sisyphus!here:!http://revistas.rcaap.pt/sisyphus.!Last!access!on!29.05.2015.! 88! ! if!none!of!these!entities!dared!to!reach!and!present!conclusions!on!the!open!questions!of! artistic!research,!regardless!of!their!direction!at!aims,!conditions,!assessment,!outcomes,! motivations,!methods!or!interests,!for!any!concrete!resolution!on!any!of!these!aspects!it!would! mean!the!final!mark!of!a!by!now!extensive!fullgoperating!organism!of!knowledge!production.! The!knowledge!that!was!–!and,!to!a!great!part,!still!is!–!being!produced!did!not!aim!for! solution,!but!for!reinforcement!of!the!precarious!situation!of!artistic!research.!Book!after!book,! the!following!book!would!be!a!new!perspective!on!the!same!issues!or!a!declaration!of!the! urgency!to!define!the!field,!without!ever!really!attempting!at!it.!I!came!to!the!conclusion!that! the!diagnostic!of!novelty!directed!at!artistic!research!was!not!just!a!neutral!take,!but!it!was!in! fact!an!attempt!to!keep!the!situation!in!a!state!of!pendency,!uncertain!enough!to!still!welcome! any!efforts!willing!to!talk!and!write!about!artistic!research.!Below!is!an!extract!of!The!Problem! of!Artistic!Research!to!be!published!soon,!which!explores!more!accurately!this!enunciated! situation:! ! “In!a!text!about!Art!and!Method!(2009),!Henk!Slager!describes!artistic!research!as!“a! form!of!idiosyncratic!research”!in!terms!that!seem!to!me!not!totally!pacific.!He!says!that! “Fundamental!aspects!such!as!indefinability,!heterogeneity,!contingency,!and!relativity! color!the!trajectory!of!artistic!research.!Therefore,!artistic!research!should!explicitly! request!tolerance,!an!open!attitude,!and!the!deployment!of!multiple!models!of! interpretation”!(p.!53).!Slager’s!report!on!a!certain!“indefinability”!of!artistic!research!is! what!I!perceive!as!being!impersonating!a!certain!ingrowing!state!in!its!potential! developments.!The!first!battle!of!artistic!research!was!implementation!and!acceptance! as!a!field!of!knowledge;!that!can!certainly!be!considered!a!battle!won,!but!since! disciplinary!legitimation!was!achieved!that!the!outcomes!resulting!from! institutionalization!appear!to!be!stuck!in!the!same!kind!of!discussions!from!the!early! days.!And!to!a!large!extent,!these!discussions!are!introduced!with!the!idea!of!a!‘new’! and!‘emergent’!field,!now!and!years!ago.!! In!the!preface!of!the!proceedings!of!the!pioneering!symposium!Theatre!and!Dance!Artist! Doing!Research!in!Practice,!held!at!the!Theatre!Academy!in!Helsinki!in!1994,!Pentti! Paavolainen!writes!that!“It!is!time!to!open!up!a!forum!for!the!writings!that!will!spring!up! from!the!rather!new!but!stimulating!research!activity”!(1995,!p.!6).!This!is!as!old!as! twenty!years.!Howsoever!the!situation!today!is!that!of!also!preparing!a!new!kind!of! writing!due!to!a!renovated!perspective!on!the!way!to!perceive!what!in!1995!was!taken! as!a!“new!research!activity”.!The!author!was!careful!on!presenting!the!news:"The!reader! will!meet!devoted!voices!with!a!will!to!pursue!a!goal!and!readiness!for!the!uncertainty! 89! ! and!unexpected!which!are!both!the!true!signs!of!a!person!who!is!doing!art!as!well!as! research"!(1995,!p.!5).!Moreover,!then!and!now,!“uncertainty”!in!this!kind!of!research!is! a!standing!attribute,!which!makes!Paavolainen’s!statement!very!timely!even!today.! In!the!revised!version!of!his!paper!presentation!in!Los!Angeles!in!2003,!Timothy!Emlyn! Jones!also!stresses!the!novelty!and!hesitancy!at!stake.!He!says!that!“The!subject!of! where!and!how!research!thinking!sits!in!art!and!design!is!a!large!one!on!which,!relatively! speaking,!we!have!only!just!begun;!although!even!now!it!is!possible!to!suggest!that!a! new!research!paradigm!for!artistic!production!and!art!education!is!emerging.!In!this! context!any!contribution!to!the!debate!has!to!be!recognized!as!provisional!and! conditional!since!to!date!no!comprehensive!overview!has!yet!been!published”.!And!he! goes!on:!“…!I!tease!out!key!issues!emerging!from!my!own!experience!and!knowledge!of! the!field!–!the!only!feasible!terms!of!reference!at!such!an!early!time!in!the!development! of!the!subject!–!which!have!taught!me!that,!whatever!else,!there!remains!a!great!deal!to! be!done”!(2009,!p.!31).!! A!very!assertive!Mika!Hannula!starts!his!intervention!in!Balkema!&!Slager’s!anthology! Artistic!Research!(2004).!He!goes!like:!“Artistic!research!is!a!new!area.!It!is!a!field!within! university!studies!that!deserves!to!be!called!social!innovation.!Due!to!its!freshness!and! newness,!artistic!research!is!both!a!possibility!and!a!risk.!However,!so!far!it!has!proven! to!have!a!fair!chance!of!survival.!Thus,!artistic!research!must!be!articulated!and!formed! according!to!its!own!particular!needs!and!challenges…!What!exactly!is!artistic!research?”! (p.!70).!It!is!almost!disturbing!the!highly!perceptive!and!purposeful!reading!Hannula!has! undergone!eleven!years!ago.!This!could!have!been!said!today:!“Obviously,!artistic! research!is!an!area!which!is!yet!to!emerge!as!a!full!program.!During!the!last!20!years,! there!have!been!different!artistic!research!projects!and!experiments!in!various! countries.!However,!there!has!not!been!enough!internal!scrutiny!and!definitely!not! enough!fruitful!comparison!and!constructive!criticism!among!all!the!different! approaches…!Since!artistic!research!has!been!accepted!and!established!as!credible! research!within!art!education!and!art!institutions,!we!have!to!keep!its!possibilities!open! and!move!towards!a!vision!of!artistic!research!which!is!selfgcritical!and!selfgreflexive.!Put! differently,!we!must!have!the!courage!to!be!anarchistic!and!experimental”!(p.!70).! Awkwardly!–!or!perhaps!not!g,!already!in!2013!the!same!Mika!Hannula!writes!with!the! same!discoverer!spirit!in!Artists!as!Researchers!–!A!New!Paradigm!for!Art!Education!in! Europe:!“After!going!through!all!these!seminars,!all!these!meetings!and!all!these!late! afternoons!trying!to!stay!awake,!desperately!searching!to!find!the!escaping!energy!to! 90! ! focus!and!make!sense!of!what!artistic!research!could!be!or!even!should!be?!Was!it! worth!it?!Or:!what!is!it!good!for!–!this!emerging!field!of!artistic!research?”!(2013,!p.87).!! Examples!and!citations!on!the!youth!of!the!undefined!field!are!many.!Nordic!Summer! University!group!has!published!an!anthology!of!essays!in!2010,!under!the!name!At!the! Intersection!Between!Art!and!Research!–!Practice0based!Research!in!the!Performing!Arts.! The!introduction,!written!by!Sidsel!Pape,!accounts!that!“Practice!Based!Research!(PBR),! as!an!academic!discipline!predominantly!practiced!in!the!Englishgspeaking!world,!is!still! new!in!the!Nordic!world”!(2010,!p.9).! In!a!revised!paper!presented!in!SHARE!conference!in!2011,!under!the!name!Artistic! Research!in!Performing!Arts/The!Body!as!a!Medium!of!Institution,!Esa!Kirkkopelto,!while! referring!to!the!elaboration!of!criteria!for!assessment!of!research!in!universities,!informs! that!“It!seems!to!me!at!the!present!moment!that!it!would!not!be!difficult!to!agree!on! common!criteria,!to!write!down!a!list!of!principles.!For!sure,!several!lists!of!this!kind! already!exist!and!they!are!also!used!for!different!purposes.!Yet,!at!least!here!in!Finland,! we!have!also!so!far!abstained!from!agreeing!on!such!criteria,!from!hurrying!with!it!g!not! only!because!of!the!fear!of!disagreement,!but!also!because!of!the!early!stage!of!the! development!of!the!research!field"!(n/p).! Embryonic!states!will!eventually!evolve.!In!the!meanwhile,!I!understand!the!pendency! depicted!in!the!assembled!citations!as!being!promoted!by!a!discourse!replete!with!forms! of!incompleteness,!novelty,!uncertainty,!which!ask!for!a!solid!structure!before!uncurling! and!flourish.!This!may!give!a!fore!explanation!on!the!lethargy!felt!and!why!most!of!these! texts!(not!necessarily!the!ones!quoted,!though)!were!found!stuck!and!pendant!in! inconclusive!epistemological,!methodological!and!regulatory!digressions.!For!their!part,! these!discussions!welcome!the!next!discussion.!As!an!attempt!to!solve!the!uncertainty,!a! new!try!is!in!print.!And!then!another!one.!And!so!on.!And!in!order!to!contextualize!and! legitimize!the!following!attempts,!departments!and!programmes!are!set!up!within! graduate!schools!and!universities.!A!conservative!and!selfgfeeding!structure!is!the!other! reason!for!the!state!of!pendency.!In!the!sense!that!it!drags!money!on!either!to! publishing!houses,!conference!organizers,!universities!through!tuition!fees!and!from! public!funding!to!research,!the!structure!will!be!vigorously!preserved!by!the!most! directly!benefiting!from!it.!Mick!Wilson!adverts:!“The!institutional!imperative!–!to! reproduce!and!conserve!the!institution!–!must!not!be!overlooked.!Educators,!especially! educators!in!selfgproclaimed!creative!practices,!are!attracted!to!a!vision!of!themselves! as!agents!of!dynamic!change!and!critical!renewal,!as!bearers!of!cultural!values!which!are! variously!above!the!exchange!system!of!the!market!place!or!connected!to!some! 91! ! essential!human!and!humanizing!propensity.!However,!it!is!important!to!register!the! essentially!conservative!force!of!institutionalized!education:!education!is!a!key! apparatus!in!social!reproduction.”!(2009,!p.!64).!But!is!this!selfgfeeding!system!a! problem?!In!the!path!of!European!tendency!of!instrumentalization!of!public!education! and!arts!education,!research!creative!potential!is,!of!course,!endangered.!Imaginative! speculation!is!thus!ingrown,!and!what!follows!is!the!caricaturized!image!so!often! appropriated!by!the!skeptical!voyeurs!of!a!“disciplining,!homogenizing,!restrictive,! conformist,!naïve”!(Borgdorff,!2012,!p.5)!environment.!But!this!misrepresented! portrayal!of!artistic!research!is!nevertheless!about!to!change,!or!so!indicate!the!most!upg togdate!discursive!changes.!Nonetheless!and!while!it!residually!lasts,!it!cannot!be! accused!of!being!unproductive.!Sterile,!perhaps,!yet!very!productive!in!the!neoliberal! sense!of!“productivitism!–!a!compulsion!to!produce,!to!be!sure,!that!not!only!pertains!to! the!manufacture!of!objects,!but!also!to!the!realm!of!discourse:!‘discursivity’!is!easily! exploited!as!a!sogcalled!alternative!to!‘productivism’,!when!it!is!in!fact!anything!but”!(De! Bare!et!al,!2006,!p.7).!!So!again!one!has!to!ask!whether!the!state!of!pendency!and! sequent!selfgfeeding!structure!are,!de!facto,!problems.!From!what!I!see!they!are!not!to! corporations,!publishing!houses,!nor!some!university!departments!and!positions!and!a! fragile,!worn!and!failed!conception!of!artistic!research,!while!they!definitely!are!to! foundational!groups!of!artist!researchers!and!artists!engaged!in!research.!!!! Robin!Nelson’s!anthology!Practice!as!Research!in!the!Arts!–!Principles,!Protocols,! Pedagogies,!Resistances,!published!as!recently!as!2013,!is!still!not!fully!released!from! this!‘newness’!feeling!on!artistic!research!(or!varying!nomenclature,!for!instance! ‘practicegasgresearch’).!Some!of!its!collected!essays,!such!as!Susanne!Little’s!and! Veronica!Baxter’s,!still!point!out!the!novelty!of!research!practices!in!the!arts!in!their! respective!contexts.!The!introductory!chapter!starts!by!saying!that!“People!engage!in! research!from!a!variety!of!motives!but,!ultimately,!the!rigorous!of!sustained!academic! research!are!driven!by!a!desire!to!address!a!problem,!find!things!out,!establish!new! insights.!This!drive!is!apparent!in!the!arts!throughout!history,!but!it!is!relatively!recently! that!it!has!been!necessary!to!posit!the!notion!of!arts!‘Practice!as!Research’”(p.!3).!This! may,!however,!signal!a!changing!pace.!Along!with!the!emergence!of!doctoral! programmes!explicitly!dedicated!to!artistic!research,!this!may!hopefully!suggest!we!are! ready!to!surpass!the!pendency!in!which!a!raw!and!paralyzing!novelty!as!pushed!us!into.! After!twenty!years!of!generalized!sterile!literary!‘productivitism’,!a!slight!difference!in! discourse!is!thus!regarded!in!full!expectancy.!! 92! ! In!the!aforementioned!publication!of!Balkema!&!Slager,!Jan!Kaila!wrote!that!"Artistic! research!is!also!bound!to!a!tradition!external!to!itself!because,!so!far,!there!are!not! many!Doctors!of!Fine!Arts!around.!This!being!the!case,!we!are!in!the!paradoxical! situation!that!a!large!portion!of!the!educators,!supervisors!and!examiners!involved!do! not!have!practical!experience!in!the!way!artistic!research!functions,!but!are!basing!their! thinking!on!traditional!research!or,!in!the!best!case,!on!a!vision!of!what!artistic!research! might!ultimately!be"!(p.!66).!It!might!have!been!the!case!in!2004.!Now,!in!2015,!we!have! plenty!of!DAs!and!DFAs,!PhDs!in!the!arts!and!teachers!of!artistic!research,!so!that!an! effective!change!is!in!the!making.!A!change!not!conducted!in!the!claim!for!“tolerance”! (Slager,!2009,!p.!53),!but!at!the!courageous!step!of!becoming!“anarchistic!and! experimental”!(Hannula,!2004,!p.!70)!–!“And!I!think!we’ve!passed!this!phase!of! determining!what!artistic!research!is…!It!is,!it!exists.!It!just!simply!is.!And!now!we!are! more!in!the!phase!of!exploring!distinct!ways!people!do!and!the!effects!that!it!has”56.”! (Almeida,!in!press,!n/p)! ! The!excerpt!ended!with!a!small!quotation!of!my!interview!to!Leena!Rouhiainen!in!Helsinki,! which!seems!appropriate!to!extend!now,!at!the!respect!of!the!prolixity!of!literature!often! falling!into!productivitism:!! ! CA:&But&what&is&the&kind&of&expertise,&for&example,&that&comes&out,&or&what&is&the& object&of&study&of&artistic&research?&Because&this&is,&for&me,&problematic&in&two&ways.& In&the&one&side,&I&see&artistic&research&related&to&practice&and&I&think&that&is&the& desirable&way&for&it&to&be.&But&on&the&other&way,&I’ve&seen&some&examples,&perhaps¬& so&good&examples,&of&artistic&research&falling&in&a&kind&of&epistemological&trap.&It’s&like& as&if&they&are&always&trying&to&say&what&artistic&research&is&and&then&this&becomes&the& subject&of&artistic&research,&the&object&of&study&of&artistic&research&itself.&As&if&I&turn& into&myself,&and&then&I&try&to&understand&who&I&am,&what&I’m&doing,&and&then&I&don’t& see&around.&If&you&really&see&artistic&research&as&being&connected&to&practice,&because& you&have&these&two&positions,&I&think&one&is&desirable&and&one&is¬&so&interesting.&But& when&I&think&of&artistic&research&as&a&discipline,&I&sometimes&fear&that&it&can&become& this&other&example&of&epistemological&trap.&For&example,&imagine&the&discipline&in&a& Faculty&where&the&teacher&or&the&students&constantly&deal&with&how&should&be& !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 56!Extract!of!the!interview!I!conducted!with!Leena!Rouhiainen!at!the!Theatre!Academy!Helsinki.!The!entire!edited!transcription!is!in! the!“Annexes”.! 99! ! and!fixation!of!the!discussions!on!these!topics,!comprising!governmental!organizations,! European!networks,!books,!conferences,!symposia,!and!reports!on!funding!(pp.111g116).!! I!have!also!compiled!my!own!list!of!bibliographical!references!concerning!the!field!of!artistic! research61,!for!which!I!focused!on!the!first!decade!of!the!2000s!since!it’s!the!time!when! Bologna’s!impact!has!started!to!have!effect!and!higher!arts!education!has!expressively! embraced!research.!This!list,!comprising!the!period!of!2000g2010,!is!intended!not!to!be! exhaustive!but!to!provide!a!core!set!of!the!most!significant!authors!and!their!publications!for! my!own!research,!among!which!are,!Hannula;!Suoranta!&!Vadén!(2005),!Henk!Borgdorff!(2006;! 2009),!Jan!Kaila!(2006),!Jan!Verwoert!(2006),!Boris!Groys!(2008)!and!Anton!Vidokle!(2009)!with! books!and!articles.!The!compilations!of!Annette!Balkema!and!Henk!Slager!(2004),!Buckley!&! Conomos!(2009),!James!Elkins!(2009),!Steven!Henri!Madoff!(2009),!Nilsson!(2009),!Biggs!&! Karlsson!(2010)!and!Friberg;!ParekhgGaihede!&!Barton!(2010)!are!also!quite!significant!in! content!g!as!well!as!in!number,!since!one!of!the!things!that!abundantly!characterizes!the! literature!of!the!field!are!the!many!anthologies!of!essays!and!compilations!of!conference! procedures,!and,!unfortunately!more!often!than!not,!many!are!inconclusive.!! Anthologies!are!either!published!by!an!individual!editor,!or!are!produced!in!the!interest!of!an! academy!or!university,!and!sponsored!by!it.!Research!departments!have!increased!notoriously! their!range!frequency!of!publications,!which!is!very!much!attached!to!the!demands!of! knowledge!productions!by!which!these!schools,!their!researchers!and!departments!are! assessed.!Other!titles!must!be!added!in!the!present,!published!after!2010,!and!which!have! been!rather!significant!for!my!research!as!well!–!and!to!the!amplitude!of!the!field,!I!believe.! Among!this!more!recent!addgons!have!to!be!included!Janneke!Wesseling!(2011),!Ritterman;! Bast!&!Mittelstraβ!(2011),!Henk!Slager!(2012),!Henk!Borgdorff!(2012),!Robin!Nelson!(2013),! Hannula;!Kaila;!Palmer!&!Sarje!(2013)!and!a!few!very!significant!publications!of!most!of!which! published!by!egflux,!are!quite!relevant,!yet!just!too!many!to!bring!them!here!in!the!present! circumstances.!From!this!last!bunch!of!publications!postg2010,!all!except!two!are!collections!of! essays!of!different!authors!versing!on!a!variety!of!topics!under!what!has!been!called!by! Annette!Arlander!as!“the!umbrella!concept!of!artistic!research”!(2009).!! The!platform!of!SHARE!–!StepgChange!for!Higher!Arts!Research!and!Education!also!offers!a! long!list!of!bibliography!on!the!theme62.!! In!the!Portuguese!context,!artistic!research!as!an!openly!addressed!topic!has!been!mainly! explored!in!the!Faculty!of!Fine!Arts!of!University!of!Lisbon,!in!a!series!of!publications!its! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 61!To!be!published!in!Sisyphus!–!Journal!of!Education!during!2015.! 62!More!info!at!http://www.sharenetwork.eu/artisticgresearchgoverview/bibliography!for!a!more!extensive!list.!Last!access!on! 13.05.2015.! 100! ! research!center!CIEBA!has!been!launching!since!2010!that!go!with!the!name!Investigação!em! Arte!(in!English,!Research!in!Arts).!It’s!trilingual!(Portuguese,!English!and!French)!and!the!sixth! volume!is!expected!to!come!out!in!October!2015.!Additionally!some!initiatives!of!relevance!are! registered!in!the!Faculty!of!Fine!Arts!of!University!of!Porto,!through!the!activities!of!its! Research!Institute!in!Art,!Design!and!Society!–!i2ADS,!in!particular!of!the!subggroup!dedicated! to!Arts!Education!(with!events!such!as!the!3rd!Conference!on!Arts0Based!Research!and!Artistic! Research!(2015);!Conversations!on!Artistic!Research!(2014);!and!a!series!of!Open!Classes),!and! some!seminars!of!the!Research!Group!in!Art!and!Design.! This!sample!of!bibliography!is,!of!course,!incomplete,!and!pretends!to!be!a!mix!of!what’s!been! widely!circulating!as!the!main!references,!sprinkled!with!some!of!my!personal!choices.!The! “Bibliography”!ending!this!dissertation!will!surely!account!for!a!more!detailed!view!on!sources! and!references.! Other!significant!breed!of!published!material!concerns!the!more!political!and!bureaucratic! examples,!which!comprise!scrutinized!information!on!the!influence!of!the!Bologna!Process,! reflections!on!general!educational!European!policies!and!its!consequences!to!art!education,!as! well!as!official!statements!of!many!European!academies!and!universities!in!relation!to!the! changes!occurred!in!higher!artsgeducation,!and,!last!but!not!least,!law.!These!are!all!well! documented!and!profusely!mediated!in!essays!and!in!official!and!corporate!reports!and! position!papers,!easily!accessible!and!ready!to!be!read!(SHARE!Handbook!for!Artistic!Research! Education,!2014;!ELIA!&!SHARE!Releasing!the!Potential!for!Arts!&!Design!Research!in!Europe!0! Proposals!for!the!Future!Research!Programmes,!signed!by!Corcoran,!H.!&!Wilson,!M.,!2011;! Peer!Power!!The!Future!of!Higher!Arts!Education!in!Europe,!2009;!inter}artes:!project!The! Artist0as0Citizen:!European!Publics!and!the!European!City,!2009g2010;!Tapping!into!the! Potential!of!Higher!Arts!Education!in!Europe,!2008;!Higher!Arts!Education!and!the!Creative! Economy,!2014).!At!stake!in!these!documents!is!generally!the!internal!assessment!of!the! initiatives!realized!in!universities!and!research!centres,!together!with!official!positions!towards! political!documentation!(the!European!League!of!Institutes!of!the!Arts!and!the!European! Association!of!Conservatoires!have!plenty!of!available!documentation!on!their!political!views! in!ELIA’s!website).!They!are!also!the!reason!to!be!of!an!amount!of!societies!and!networks! formalized!in!the!meantime!in!the!presupposed!interest!of!artistic!research:!besides!the! already!mentioned!EARN!–!European!Artistic!Research!Network63!founded!in!2004,!are!to!be! considered!in!the!European!context!ELIA!–!European!League!of!Institutes!of!the!Arts64,! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 63!More!info!at:!http://www.artresearch.eu/index.php/about/!.!Last!access!13.05.2015.! 64!More!info!at:!http://www.eliagartschools.org/.!Last!access!on!14.05.2015.! 101! ! operating!since!1990;!SAR!–!Society!for!Artistic!Research65,!founded!in!2010;!and!SHARE!–! Stepgchange!for!Higher!Arts!Research!and!Education!(2010g2013)66.!Their!activities!include,! beyond!such!documentation,!the!organization!of!international!largegscale!events!and!meetings! where!everything!about!the!legitimacy!of!artistic!research!is!discussed!–!and,!fortunately,!more! and!more!the!work!of!students!and!artist!researchers!are!also!included.!! The!seminar!mentioned!in!the!opening!lines!of!this!chapter,!dedicated!to!artistic!research!and! held!in!Amsterdam!in!2003,!may!be!quoted!as!an!important!starting!point!either!for!the! epistemological!development!of!the!field,!and!for!the!establishment!of!influencing!networks! and!relationships!among!people!in!the!field.!Sure!there!are!previous!events!to!be!registered,! there!is!a!history!going!further!back;!but!what!this!event!in!Amsterdam!made!possible!was!the! renewal!of!the!vision!of!artistic!research,!like!a!second!wave!whose!fruits!are!beginning!to! appear.!After!this!fortunate!collaboration!involving!Kaila,!Slager,!Hannula!and!others,!several! initiatives!took!place!as!a!direct!consequence,!and!others!were!only!made!possible!after!the! synergies!deployed!in!the!earlier!events.!Reporting!to!2003,!Jan!Kaila!tells!how!things!have! started!to!work!back!then:!“Little!by!little,!however,!things!started!happening.!Mika!Hannula,! the!then!Rector!of!the!Academy![Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts],!had!(and!still!has)!a!fabulous! network!of!international!contacts,!and!instead!of!keeping!them!to!himself,!he!gave!me!a!few! leads!that,!as!time!would!tell,!proved!to!be!golden”.!This!is!when!Henk!Slager!steps!into!a!long! time!collaboration!with!the!Helsinki!based!artist!researchers!and!theoreticians!of!the!field:! “Soon,!at!Hannula’s!invitation,!a!professor!of!artistic!research!from!the!Netherlands,!Henk! Slager!–!Super!Henk!as!we!called!him!back!then!–!came!on!a!visit!to!Helsinki.!It!was!time!for! cooperation,!or!so!we!thought.!Largely!thanks!to!Slager,!a!broad!international!seminar!on! artistic!research!was!organized!that!year!in!Amsterdam,!where!Tuomas!Nevanlinna,!a!teacher! from!the!Academy![Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts],!and!myself!also!attended!as!guest!speakers”! (Kaila!2013,!p.10).!!From!this!seminar!resulted!important!guidelines!and!future!plans!to!the! development!of!the!field,!as!well!as!a!milestone!and!often!quoted!publication!by!Annette! Balkema!and!Henk!Slager,!issued!in!2004!through!the!L&B!Series,!under!the!name!Artistic! Research!–!a!title!as!simple!as!only!early!days!could!allow!for.!! In!2005,!Jan!Kaila’s!cooperation!with!Mika!Hannula!took!a!further!step!and!originated!a! seminar!in!Gothenburg!(Hannula!was!appointed!professor!there!that!year)!for!doctoral! students!of!the!Swedish!University,!as!well!as!for!Kaila’s!PhD!students!from!Helsinki.!Soon! after,!Roger!Palmer,!a!British!professor!from!Leeds!joined!the!collaboration!between!Kaila!and! Hannula,!and!during!the!period!of!2005g2009!the!trio!organized!seminars!in!the!three!cities! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 65!More!info!at!http://www.societyforartisticresearch.org/.!Last!access!on!14.05.2015.! 66!More!info!at:!http://www.sharenetwork.eu/home.!Last!access!on!14.05.2015.! 102! ! that!aimed!at!presenting!the!research!projects!of!artists!enrolled!in!PhDs!(Kaila,!2013,!p.11)!–! in!my!argument,!this!concern!with!the!work!being!developed!in!the!field!by!artist!researchers! is!of!pivotal!importance,!and!so!gives!these!events!an!increased!relevance.!The!last!of!those! seminars,!held!in!Harakka!island!in!Helsinki!in!the!year!of!2009,!gathered!around!thirty! researchers!from!the!three!doctoral!programmes,!with!the!presentation!of!ten!papers.!The! name!of!the!event!was!Everything!but!an!Island,!and!gave!rise!to!the!homonymous!second! issue!of!Writings!from!the!Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!(2012)!documenting!four!of!those! presentations:!by!Mick!Wilson,!Andy!Broadey,!Niclas!Östlin!and!Petri!Kaverma.!At!the!date!of! the!publication,!Petri!Kaverma!and!Niclas!Östlin!were!still!doing!their!PhD!studies!in! Gothenburg!and!Helsinki,!respectively,!whereas!Andy!Broadey!has!completed!his!dissertation! in!Leeds!in!2011.! Kaila,!Palmer,!and!Hannula!joint!activities!of!Helsinki,!Leeds!and!Gothenburg!would!give!rise!to! a!European!project!in!the!year!after.!! In!earlier!times,!before!the!starting!off!reported!by!Jan!Kaila,!and!which!greatly!contributed!to! the!beginning!of!a!leadership!of!Northern!Europe!in!the!following!years!in!the!conduction!of! artistic!research,!the!remarkable!events!used!to!take!place!in!the!UK.!In!2000,!the!University!of! Hertfordshire!initiated!Research!into!Practice,!a!biennial!conference!that!lasted!from!2000!to! 2008!with!the!titles&The!foundations!of!practice0based!research,!2000;!The!concept!of! knowledge!in!art!&!design,!2002;!The!role!of!the!artifact!in!art!&!design!research,!2004;!The! role!of!context!in!art!&!design!research,!2006;!and!The!problem!of!interpretation!in!research!in! the!visual!and!performing!arts,!2008.!These!events!led!to!subsequent!publications,!where! stand!out!names!of!influent!authors!in!the!AnglogSaxon!terrain!of!artistic!research,!such!as! Michael!Biggs!(who!launched!with!Henrik!Karlsson!the!widely!cited!The!Routledge!Companion! to!Research!in!the!Arts!in!2011),!Barbara!Bolt,!Tim!O’Riley,!Rita!L.!Irwin,!Daniela!Büchler,! Graeme!Sullivan,!Stephen!Scrivener!and!Nancy!de!Freitas).!Documentation!originated!from!this! series!proves!the!term!“practicegbased!research”!to!be!generally!associated!with!the!UK! tradition.!In!contrast,!it!should!not!be!used!in!a!scholar!environment!in!Continental!Europe,! such!as!the!historic!Leiden!University,!I!was!told:!some!theoretical!pride!could!be!hurt!in!view! of!practical!research,!and!a!dispatch!to!the!technical!university!and!applied!humanities!would! be!regarded!by!these!scholars!as!a!more!appropriate!ground!for!the!practice!advocators.!Not! that!artistic!research!is!the!ideal!terminology,!however!g!and!still!in!the!Dutch!context,!Janneke! Wesseling!would!prefer!a!thousand!times!to!use!“research!in!and!through!the!arts”!if!it!was! not!so!extensive.!! Other!project!taking!place!in!the!UK!was!PARIP!g!Practice!as!Research!in!Performance,!at!the! University!of!Bristol,!funded!by!the!Arts!and!Humanities!Research!Board!and!coordinated!by! 103! ! Baz!Kershaw.!PARIP!comprised!three!symposia!occurred!from!2001!to!2005.!The!themes! addressed!in!the!first!edition!are!as!topical!as!today:!“i)!What!is!practice!as!research?!ii)! Questioning!practice!as!research!in!‘live’!media!(drama,!theatre,!dance)!and!‘recording’!media! (film,!TV,!video).!Iii)!Relating!documentation,!research!practice!and!the!performing!media!—! how!do!we!re/present!practice!AS!research?!iv)!How!the!academic!contexts!of!practice!as! research!affect!how!it!is!pursued!and!evaluated”67.!The!relevance!was!maintained!also!in!the! third!issue,!which!opened!itself!as!an!international!conference!(whereas!the!first!two!editions! were!envisaging!mostly!the!UK!context).! In!2003!kicked!off!the!project!re:search!g!in!and!through!the!arts,!a!cogoperation!of!the!ELIA!g! European!League!of!Institutes!of!the!Arts,!Universität!der!Künste!Berlin!and!institutions!from! eight!European!countries:!Belgium,!France,!Ireland,!the!Netherlands,!Poland,!Slovakia,!Spain! and!the!UK.!The!report!describes!the!project!as!follows:!“The!re:search!project,!supported!by! the!European!Commission’s!DirectorategGeneral!for!Education!and!Culture!involved!a!survey! developed!in!two!distinct!stages:!first,!an!inventory!of!current!national!situations,!drafted!by! partners,!followed!by!a!subsequent!comparative!overview!based!on!English!translations!of!the! individual!inventories,!organising!key!data!into!semantic!clusters!using!charts!and!tables”68.! In!the!period!after!2003,!other!events!are!worth!be!mentioned.!The!series!Sensuous! Knowledge,!at!the!Bergen!National!Academy!of!the!Arts,!started!off!in!2004!with!Creating!a! Tradition,!and!the!following!year!with!Aesthetic!Practice!and!Aesthetic!Insight.!In!the!course!of! seven!editions,!the!series!has!reached!the!year!2013!with!Ta(l)king!Place!(and!in!between:! Developing!a!Discourse,!2006;!Context,!Concept,!Creativity,!2007;!Questioning!Qualities,!2008;! Reflection,!Relevance,!Responsibility,!2009)!and!has!conquered!a!place!of!relevance,!not!only!in! Northern!Europe!discursivity,!but!also!in!the!general!European!rhetoric!of!artistic!research.! Sensuous!Knowledge!has!this!particular!format!where!each!participant!is!part!of!a!small! collaborative!working!group!in!which!they!remain!for!the!duration!of!the!conference,!in!the! expectance!of!generating!collaborative!impetus!and!future!collaboration:!“…!The!few! acclaimed!keynote!speeches!in!plenary!sessions!are!inspiring!backgrounds!for!the!rigorous! work!in!smaller!groups!where!participants!present!their!own!artistic!research!projects.!Here! they!are!commented!and!discussed!by!peers.!The!conference's!format!is!structured!so!that!the! groups!remain!the!same!throughout!the!whole!conference!enabling!the!discussions!to!develop! and!evolve“69.!The!publication!series!deriving!from!Sensuous!Knowledge!is!peer!reviewed!and! directed!at!practitioners!of!the!art!field,!“…!presenting!finished!or!ongoing!artistic!research! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 67!Retrieved!from!http://www.bris.ac.uk/parip/symrep.htm.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 68!Retrieved!from!http://www.eliagartschools.org/images/products/22/research_conference.pdf.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 69!Retrieved!from!http://www.khib.no/english/artisticgresearch/thegsensuousgknowledgegconference/.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 104! ! projects!of!high!and!exemplary!value,!alternating!with!papers!of!the!same!high!quality!with! analytical,!theoretical,!or!didactic!themes!related!to!artistic!research”70.!The!importance!of! Sensuous!Knowledge!is!even!more!increased!if!one!considers!that!Norway!does!not!offer,!for! the!moment,!any!explicit!doctorate!in!the!arts.!Bergen!National!Academy!of!the!Arts!has,! however,!since!2003,!a!seemingly!equivalent!programme!that!gathers!students!from!several! higher!arts!education!institutions.! Starting!in!2005!and!extending!until!2012!unfolded!the!series!of!conference!&!exhibition!going! on!under!the!name!Art!of!Research,!held!at!Aalto!University!in!Helsinki.!A!propos!of!the!last! edition,!the!event!is!presented!as!an!exploration!of!“…!the!relations!that!can!be!constructed! between!making!and!critical!reflections,!and!how!these!enable!artistic!and!designerly!practices! to!be!characterized!as!art!and!design,!or!artistic!or!designerly!research”,!stressing!the! applicability!of!research!–!and!ultimately!fitting!the!interests!of!Aalto!University,!in!itself!more! directed!at!applied!arts!than!the!Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!g!FAFA/KuvA,!in!comparison.!The! structure!intertwined!the!discussions!with!an!exhibition:!“The!elemental!part!of!the! conference!was!the!exhibition!that!introduced!varied!forms!of!works!related!to!the!research! contexts.!The!exhibition!included!videogart,!installations,!ceramic!sculpture!and!paintings.!The! conference!audience!was!able!to!see!the!exhibition!works!simultaneously!with!the! presentations!in!the!main!conference!space:!Studio!Stage”71.!Art!of!Research!“…!attempted!!to!! seek!!ways!!in!!which!!artistic!or!design!practices!and!research!practices!can!converge,!a! convergence!where!the!professional!creative!practices!of!art!and!design!play!an!instrumental! role!in!the!conduct!and!dissemination!of!research”,!as!stated!in!the!anthology!that!followed! the!seminar,!Reflections!and!Connections!On!the!relationship!between!creative!production!and! academic!research!(2009),!edited!by!Nithikul!Nimkulrat!and!Tim!O’Reily.!! Continuing!with!the!mapping!of!events!dedicated!to!artistic!research,!a!sample!of!the!main! occurrences!between!October!2008!and!June!2009!is!available!at!Borgdorff’s!Conflict!of!the! faculties!(2012,!pp.113g114).!Also!at!EARN!website,!a!list!of!the!events!starting!in!2008! organized!by!the!network!or!with!the!involvement!of!any!its!members!is!at!disposal72!g!A! Certain!Ma0Ness!in!Amsterdam!(2008);!State!of!Play!in!Dublin!(2008);!Becoming!Bologna!in! Venice!(2009);!Epistemic!Encounters!in!Utrecht!(2009);!Art!Research:!Public!and!Purposes;!Re!:! Public;!and!Critique!of!Archival!Reason,!the!three!in!Dublin!(2010);!The!Academy!Strikes!Back!in! Brussels!(2010);!Tables!of!Thought!in!Helsinki!(2010);!Art!as!a!Thinking!Process!in!Venice! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 70!More!info!at!http://www.khib.no/norsk/kunstneriskgutviklingsarbeid/publikasjonar/sensuousgknowledgegseries/.!Last!access!on! 30.06.2015.! 71!Retrieved!from:!http://designresearch.aalto.fi/events/aor2014/index.html.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 72!More!info!here:!http://www.artresearch.eu/index.php/events/,!here:! http://www.artresearch.eu/index.php/events/conferences/,!here:!http://www.artresearch.eu/index.php/events/exhibitions/,!and! here:!http://www.sharenetwork.eu/artisticgresearchgoverview/bibliography#conferences.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.!! 105! ! (2011);!Doing!Research!in!dOCUMENTA!13,!Kassel!(2012);!The!Counter!Order!of!Things!in! Venice!Biennale!(2013);!Not!Now!!Now!!In!Vienna!(2013);!Radical!Imagination!in!Gothenburg! (2013);!Thinking!on!Stage!in!Dublin!(2014),!mixing!conferences,!workshops!and!exhibitions.! In!2009,!European!Union!accepted!to!fund!a!project!submitted!as!a!joint!initiative!of!the! Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!(FAFA/KuvA),!School!of!Fine!Art!of!University!of!Leeds,! Gothenburg!University’s!Faculty!of!Fine,!Applied!and!Performing!Art,!the!Department!of! Community!Relations!and!Development!of!the!Finnish!National!Gallery,!the!Henry!Moore! Institute!(HMI),!the!Project!Space!Leeds!(PSL)!and!Gothenburg’s!main!centre!for!contemporary! art!Göteborgs!Konsthall.!The!name!of!the!project!is!as!promising!as!Changing!Identities!and! Contexts!in!the!Arts:!Artistic!Research!as!the!New!Paradigm!for!the!Arts!(known!as!CICA),!and! the!intent!was!quite!as!ambitious!as!accurate!in!the!core!issue!of!identity:!“The!EU!project! Changing!Identities!and!Contexts!in!the!Arts:!Artistic!Research!as!the!New!Paradigm!for!the! Arts!aims!to!open!up!an!intellectual!dialogue!over!the!changes!taking!place!in!the!artist’s! identity!and!the!creative!potential!it!lends!to!society”!(Sarje,!2013,!p.15).!This!project!led!to!a! series!of!international!seminars,!workshops!and!exhibitions!for!the!course!of!two!years!spread! in!the!three!cities!basing!the!project,!followed!by!the!final!seminar!in!Istanbul:!Changing! Identities!and!Contexts!in!the!Arts:!Artistic!Research!as!the!New!Paradigm!for!the!Arts! (November!2010,!Helsinki);!The!Artist!and!the!Paradox!of!History!(September!2011,!Helsinki);! The!Living!Archive!(October!2011,!Gothenburg);!Writing!with!Practice!(February!2012);!The! Artist!as!Researcher!(March!2011,!Leeds);!Foreign!Exchange!FOREX!(April!2012,!Leeds);!and! Staging!Knowledge!(June!2012,!Istanbul).!A!selection!of!the!presentations!are!to!be!consulted! in!an!anthology!edited!by!Mika!Hannula,!Jan!Kaila,!Roger!Palmer!and!Kimmo!Sarje,!Artists!as! Researchers!(2013),!published!by!the!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!of!Helsinki.!Again!the!most! remarkable!aspect!of!the!project,!and!also!of!the!publication!for!making!the!topics!available,!is! the!focus!on!artistic!research!on!the!field,!as!it!is!being!pursued!by!artists!in!academies.!To! access!the!works!these!students!are!developing!in!their!doctoral!studies!is!to!access!artistic! research!itself,!without!the!mediation!of!a!theoretician!or!a!policymaker.!I!think!it!is!exactly! what!Jan!Kaila!meant!when!he!carefully!selfgreflected!the!role!of!EARN:!to!never!lose!sight!of! the!content!of!artistic!research!(in!opposition!to!the!generalized!discussion!towards!form):!“…! the!more!general!debate!on!the!legitimacy!of!artistic!research!(how!the!new!practice!works,!is! it!academically!valid,!etc.,!etc.)!more!often!than!not!stole!the!limelight!from!the!doctoral! students’!research.!In!other!words,!the!talk!was!about!the!form!of!the!new!discipline!and!the! actual!content!was!sidelined”!(Kaila,!2013,!p.10)!–!as!previously!quoted!in!the!beginning!of!this! chapter.! 106! ! Other!more!recent!events!should!be!added:!Ice!Breaking!Fantasies!Festival,!organized!by! TAhTO!group!in!Helsinki!in!2014;!Mind!the!Gap73!(2013)!in!Graz;!Loitering!with!Intent:!A!Feast! of!Research!(2014)!in!Stockholm;!Operation!on!the!Open!Heart!(2014)!in!Vienna;!and! Unconditional!Love!(2015)!in!London,!the!last!four!of!the!responsibility!of!Society!for!Artistic! Research;!Unfixing!Images,!a!discussion!on!imagery!in!the!flux!of!political!action!(2015)!in!The! Hague;!and!!The!non0human!and!the!inhuman!in!performing!arts:!bodies,!organisms!and! objects!in!conflict!(2015)!in!Helsinki.!There!could!be!mentioned!others.!I’ve!chosen!to!refer! events!whose!concern!with!artistic!research!was!openly!expressed,!if!only!in!the!connection!to! the!academic!world!all!these!maintain.!! I!am!also!making!a!reference!to!Conversations!on!Artistic!Research!(2014)!74,!held!in!the!Faculty! of!Fine!Arts!of!University!of!Porto,!and!which!I!organized!with!the!support!of!the!Research! Centre!of!Arts!Education!of!i2ADS!g!Research!Institute!in!Art,!Design!and!Society.!It!has!a! particular!relevance,!for!it!unveiled!the!tensions!related!to!the!subject!in!that!specific!context,! and!allowed!the!topic!of!artistic!research!to!definitely!enter!the!agenda!of!the!school!in!Porto,! where!the!seminar!was!hosted,!and,!at!a!personal!level,!it!was!fundamental!for!the! prosecution!of!my!own!research!interests.!The!keynote!speakers!of!Conversations!play! important!roles!in!the!setting!up!of!this!investigation,!especially!Janneke!Wesseling!(NL),! Jeremy!Diggle!(UK),!Annette!Arlander!(FI)!and!Anita!Seppä!(FI).!! Generally!speaking,!the!countries!where!these!kind!of!conferences!and!symposia!happen!more! frequently!are!also!the!ones!where!are!hosted!the!most!wellgknown!European!Projects!and! programmes!of!studies.!The!set!of!trend!makers!comprises!roughly!the!UK,!Sweden,!Austria,! the!Netherlands,!Switzerland,!the!Republic!of!Ireland!and!Finland,!making!Northern!and! Continental!Europe!the!core!centers!of!artistic!research.!! Switzerland!is!the!headquarters!of!Society!for!Artistic!Research.!This!society!develops!efforts!in! a!politically!oriented!perspective!of!artistic!research,!and!coordinates!and!maintains!a!very! important!platform!for!the!distribution!of!outcomes!that!is!the!Research!Catalogue!g!RC75!:!an! open!access!repository!for!members!to!present!and!store!their!projects!of!artistic!research.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 73!From!these!events,!especially!Mind!the!Gap!!seemed!to!have!an!acute!approach!to!the!issue!of!formats!of!presentation,!in!a! very!practical!way,!which!is!rare!in!such!events,!which!often!base!their!activity!in!rhetoric!and!discussion!of!the!clashes!of!theory! and!practice.!In!turn,!Mind!the!Gap!!proposed!an!experiment!in!real!time.!It!was!organized!in!the!University!of!Music!and! Performing!Arts!Graz!(KUG),!and!at!the!duration!of!the!event!six!musicians!conceived!and!played!each!their!pieces!live!in!a!first! moment,!to!present!it!afterwards!in!the!internet!–!through!the!Research!Catalogue!(RCA)!of!SAR.!The!pieces!should!have!been! conceived!in!a!way!that!the!both!contexts!–!live!and!the!web!g!would!allow!for!the!aesthetic!effects!to!unfold!without!prejudice.!It! put!forth!in!a!reflection!on!the!conditions!of!reception!and!the!ways!to!document!work.!Contained!in!this!experiment!is!the! question!of!“why!shift!to!digital?”,!likely!to!be!made.!After!all!RCA!is!a!territory!dominated!by!SAR,!and!so!to!question!the!interest! behind!such!leap!overpasses!the!reflexivity!on!documentation!only!to!center!in!the!questioning!of!power!structures.!Alike!the! academy,!Society!for!Artistic!Research!has!this!twofold!idiosyncrasy,!a!mission!of!trying!to!provide!a!space!for!creative!endeavors! whereas!it!is!a!space!necessarily!committed!to!institutional!cutouts.! 74!More!info!at!http://conversations.nea.fba.up.pt/.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 75!More!info!at:!http://www.societyforartisticresearch.org/rc/researchgcatalogue/.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 107! ! The!Research!Catalogue!is!associated!with!the!Journal!of!Artistic!Research76,!which!in!turn! publishes!some!of!the!submissions!of!the!Research!Catalogue.!Although!SAR!is!based!in!Zurich,! other!countries!join!forces!in!these!projects,!since!the!normal!rule!in!what!concerns!projects!of! artistic!research!in!current!Europe!is!‘networking’.!! Jan!Kaila’s!and!Henk!Slager’s!project!of!EARN!is!evidence!of!the!networking!spirit:!“EARN! subsequently!created!a!network!for!six!doctoral!research!programmes,!whose!main!function!is! to!promote!comparative!cooperation!within!the!area!of!artistic!research!for!students!and! teachers!through!workshops!and!seminars”!(Kaila,!2006,!p.9).!These!programmes!were!soon!to! be!joined!by!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!in!Vienna!and!National!College!of!Art!and!Design!in!Dublin.! As!for!in!2015,!also!Faculty!of!Arts!and!Design!in!Venice,!College!of!Art!and!Design!SintgLukas!in! Brussels,!Valand!Academy!of!Arts!in!Gothenburg,!and!Centre!for!Practicegled!Research!in!the! Art!of!University!of!Leeds,!have!become!members!of!the!network.!Part!of!the!function!of!these! corporations!is!to!produce!materials!of!the!kinds!of!those!cited!here:!events,!position!papers! and!other!publications;!and!these!materials,!in!turn,!reinforce!the!presence!of!the!former! corporations!in!the!market!economy.!For!a!more!ingdepth!overview!of!the!current!European! doctoral!programmes!working!in!the!area!of!artistic!research,!a!visit!to!the!compilation!offered! by!SHARE!platform!is!very!insightful!and!helpful!to!orient!in!the!fieldwork77.!Although!in!need! of!updates,!especially!in!the!descriptions!of!the!mentioned!programmes,!it!still!is!a!purposeful! starting!point!for!a!more!personal!development.!! Still!in!regards!to!EARN,!I!would!like!to!stress!two!important!aspects!about!the!network!that! should!not!go!unnoticed,!neither!forgotten,!in!the!flurry!of!similar!events.!First!I’ve!pointed!out! already!in!this!text:!EARN!did!mark!maybe!not!the!beginning!of!artistic!research,!but!probably! the!regperception!of!the!phenomenon!as!it!is!being!worked!on!in!the!presentgday,!and!is! therefore!the!outset!for!several!efforts!in!Europe!to!comprehend!and!further!develop!it.!The! establishment!of!EARN!originated!not!only!important!relationships!among!people!and! institutions,!but!also!a!number!of!events!that!have!been!decisive!in!the!course!artistic!research! has!been!going!through.!Second:!EARN!seems!to!have!a!conscience!of!artistic!research!that!is! keen!on!its!artistic!potential,!in!contrast!to!other!resembling!organizations,!whose!work!is! primarily!concerned!with!politics!and!funding.!This!is!the!reason!why!I!speak!of!a!“reg perception”,!or!“refreshed!wave”,!rather!than!a!continuation!of!the!already!existing! phenomenon.!When!Leeds!was!included!in!the!partnership!Helsinki!set!with!Gothenburg,!Jan! Kaila!said:!“But!the!goal!of!the!cooperation!remained!unchanged:!to!organize!events!where! the!focus!would!be!on!the!activities!of!doctoral!students!instead!of!on!more!general!issues! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 76!More!info!at!http://jargonline.net/.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 77!More!info!at!http://www.sharenetwork.eu/artisticgresearchgoverview.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 108! ! related!to!artistic!research”!(Kaila,!2013,!p.11).!Although!in!this!utterance!Kaila!was!mentioning! his!collaboration!with!Mika!Hannula!and!Roger!Palmer!(and,!consequently,!their!universities),! such!statement!can!be!applied!to!EARN’s!way!of!thinking!and!proceeding,!as!well!as!to!the! majority!of!initiatives!led!by!these!agents!from!Nordic!countries!and!Continental!Europe.! Whether!they!have!been!successful!or!not!in!exploring!their!particular!perspective,!it!is!too! soon!to!find!out,!I!am!afraid.!The!point,!however,!is!that!by!stressing!their!interest!in!this! direction,!they!are!also!paving!the!way!to!an!improved!relation!between!the!art!field!and!that! of!research.!! Authored!essays!topics!vary,!as!do!their!form.!Some!are!general!ideas!of!artistic!research! (Slager,!2009;!van!Brummelen!&!de!Haan,!2011;!Kirkkopelto,!2011),!some!are!contextual!and! historical!reviews!(Borgdorff,!2006;!Wilson,!2009;!Arlander,!2013),!some!focus!on!methodology! (Arlander,!2008;!Boomgaard,!2011;!Sullivan,!2011;!Lesage,!2013),!some!are!case!studies!with! emphasis!on!production!(Arlander,!2010;!Jacobs,!2011;!van!Brummelen!&!de!Haan,!2014),! some!are!institutional!contextualization!and!disciplinary!reflection!(Arlander,!2009;!Mottram,! 2009;!Jones,!2009;!Harrison,!2009;!Zijlmands.!2011;!Wilson,!2012);,!some!are!visual!essays! (Konrad,!2011;!Mik,!2011;!Van!Snick,!2011,!Kopelman,!2014),!some!are!digressing!on! epistemology!(Elkins,!2009;!Nelson,!2013)!or!philosophy!and!cultural!studies!(Holert,!2009;!van! Wienkel,!2013;!Alves,!2014;!Groys,!2014;!Rajchman,!2014;!Wilson,!2014),!and!some!others!are! more!political!and!offer!further!opinions!on!the!disciplined!and!disciplining!nature!of!artistic! research!(Day,!2011;!Dillemuth,!2011;!Kok,!2011),!and!seen!through!the!lens!of!European! politics!(ArtFutures:!Current!Issues!in!Higher!Arts!Education,!2010;!ArtFutures!–!Working!with! Contradictions,!2014),!while!official!documents!allow!for!comparisons!between!countries!and! research!centres,!from!which!one!is!able!to!perceive!the!state!of!affairs!of!the!administrative! and!technical!aspects!of!artistic!research.!! There!are!also!a!few!journals!worth!a!look!for!publishing!in!artistic!research,!recently!put!to! work!and,!again,!resulting!from!crossguniversities!collaboration.!Besides!the!mentioned!Society! for!Artistic!Research’s!JAR!g!Journal!of!Artistic!Research,!operating!since!2011!and!currently!in! its!seventh!issue,!also!RUUKKU!g!Studies!in!Artistic!Research,!operating!since!2013!and! currently!in!the!fourth!issue,!bases!its!content!mostly!in!the!Research!Catalogue!maintained!by! SAR.!On!the!website!it!says:!“RUUKKU!is!a!multidisciplinary,!multilingual,!peergreviewed! journal!on!artistic!research…![and]!has!opted!for!a!publication!policy!that!includes!thematic! issues,!supplements!with!new!initiatives!for!discussions,!a!section!containing!news!and!topical! issues,!as!well!as!presentations!of!unpublished!research!in!progress“78.!!One!of!the!accepted! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 78!Retrieved!from!http://ruukkugjournal.fi/en/presentation.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 115! ! the!same!time!allowing!for!an!ingdepth!and!wide!insight!of!the!state!of!play!of!the! phenomenon.!!! Nordic!countries,!and!Helsinki!in!particular,!have!been!very!powerful!in!providing! documentation!on!their!achievements,!struggles!and!history.!Especially!FAFA/KuvA!and!Teak! are!highly!committed!in!an!ongoing!public!discussion!of!their!practices,!making!available!the! accomplished!work!of!their!students,!as!well!as!an!ingprogress!research!projects.!Besides!the! largegscale!initiatives!in!which!their!personnel!is!involved,!these!publications!and!smaller! events!are!the!ones!really!worth!knowing!for!a!more!reliable!idea!of!what!is!the!current!state! of!affairs.!To!this!respect,!the!Finnish!are!exemplary!and!count!with!a!number!of!publications! where!the!focus!is!put!on!the!academic!routines!of!artistic!research.!The!Finnish!Academy!of! Fine!Arts!has!published!on!how!has!been!their!process!of!formalization!of!the!field!of!artistic! research!(Kantonen!&!Kaila,!2006),!how!is!the!programme!structured,!how!is!it!seen!through! the!eyes!of!the!protagonists!(Maria!HirvigIjäs,!2008;!Kaila!&!Slager.!2012),!what!kind!of!works!is! being!developed!by!the!students,!with!real!examples!(Hannula;!Kaila;!Palmer!&!Sarje,!2013;! Sarje!&!Wegelius,!2012;!Kantonen!&!Kaila,!2006).!FAFA/KuvA’s!publications!generally!present!a! light!and!engaging!style!of!writing,!which!perfectly!contributes!to!and!highly!increases!the! dissemination!of!their!work.!Sometimes!the!impression!is!as!if!they’re!selling!a!good!brand:! beautiful!design!in!Nordic!style,!internal!promotion,!disclosure!of!internal!history!and!emphasis! on!networking,!the!Finnish!have!decidedly!won!their!stance!in!the!international!arena.! Additionally!to!the!carefully!panned!smaller!events,!they!have!a!flair!for!largegscale!and!the! spectacle:!the!Research!Pavilion!in!the!recent!56th!Venice!Biennale!is!but!an!evidence!of!that!90! In!order!to!propitiate!my!acquaintance!on!the!vernacular!rawness!of!artistic!research,!l!have! gone!through!databases!of!published!dissertations!of!the!Finnish!University!of!the!Arts.!My! idea!was!to!expand!my!firstghand!access!and!opinion!in!these!almostgunmediated!materials,! also!in!account!of!some!criticism!(Nimkulrat,!2011).!A!difference!worth!of!reference!between! the!more!artistic!literature!and!the!other!more!institutionalgconcerned,!is!that!the!first!is! available!in!raw!mode,!corresponding!to!the!decisions!of!its!authors!(even!if!conditioned!by! institutional!circumstances),!while!the!second!is!largely!mediated!by!the!aforementioned! networks,!societies!and!their!members,!providing!a!look!on!politics!that!for!the!most!part!is! not!neutral.!Here!follows!my!overview!in!a!seemingly!reportgstyle!of!the!dissertations!I’ve! designated!of!artistic!research,!and!which!I!found!available!at!public!opengaccess!databases!in! Finland.! & !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 90!More!info!at!https://www.uniarts.fi/en/researchgpavilion.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 116! ! Research&in&higher&arts&education&in&Finland& Doctoral!courses!were!introduced!in!Finland!in!the!beginning!of!the!1980s,!and!the!first! doctorates!in!art!were!awarded!in!the!beginning!of!the!90s.!In!1991!the!first!Doctor!of!Art! (DFA)!in!Finland!graduated,!a!student!from!Aalto!University!School!of!Art,!Design!and! Architecture.!It!was!ten!years!after!the!programme!was!implemented.!First!DFA!from!Theatre! Academy!was!awarded!in!1999,!out!of!the!programme!that!started!in!1988.!In!the!early!days,! the!interval!between!enrolling!and!graduating!was!visibly!longer,!but!time!separating!the! beginning!and!the!completion!of!studies!in!doctoral!level!began!to!shorten!in!the!late!90s.!The! Fine!Arts!Academy!of!University!of!the!Arts!introduced!doctoral!studies!in!1997!and!the!first! student!presented!the!dissertation!in!2001.!With!more!postggraduate!courses!arising!in! different!art!universities!and!academies,!the!number!of!applicants!increases!as!decreases!the! time!spent!on!the!completion!of!their!studies.!Generally,!artists!of!the!twentygfirst!century!are! definitely!engaged!with!postggraduate!studies!and!back!at!the!academy,!the!Finnish!in! particular.!! Nonetheless,!Finland!is!not!alone!in!this!journey.!The!highlight!is!due!to!its!pioneering!spirit,! but!other!northern!countries!follow!close!and!attentively!Finland’s!achievements.!Sweden!is! offering!PhD!programmes!in!both!Lund!University!and!Gothenburg!University.!PhDs!in!art!for! students!enrolled!in!the!Malmö!Art!Academy!are!possible!since!2002!(the!first!doctors!came! out!in!2006)!and!are!awarded!by!Lund!University.!Since!2010!that!Lund!also!hosts!a!national! research!school!in!the!arts,!called!Konstnärliga!Forskarskolan,!aiming!for!a!productive!and! stimulating!environment!for!artistic!research!in!Sweden.!Gothenburg!and!Lund!universities,! together!with!other!seven!higher!education!institutions,!form!this!national!research!school.!In! Gothenburg!University!it!is!the!Faculty!of!Fine,!Applied!and!Performing!Arts!that!houses!the! doctoral!courses.!This!Faculty!currently!aggregates!Valand!Academy!(which!merges!four! previous!schools!in!2012),!HDK!–!School!of!Design!and!Crafts!(resulting!from!two!former! schools)!and!the!Academy!of!Music!and!Drama.!Valand!offers!the!options!of!doctor!of! philosophy!and!doctor!of!the!arts.!Norway!is!more!hesitant!and!did!not!officially!introduce!PhD! awards!in!artistic!practice.!The!Norwegian!government!offers!instead,!since!2003,!a!third!cycle! programme!–!in!the!style!of!a!graduate!school!g!that!leads!to!a!diploma!equivalent!to!PhD! level.! What!is!most!unique!in!the!Finnish!approach!is!the!significance!assigned!to!the!creative!and! practical!part!of!the!dissertation.!In!Finland,!PhDs!and!DFAs,!as!well!as!DAs,!are!regulated!and! prosecuted!in!distinctive!forms.!A!2009!report!of!the!Academy!of!Finland!(the!most!important! funding!institution!for!research!in!the!arts!in!the!country)!on!research!in!art!and!design!in! Finnish!universities!stressed!that!“[t]he!doctoral!degree!at!the!Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts! 117! ! differs!from!most!other!postgraduate!degrees!in!art!and!artistic!research!in!that!the!main! element!of!the!prepared!demonstration!of!knowledge!and!skill!is!the!production!part,!with!60– 80!per!cent!of!the!demonstration’s!credits!yielded!by!creative!work”!(Academy!of!Finland,! 2009,!p.!15).!Finnish!pioneering!spirit!is!definitely!brought!into!play!in!the!way!practice!was! and!is!envisaged!in!these!postgraduate!degrees.!Jan!Kaila,!who!was!among!the!first!batch!of! DFAs!of!the!Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!(1997g2002),!states!that!“The!starting!points!of!our! education!were!radical,!perhaps!even!Utopian;!we!had!no!practical!experience!of!where!it! would!lead…!Subsequent!events!have!shown,!however,!that!had!the!Academy!stopped!to! consider!and!wait!instead!of!charging!ahead!with!speed!and!taking!risks,!doctoral!training!in! the!Academy!would!not!today!be!an!internationally!recognized!institution!and!trailblazer!for! art!universities!setting!up!doctoral!programmes!of!their!own”!(2008,!n/p).!! ! Doctoral&outcomes.&Overview&of&the&Finnish&retrieved&examples! For!more!advanced!the!artistic!research!matters!are!in!Finland,!there!are!still!some!confusing! parameters!in!the!kinds!of!doctoral!outcomes;!such!disarray!would!benefit!largely!from!a! clearer!organization,!with!improvements!both!in!developmental!level!of!the!degrees!as!well!as! in!its!optimized!accessibility.!The!task!of!going!through!databases!and!open!repositories!of! doctoral!research!proved!to!be!a!topsygturvy!experience!on!a!personal!level.!Setbacks!are! mostly!due!to!a!confluence!of!factors:!variable!and!scattered!information!in!a!plurality!of! websites!(TeaK,!for!instance,!does!not!provide!information!on!dissertations!in!the!official! website,!but,!instead,!and!for!some!intriguinggreasongbeyond!–mygunderstanding,!written! dissertations!are!downloadable!in!other!platform,!HELDA,!that!pertains!to!University!of! Helsinki;!!information!on!doctoral!dissertations!produced!at!Sibelius!Academy!is!to!be!found!in! the!recently!set!up!homepage!of!University!of!the!Arts,!in!the!old!Sibelius!Academy!website! and!also!in!their!library!database,!although!information!is!not!always!conformed!in!every! place;!Aalto!University!is!providing!information!for!doctoral!final!projects!of!School!of!Arts,! Design!and!Architecture,!both!in!their!library!website!and!in!Reseda!database,!even!though! items!are!not!100%!matching!in!both!places;!exceedingly!fractionated!categories!qualifying! doctoral!outcomes!(in!Sibelius!Academy,!for!example,!this!originates!at!least!three!groups!of! different!classification!of!dissertations,!which!instead!of!helping!the!research,!only!makes!it! more!confusing);!abundance!of!information!in!some!academies!contrasting!to!very!reduced! serviceable!data!in!other!cases!(despite!the!book!store!with!a!few!items,!no!further! information!is!to!be!found!in!regards!to!doctoral!dissertations!of!the!Finnish!Academy!of!Fine! Arts);!obstacles!stirred!up!by!terminology!and!synonymy!and!translation!difficulties!(especially! in!the!information!available!about!particular!works).!These!hindrances!are!identified!from!a! 118! ! researcher’s!point!of!view,!and!mostly!lay!on!the!access!and!display!of!information.!In!that! sense!they!are!thus!not!related!to!the!development!per!se!of!artistic!research!in!Finnish! universities;!they!are,!at!best,!conditioning!the!understanding!of!Finnish!organization!of!artistic! research!outcomes,!since!access!to!real!cases!and!first!hand!materials!are!not!immediately! reachable!or!easily!accessible,!and!thus!appreciation!and!assessment!runs!the!risk!of!relying!in! third!party!filtered!opinions.!In!any!event,!and!despite!the!remarks,!materials!are!actually! available,!which!is!of!course!a!priceless!advantage.!One!only!has!to!be!persistent!and!attentive,! so!that!results!will!eventually!appear.!If!it!is!the!case!of!a!researcher’s!commitment,!then!it! absolutely!becomes!a!matter!of!perseverance.! Nonetheless,!and!beyond!the!question!of!accessibility,!the!mentioned!fractionating! predisposition!deserves!a!more!implicated!review,!since!it!is!directly!involved!in!generating! kinds!of!dissertations,!ranging!from!more!theoretical!to!more!creative!ones.!For!a!forthright! discussion!to!take!place!I!find!important!to!ease,!or!even!to!disable,!the!aforementioned! fractionating!predisposition!–!it!seems!to!be!more!in!line!with!what’s!been!perceived!as!a! technocratic!tendency!towards!the!definition!of!artistic!research.!From!the!point!of!view!of! someone!who!is!researching!artistic!research,!that!allgconsuming!exertion!only!adds!confusion! and!unnecessary!stratification,!especially!if!one!takes!into!account!that!the!theoretical! differentiation!very!rarely!finds!corresponding!expression!in!final!projects.!! ! Sibelius&Academy&of&University&of&the&Arts,&Helsinki! I!have!accessed!circa!24!doctoral!final!projects!by!the!Sibelius!Academy,!where!18!were! submitted!under!the!category!of!“doctoral!dissertation”,!5!are!“artistic!dissertations”!and!the! remaining!one!is!labeled!as!“applied!project”.!Despite!the!kind!of!dissertation,!each!of!these! publications!has!a!necessary!written!part,!if!not!the!whole!of!the!dissertation,!of!the!work!load! required!to!become!a!Doctor!of!Music!in!Sibelius!Academy.!When!they!enroll,!doctoral! students!can!choose!one!from!three!programmes:!the!Art!Study!Programme,!Research! Programme!and!the!Development!Study!Programme.!The!emphasis!of!the!Art!Study! Programme!is!put!on!the!artistic!dissertation,!in!which!the!written!work!is!accompanied!with! concerts,!recordings!and/or!compositions!in!the!case!of!composition!students.!This!creative! part!I!regard!as!a!necessary!part!of!an!artistic!research!work.!The!“doctoral!dissertation”! category!I!dealt!with!in!the!searching!engine!of!the!library!of!Sibelius!Academy!corresponds!to! the!Research!Programme,!one!that!delivers!a!rather!theoretical!dissertation!for!its!intents.! Finally,!the!Development!Study!Programme,!is!presented!in!the!old!website!of!Sibelius! Academy!as!such:!“In!the!Development!Study!Programme,!students!complete!a!theoretical!or! performance!specialization!in!a!particular!area!of!music.&The!degree!has!either!an!artistic!or! 119! ! scientific!focus.!The!purpose!is!for!students!to!acquire!new!skills!that!they!can!apply!in!their! musical!careers.!Doctoral!students!develop!into!experts!of!their!chosen!field,!producing!new! and!tested!methods,!applications!and!practices.!An!integral!part&of!the!degree!is! the!development!study!project,&which!can!include!concerts,!recordings,!compositions,!notation! publications,!teaching!demonstrations,!learning!material,!equipment,!software!etc”91.!! It!seems!that!this!particular!study!seeks!for!a!balanced!approach!between!the!theoretical!and! the!artistic!inputs.!It!is,!at!first!sight,!a!not!very!clear!purpose,!given!that!already!the!Artistic! Study!Programme!asks!for!a!written!part!in!which!this!balance!could!be!easily!practicable.!The! Development!Study!Programme!also!receives!the!name!of!“Applied!Project!Study! Programme”,!as!evidenced!in!the!library!website,!which!may!indicate!a!focus!on!the! applicability!of!results.!This!applicability!should!be!verified!in!concrete!examples,!otherwise! and!again!what!is!left!is!the!idea!that!such!musical!applicability!could!be!enhanced!in!the! artistic!dissertation.!Unless,!of!course,!we!are!dealing!with!proposals!of!luthiers!and!other! instrument!makers,!with!technical!stage!improvements!and!other!inputs!differing!from! instrument!playing.!The!one!retrieved!item!of!Applied!Project!from!Sibelius!Academy!library!is! not!sufficient!in!number!to!draw!conclusions!on!what’s!particular!about!this!category.!It!is!a! dissertation!defended!by!Sakari!Löytty,!in!2012,!and!goes!with!the!name!People’s!Church!–! People’s!Music!Contextualization!of!liturgical!music!in!an!African!church.!It!is!an!extensive! document!plenty!of!detailed!information!on!liturgical!music!in!Africa,!ranging!from!contextual! enrichments!and!more!technical!notes,!whose!aims!were!directed!at!producing!new!liturgical! music!in!a!Namibian!church.!Despite!the!consensual!high!quality!of!the!work,!I’d!say!it!could! still!fit!in!the!Artistic!category!of!doctoral!dissertations.!It!has!a!very!solid!background!for!the! practical!part,!but!then!also!the!Artistic!modality!is,!I!think,!flexible!and!receptive!for!this.!On! the!other!hand,!it!is!the!existence!of!an!artistic!outcome!that!prevents!People’s!Church!to! perfectly!match!the!Research!Programme!modality.!And!what!happens!when!a!research!is! framed!within!more!than!one!category?!! Not!infrequently,!regulatory!compulsion!leaves!blind!spots!suitable!for!exceptions.!And!such! exceptions!are!sometimes!in!enough!number!to!put!into!question!the!whole!regulatory!and! categorized!model.!Across!the!Art!Study!Programme,!Research!Programme!and!the! Development!Study!Programme!many!dubious!labeling!is!occurring.!Are!these!distinctions! really!mattering!for!the!educational!commitments!both!of!the!students!and!the!institution?! Are!they!resulting!in!diverse!impulses!for!knowledge!and!meaninggmaking!in!musical!research,! or!are!they!rather!and!instead!knotting!and!timegcatching?!The!distinction!between!a!study!on! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 91!More!info!at!http://www5.siba.fi/en/studies/doctoralgdegrees/applyinggasgagfullgtimegstudent/developmentgstudygprogramme.! Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 120! ! music!and!a!study!through!music!seems!already!fair!and!problematic!enough!so!that!any!other! parceling!views!are!dispensable.!It!should!be!as!simple!as!Löytty!puts!it!in!this!final!descriptive! fragment!of!the!abstract:!“This!research!project!consists!of!an!ethnomusicological!study,! including!a!written!report!on!the!making!of!new!liturgical!music,!and!an!artistic!production! named!The!Namibian!Mass.!The!project!combines!artistic!and!scientific!research!methods,! while!the!emphasis!is!scientific”!(2012,!p.!15).!Why!make!it!more!complicated?! It!is!more!and!more!evident!that!artistic!research!is!so!to!the!extent!that!it!comprises!a! practical!artistic!component.!It!might!look!an!expectable!deduction!but!my!commitment!with! this!investigation!is!not!to!take!for!granted!anything,!so!that!conclusions!come!only!after! verification!of!first!hand!materials.!All!other!third!cycle!final!works!are!left!out!of!the!“umbrella! concept!of!artistic!research”!(Annette!Arlander,!2009),!pertaining!to!some!other!scientific,! humanist!and!technical!valid!possibilities.!Beyond!this!rule,!artistic!research!is!very!flexible.!As! long!as!practice!is!articulated!with!solid!reflexive!writing,!the!result!is!very!likely!to!be! acceptable.!What!is!then!at!stake!is!no!longer!whether!the!work!is!artistic!research!or!not,!but! much!more!how!well!it!was!conceived.!The!current!survey!is!not!concerned!with!quality,!but! rather!with!identifying!valid!assignments.!!! It!does!not!seem!desirable!that!an!impetus!of!categorization!would!fall!into!areas!of!artistic! research,!as!seems!to!indicate!the!aforementioned!situation!of!Sibelius!Academy!–!whose! programmes,!however,!are!not!introduced!as!artistic!research!programmes.!Considering!that! the!name!‘artistic!research’!is!a!quite!recent!terminology,!the!present!review!is!also! considering!materials!and!procedures!where!can!possibly!be!identified!activity!foci!where! artistic!research!is!and!was!being!developed!without!such!label!assigned.!! There!is!a!long!tradition!of!the!Sibelius!Academy!in!awarding!doctors!in!music,!and!it!is,!de! facto,!one!of!the!biggest!and!most!productive!higher!arts!education!institutions!in!Finland!to! this!effect.!According!to!SHARE!network!g!StepgChange!for!Higher!Arts!Research!and!Education! g,!Sibelius!awards!an!average!of!eight!doctors!of!art!per!year92,!and!yet!a!close!view!to!the! database!of!eThesis!renders!slightly!more!impressive!results:!summing!up!the!three!doctoral! dissertations’!categories!(“doctoral!dissertation”,!“degree!of!doctor!artistic!study!programme”! and!“degree!of!doctor!applied!project!study!programme”),!in!2014!were!awarded!13!doctoral! students,!12!students!in!2013,!9!in!2012,!6!in!2011,!8!in!2010,!and!2!in!199093.!If!one!attains! only!to!the!artistic!dissertation!then!the!numbers!are,!from!2010!to!2014,!respectively!4,!2,!2,!3! and!5.!This!could!be,!to!my!understanding!and!at!first!sight,!the!number!of!artistic!research! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 92!More!info!at!http://www.sharenetwork.eu/artisticgresearchgoverview/finland.!Retrieved!on!30.06,2015.! 93!These!were!one!artistic!dissertation!and!one!research!dissertation.!The!Development!Study!Programme!appears!for!the!first! time!in!the!database!in!2001!with!one!student!graduating.! 121! ! dissertations!produced!in!Sibelius!Academy.!But!not!all!the!outcomes!of!the!Art!Study! Programme!are!to!be!considered!artistic!research!outcomes,!despite!their!artistic!component.! Going!through!the!entire!database,!this!is!the!overview!of!the!category!“degree!of!doctor! artistic!study!programme”94:! ! 2014! 2013! 2012! 2011! 2010! 2009! 2008! 2007! 2006! 2005! 2004! 2003! 2002! 2001! 2000! 1999! 1998! 1997! 1996! 1995! 1994! 1993! 1992! 1991! 1990! 5! 3! 2! 2! 4! 12! 5! 1! 3! 6! 1! 5! 3! 5! 3! 2! 1! 1! 2! g! 1! 5! g! 1! 1! ! As!previously!said,!I!was!able!to!download!and!consult!only!5!theses!of!the!Artistic!Programme! from!the!total!of!72!referenced,!either!because!there!was!no!file!available,!or!because!the! available!file!was!entirely!written!in!Finnish.!From!the!quite!different!approaches!through! which!I!could!read,!I!wouldn’t!say!that!all!of!them!are!unproblematic!examples!of!artistic! research!explorations.!Artistic!research!comprises,!in!principle,!certain!operations!that!are!not! purely!artistic!neither!completely!theoretical.!The!specific!articulation!could!be!retrieved,!for! instance,!in!the!dissertation!of!Tapio!Tuomela,!Musical!Interaction!in!Concertante!Situations! (2014),!which!endorses!a!proficient!articulation!between!his!concerts!and!the!investigation!of! the!idea!of!interaction!in!three!different!levels!of!interest:!soloist!and!orchestra,!music!and! text,!and!music!and!moving!images.!The!author!is!openly!addressing!artistic!purposes!and! bases!his!exploration!in!artistic!means.!The!remaining!cases!give!raise!to!reflection!in!order!to! contribute!to!a!more!concise!idea!of!the!field!of!artistic!research.!! In!general,!music!education!courses!slightly!different!paths!of!those!of!visual!and!other! performing!arts.!It!has!a!tradition!of!its!own!and!not!always!is!possible!–!or!simple!–!to!look!for! transversal!subjects!that!cross!all!artistic!disciplines.!Musical!education,!to!a!large!extent,!is! highly!attached!to!skill!and!the!development!of!that!skill.!Although!exist,!of!course,!studies!that! look!at!music!from!external!perspectives,!positioning!the!field!socially,!politically!and!seeking! for!pedagogical,!therapeutic!and!historical!accurate!studies,!most!of!the!times!the!expertise!in! music!is!intimately!related!to!the!improvement!of!playing,!concepts!of!interpretation!and! relations!and!improvements!between!players.!Jarno!Kukkonen’s!dissertation!Early!Jazz0Rock.! The!Music!of!Miles!Davis!196701972!(2005)!is!a!document!committed!to!analyze!various! aspects!in!great!detail!of!Miles’!music,!tracing!also!his!influence!to!the!redefinition!of!jazz.!Only! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 94!Data!retrieved!in!11.03.2015!at!the!website!http://ethesis.siba.fi/.! 122! ! briefly!is!mentioned!in!the!text!(not!in!the!“Abstract”,!but!in!the!“Background”!part)!that! Kukkonen’s!dissertation!also!includes!five!concerts!in!which!he!performed.!I!couldn’t!find!any! attempt!to!articulate!this!part!with!the!Miles!Davis’!music!analysis,!which!made!me!think!that! this!study!could!be!also!placed!as!a!doctoral!dissertation!kind!of!outcome.!For!the!lack!of! information!about!the!performances!I!am!left!to!think!that!there!is!no!explorative! entanglement!between!text!and!practical!part,!which,!in!comparison!to!the!domain!of!visual! arts!would!lead!to!a!situation!quite!improbable!these!days.!While!in!the!music!field!it!is! common!the!pursue!of!virtuosity!and!performance!improvement!guided!by!an!artist!model!or! legacy,!in!a!visual!arts!dissertation!it!would!be!very!unlikely!to!find!one!student!trying!to! achieve!a!certain!high!degree!of!virtuosity!by!looking!at!works!of!other!artists.!This!is!one!of! the!idiosyncrasies!of!music!education!that!are!visible!in!doctoral!research!works!and!diverge! from!other!artistic!fields.!! The!2013!dissertation!What!nature!tells!me:!Semiosis,!narrative,!death!and!nature!in!Gustav! Mahler's!‘Der!Abschied’,!by!Matthew!Whittall,!is!entirely!textual!reflexive!in!the!idea!of!nature! in!Mahler’s!work!through!a!multifaceted!analysis!of!his!song!“Der!Abschied”.!Why!not!labeled! as!doctoral!dissertation!then?!For!its!side,!Pedalling!Liszt’s!works!on!the!Modern!Piano!(2014),! by!Mart!Ernesaks,!proposes!an!acoustical!analysis!of!pedaling!Liszt’s!works,!addressing!the! differences!existing!between!pianos!of!his!time!and!the!modern!pianos,!and!suggesting!ways! of!filling!the!temporal!gap!and!the!resulting!differences!in!sound!from!one!instrument!to!the! other.!It!combines!historical!reflection!with!empirical!data!and!technical!analysis!of! experimental!recordings.!Creativity!is!thus!not!employed!in!the!creation!of!an!artistic!piece,! but!in!the!suggestion!of!valid!alternatives!to!surpass!the!current!difficulties!in!maintaining! Liszt’s!ideas!of!pedalling!which!were!not!obviously!written!having!in!mind!the!modern!piano.!I! consider!that!creativity!and!artistic!insights!have!to!be!convened!for!such!an!accomplishment.! Javier!Arrebola’s!dissertation!(2012)!is!about!playing!the!entirety!of!Schubert’s!finished!sonatas! for!piano,!and!articulate!those!two!years!of!concerts!with!a!text!document!dedicated!to! Schubert’s!unfinished!sonatas.!I!was!not!able!to!access!any!of!the!parts,!only!the!texts!the! author!wrote!as!programme!notes!for!the!concerts,!but!his!description!sounds!like!what!could! be!a!good!example!of!artistic!research.!! Thus,!going!back!to!the!numbers!shared!in!the!table!above,!they!do!not!accurately!relate!to! artistic!research,!although!corresponding!to!completed!dissertations!under!the!category!of!the! Artistic!Study!Programme.!So,!whereas!to!include!an!artistic!production!part!is!a!necessary! condition!to!outcome!artistic!research,!it!is!not!enough!per!se!if!it!does!not!exists!an!additional! entanglement,!direct!or!indirect,!between!the!practical!component!and!the!written!part!of!the! dissertation.!What!happens!is!that!according!to!Sibelius!Academy!regulation!(Djupsjöbacka,! 123! ! 2011),!even!the!dissertations!produced!in!this!programme!can!opt!for!an!entirely!written! thesis,!dispensing!on!the!artistic!part,!if!they!are!in!the!modality!of!composition!studies,!music! education,!music!technology!and!arts!management.!Again!the!question!arises:!why!to!rely!on! these!categories!when!they!are!overlapping!so!often!and!where!exceptions!subvert!initial! conditions!all!the!time?!!!!!!!! Sibelius!Academy!is!involved!in!other!doctoral!schools!besides!DocMus95!and!MuTri96.!I!have! also!consulted!finished!theses!produced!in!The!Finnish!Doctoral!Programme!for!Musical! Research!MuTo97,!operating!since!2012.!It!functions!as!a!networked!doctoral!school,! combining!efforts!from!seven!universities:!Sibelius!Academy!University!of!Arts!Helsinki,! University!of!Helsinki,!University!of!Eastern!Finland,!University!of!Jyväskylä,!University!of! Tampere,!University!of!Turku!and!Abo!Akademi.!The!homepage!of!the!programme!refers! eleven!finished!dissertations,!whose!abstracts!are!available,!and!through!which!I!read!only!to! conclude!that!they!look!very!competent!works!on!areas!such!as!musicology,!ethnomusicology,! pedagogy,!biographical!studies!and!history!of!music.!Artistic!research!is!not!being!mentioned! neither!practiced,!since!the!dissertations!emphasize!theoretical!frameworks!and!practical! outcomes.!Also!the!involvement!of!Sibelius!Academy!in!the!Graduate!School!of!Music!and! Sound!Research!Pythagoras!delivers!no!results!eligible!for!artistic!research.!The!7!dissertations! referenced!on!the!website,!finished!in!the!period!of!2001g2005,!highlight!technical!and! scientific!interests!already!stressed!in!the!network!environment!of!the!school:!University!of! Jyväskylä,!Department!of!Music;!TKK!Laboratory!of!Acoustics!and!Audio!Signal!Processing;!TKK! Telecommunications!Software!and!Multimedia!Laboratory;!Sibelius!Academy,!Department!of! Doctoral!Studies!in!Musical!Performance!and!Research;!Sibelius!Academy,!Department!of! Composition!and!Music!Theory;!University!of!Helsinki,!Cognitive!Brain!Research!Unit;! University!of!Art!and!Design!Helsinki,!Media!Lab.! Summarizing!Sibelius!activity!in!regards!to!artistic!research,!it!matters!to!retain!that!despite! the!commitment!with!categorization,!results!do!not!always!match!the!intended!characteristics! of!each!category.!Even!though!there!is!not!a!unanimously!officially!stipulated!definition!of! artistic!research,!I!have!chosen!to!consider!for!its!basic!identity!–!based!on!literature,! conversations!and!also!a!personal!opinion!g!that!a!creative!part!must!exist!in!the!whole!of!the! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 95!“The!DocMus!doctoral!school!focuses!on!doctoral!education!for!music!performance!research.!It!was!founded!in!2011!when!the! doctoral!education!for!church!music!and!composition!and!music!theory!were!joined!into!the!DocMus!Department,!which!was! founded!in!1999”.!Retrieved!from:!http://www5.siba.fi/en/studies/doctoralgdegrees/doctoralgacademy/docmusgdoctoralgschool.! Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 96!“MuTri!doctoral!school!is!the!central!operational!unit!for!scientific!and!artistic!doctoral!education.!It!is!responsible!for! coordinating!and!administrating!the!faculty's!doctoral!education!and!research.!It!specifically!aims!to!further!develop!joint!doctoral! education!for!the!departments!and!the!doctoral!academy.!The!faculty's!doctoral!education!takes!place!mostly!through!five! departments!(jazz,!folk!music,!music!education,!music!technology,!and!arts!management)”.!Retrieved!from:! http://www5.siba.fi/en/studies/doctoralgdegrees/doctoralgacademy/mutrigdoctoralgschool.!Last!access!on!30.05.2015.!! 97!More!info!at:!http://www.muto.fi/en/web/453249/etusivu.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 124! ! dissertation,!to!which!relates!also!a!textual!component.!Every!category!falling!out!of!this! duality!are,!by!principle,!not!eligible!to!be!named!after!artistic!research.!I!have!collected!3! demonstrations!of!the!activity!of!this!field!of!knowledge!in!music!specialization!(2012,!2014,! 2014).!That!makes!3/5,!and!applying!this!rule!to!the!data!of!the!table!of!Artistic!Studies! Programme,!then!43!of!72!works!referenced!would!be!artistic!research!work.!My!statement!is! everything!but!scientific,!only!indicative,!because!no!tendency!can!be!verified!empirically!with! so!few!examples.! ! University&of&Lapland! University!of!Lapland!is!one!of!the!five!university!status!higher!art!education!institutions!in! Finland!awarding!Doctors!of!Art!and!Design!through!the!Faculty!of!Art!and!Design.!After! reviewing!theses!published!in!the!interval!of!2005g2015!and!made!available!in!the!Doria98! database!maintained!by!National!Library!of!Finland,!the!conclusion!is!that!Lapland!University!is! not!fully!engaged!in!artistic!research.!I!cannot!tell!whether!it!is!not!yet!engaged!for!a!question! of!time!or,!in!the!other!hand,!if!it!is!sort!of!resisting!the!approximation!to!the!developing!field.!I! can!only!notice!the!awkward!occurrence!that!in!current!times!a!university!offering!doctoral! degrees!in!art!and!design!is!nowhere!providing!a!reference!or!an!introduction!to!their! understanding!of!artistic!research.!That!would!be!expectable!not!only!to!enlighten!prospective! students,!but!also!to!politically!position!the!institution!in!face!of!such!topical!issue.! Nevertheless!the!regulations!on!the!making!of!dissertations!that!are!displayed!on!the!website! of!University!of!Lapland!foresee!the!artistic!component!–!which!can!even!reach!50%!of!the! total!of!the!thesis.!At!the!same!time!the!law!on!university!degrees!(2004)!is!evoked!to!sustain! the!necessity!of!the!written!part!of!the!dissertation!in!any!event!at!third!cycle!levels.!Reading! through!the!descriptions!on!the!website!of!University!of!Lapland,!the!found!tone!is!scienceg supportive,!emphasizing!the!academic!goals!as!first!goals!in!any!doctoral!degree,!only!then! valuing!artistic!purposes.!Particularly!this!last!remark!is!inhibitive!for!artists!looking!for!creative! environments!where!they!can!engage!in!a!reflexive!inquiry!over!their!work,!which!goes!against! a!broader!and!more!challenging!outset!for!artistic!research!from!artists’!perspective.! Nevertheless,!from!the!15!dissertations!that!I!was!able!to!consult!(in!most!cases!only!the! Abstract!was!in!English,!and!two!others!I!discarded!for!being!completely!in!Finnish),!2!seemed! to!outline!proposals!matching!artistic!research99,!in!the!sense!that!combined!a!practical!part! with!reflexive!background,!and!their!authors’!aims!seemed!directed!at!artistic!concerns.!There! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 98!It!is!a!multiginstitutional!repository!maintained!by!the!National!Library!of!Finland.! 99!Seija!Ulkuniemi!!(2005)!and!SIlja!Nikula!(2012).!! 131! ! performance!art,!through!Acta!Scenica!(2012)!and!in!dedicated!chapters!and!journals!(2008;! 2009;!2010;!2013).!Her!work!and!the!wide!range!of!her!activities!(as!teacher,!artist,!lecturer,! board!member,!editor!and!collaborator!in!many!initiatives!of!the!concern!of!artistic!research)! are!very!inspirational.!Arlander’s!views!are!quite!useful!for!an!understanding!of!artistic! research!from!the!point!of!view!of!a!practicing!artist.!The!English!abstract!of!her!written!thesis! reveals!a!very!acute!conscience!of!the!entanglement!of!reflective!writing!and!artistic!practice:! “The!text!is!divided!into!two!parts.!The!first!deals!with!the!space!of!a!performance!on!a!general! level!and!in!the!light!of!previous!research,!while!the!second!describes!the!practical!work!and! the!performances.!The!space!of!a!performance!is!approached!as!a!place!that!creates!meaning! on!the!level!of!physical!space!and!the!space!described!in!the!text,!and!as!spatial!relationships! between!the!performers!and!the!spectators.!It!is!discussed!using!the!concepts!fictional!and! factual!space,!performance!situation!and!‘performance!world’.!The!performancegaudience! relationship!is!seen!as!composed!of!the!stagegauditorium!relationship!in!the!space,!the!mode! of!address!in!the!text,!and!the!chosen!performergspectator!relationship”!(Arlander,!1998,!p.7).!! The!research!centre!of!TeaK!is!the!Performing!Arts!Research!Centre!–!Tutke.!The!Guide!to!the! Performing!Arts!Research!Centre!of!the!Theatre!Academy,!the!centre!which!is!responsible!for! research!and!doctoral!studies!at!TeaK,!in!the!previous!version!stated!in!the!foreword!that!“At! the!Theatre!Academy,!all!research!is!artistic,!practicegbased!or!practicegled!research!in!art!or!in! arts!pedagogy”109.!Ahead!in!the!document!is!again!stressed!the!dual!focus!on!art!and!pedagogy! by!announcing!that!“Doctoral!studies!are!a!challenging!opportunity!for!a!performance!artist!to! be!educated!as!a!researcher!of!the!practices!and!possibilities!of!one’s!own!art!form.!The!goal!is! to!develop!one’s!own!expression,!artistic!experimentation!and!research!skills!for!producing! new!knowledge!and!experience!in!performing!arts,!in!the!challenges!of!artistic!work!and/or! the!teaching!of!these!fields!of!art”!(2010,!p.1).!What!apparently!seems!a!subtlety,!an!inclusive! measure!to!amplify!the!target!audience!of!the!programme,!will!determine!results!that! fundamentally!vary!the!nature!of!artistic!research.!More!specifically,!the!structure!of!doctoral! studies!require!that!“The!research!(180!cr)!is!based!on!a!plan!of!research!that!includes!artistic! or!practical!part(s)!and/or!a!written!part”!(2010,!p.!7),!leaving!space!for!what!seems!the! possibility!of!a!written!part!only!to!fulfill!research!demands.!Unfortunately!statutes!regulating! Tutke,!including!degree!regulations!and!degree!requirements!for!the!doctoral!studies,!are!only! available!in!Finnish.!My!understanding!of!the!research!field!is!not!articulating!so!professedly! pedagogical!intents,!leaving!the!peculiarities!of!arts!education!to!the!field!of!arts!education.!I! will!stand!with!the!view!that!although!artistic!research!is!an!institutional!contingency,!not! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 109!This!same!sentence!is!still!findable!in!the!webpage!that!the!University!of!the!Arts!Helsinki!dedicates!to!research.!Retrieved!from! http://www.uniarts.fi/en/doctoralgeducation/theatregacademy.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 132! ! every!doctoral!study!in!the!arts,!or!even!through!the!arts,!is!a!contribution!to!the!development! of!the!field!of!artistic!research.!Whenever!the!outcomes!bypass!contemporary!art!field!to!cling! to!related!areas!of!pedagogy,!ethnography!or!therapeutic!studies,!to!give!a!few!examples,!then! artistic!research!is!not!artistic!research!but!arts!education,!ethnography!of!art!or!wellness.!!!! ! FAFA/KuvA&S&Finnish&Academy&of&Fine&Arts&of&University&of&the&Arts,&Helsinki&& The!Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts,!known!as!FAFA!or!as!KuvA!(the!first!an!English!acronym!and! the!latter!in!Finnish),!does!not!provide!open!access!to!dissertations!produced!by!their!doctoral! students.!Instead,!some!of!these!works!are!published!as!books!by!the!Academy!press,!and!so! are!for!sale!through!their!website.!During!my!stay!at!KuvA!as!visiting!researcher,!in!the! beginning!of!2015,!study!coordinator!Henri!Wegelius!offered!me!and!our!Department!of!Arts! Education!in!the!Faculty!of!Fine!Arts!of!University!of!Porto!a!few!of!these!books.!! In!the!published!The!Artist’s!Knowledge!–!Research!at!the!Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!(2006),! Jan!Kaila!gives!some!hints!on!numbers!and!names!of!doctoral!students,!as!well!as!a!bit!of! history:!“Three!stages!can!be!seen!in!the!activities!of!the!postgraduate!program!up!to!this! point.!During!the!first!stage!(1997g1999),!the!group!of!six!students!chosen!gathered!together! for!work!and!theory!seminars!as!well!as!continuing!their!artistic!productions!and!research! work.!…!In!the!second!period!of!the!program!(2000g2004),!2g3!students!were!admitted! annually.!The!laboratorygstyle!seminars!now!became!broader,!more!subgdivided!and! heterogeneous!in!their!range!and!the!artgforms!represented,!and!in!this!sense!they!covered!a! wider!field!of!practice.!…!The!postgraduate!program’s!third!stage!(2004!onwards)!began!under! the!leadership!of!Professor!Jan!Kaila.!This!stage!has!been!marked!by!a!refining!of!academic! criteria,!along!with!national!as!well!as!international!networking”!(Kaila,!2006,!p.8).!According! to!the!same!text,!from!1997!to!2006!KuvA,!from!the!nineteen!artists!enrolled,!four!have! graduated:!Jyrki!Siukonen!(2001),!Jan!Kaila!(2002),!Teemu!Mäki!(2005)!and!Jan!Kenneth! Weckman!(2005).!!! Add!to!that!the!dissertation!of!Petri!Kaverma,!featured!in!Everything!but!an!Island!(2012),!who! has!defended!the!dissertation!in!2012.!Considering!also!the!two!theses!that!were!published!by! the!Academy,!one!in!2010!and!the!other!in!2012,!from!the!beginning!of!the!programme!until! 2012!there!are!at!least!seven!accomplished!dissertations.!Moving!Shadows.!Experimental!Film! Practice!in!a!Landscape!of!Change!(2012),!by!Sami!van!Ingen,!is!intersecting!six!of!his!films!and! a!written!part!of!his!demonstration!where!he!seeks!to!problematize!artgmaking!in!the!film! medium!and!experimental!practices.!The!reflective!writing!aims!to!follow!the!process!of! creation!and!to!give!insights!from!the!perspective!of!the!artist!as!creator.! Denise!Ziegler’s!Features!of!the!Poetic!(2010)!is!the!theoretical!part!of!her!doctoral!study!or,!as! 133! ! they!say!at!KuvA,!of!the!“doctoral!demonstration!of!knowledge!and!skill”.!It!links!to!an! exhibition!where!Ziegler!explored!concepts!she!analyses!in!the!book,!whereas!the!book!also! discusses!things!learned!in!the!makinggof!of!the!exhibition.!In!other!words,!both!platforms! inform!and!relate!to!each!other,!as!presupposes!the!entanglement!suggested!by!artistic! research.!Features!of!the!Poetic!featured!in!Manifesta!2011,!as!part!of!the!project!As!the! Academy!Turns110!curated!by!EARN!–!European!Artistic!Research!Network.!This!project! comprised!a!symposium,!an!info!lab!presentation!as!part!of!an!exhibition,!and!an!artwork!in! the!form!of!a!soap!opera!(by!Tiong!Ang).!The!focus!of!the!symposium!was!put!on!the!ways!in! which!research!trajectories!in!art!are!being!shaped!by!the!academy!and!what!are!the! challenges!that!emerge!for!the!academy!as!well.!In!order!to!set!such!inquiry,!“…!an! investigation!has!been!made!into!the!practice!of!artistic!PhD!research!currently!being! conducted!in!art!academies.!During!the!threegday!As!the!Academy!Turns!symposium,!eight! exemplary!doctoral!research!projects!from!leading!European!art!academies!were!presented! and!discussed”111.!In!addition!to!Denise!Ziegler’s!dissertation,!have!been!discussed!other! completed!theses!by!Magnus!Bärtås!(Gothenburg),!Matts!Leiderstam!(Malmo)!and!Maija! Timonen!(London)!(who!is!now!teaching!at!KuvA!and!TAhTO)!and!other!four!that!are!still!in! progress.!The!panel!that!critically!commented!on!the!projects!comprised!“…!highgprofile! authorities!such!as!Juergen!Bock!(Lisboa),!Mika!Elo!(Helsinki),!Tom!Holert!(Vienna),!Jan!Kaila! (Helsinki),!Sarat!Maharaj!(Malmo),!Tuomas!Nevanlinna!(Helsinki),!Marquard!Smith!(London),! Hito!Steyerl!(Berlin),!and!Jan!Svenungsson!(Berlin)”112.! I!add!this!brief!with!the!intention!to!give!an!insight!of!the!network!formation!that!supports!and! gives!life!to!the!phenomenon!of!artistic!research.!Looking!in!retrospect,!I!think!that!the! formation!of!EARN!outsets!very!much!the!efforts!that!have!been!collectively!undertaken!in! Europe!(especially!North!and!Continental!countries),!ranging!from!assembled!groups,! associations,!and!academic!programmes!set!in!partnership.!The!“highgprofile!authorities”! participating!in!As!the!Academy!Turns!are!very!much!the!core!group!of!personalities!that!have! been!carrying!out!the!most!notable!and!disseminated!events!on!the!field!–!together!with!the! curator!of!the!project,!Henk!Slager,!and!a!few!other!personalities!in!arm’s!length!of!any!of! these!mentioned!names.!They!are!usually!to!be!found!in!at!least!one!of!the!staff!boards!of!the! main!universities!and!academies!dedicating!to!artistic!research,!and!are!usually!ready!for! partnerships!involving!other!similar!institutions,!as!well!as!working!on!ways!to!penetrate!in!art! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 110!“Manifesta's!invitation!to!organize!a!collaborative!project!in!Murcia!in!2010!fully!matched!EARN's!philosophy,!since!EARN! believes!that!the!research!debate!should!relate!as!directly!as!possible!to!concrete!artistic!practices.!This!perspective!was!the! natural!starting!point!for!the!project!As!the!Academy!Turns,!developed!for!Manifesta!8.!As!the!Academy!Turns!is!a!multilayered! project!exploring!the!potentials!and!the!tensions!in!the!growth!of!artistic!research!and!the!current!academization!of!art! education”.!More!info!at!http://www.mahku.nl/activities/publications_MaHKUzine10.html.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 111!Retrieved!from:!http://www.mahku.nl/activities/publications_MaHKUzine10.html.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 112!Retrieved!from:!http://www.mahku.nl/activities/publications_MaHKUzine10.html.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 134! ! world!with!projects!that!aim!at!reinforce!that!bridge!between!academy!and!artgmaking.!Most! of!the!events!and!literature!milestones!I’ve!mentioned!in!the!section!of!the!establishment!of! artistic!research!as!a!field!of!knowledge!are,!one!way!or!another,!related!to!the!personal!or! institutional!efforts!of!any!of!these!personalities.!! ! TAhTO&<!Doctoral&Programme&in&Artistic&Research,&Helsinki! TAhTO113!group,!or!TAhTO!school,!as!I’ve!spotted!in!different!occasions,!is!a!doctoral! programme!in!artistic!research!resulting!of!the!partnership!of!two!universities:!University!of! the!Arts!Helsinki!and!Aalto!University!School!of!Art!and!Design.!Formed!in!2013,!University!of! the!Arts!is,!in!turn,!the!joint!project!of!three!academies:!Finnish!Academy!of!Fine!Arts! (FAFA/KuvA),!Theatre!Academy!(TeaK)!and!Sibelius!Academy.! TAhTO!started!in!January!2012!and!is!expected!to!outcome!the!first!graduates!by!the!end!of! 2015.!! It!is!a!programme!explicitly!dedicated!to!artistic!research,!as!TAhTO!is!the!Finnish!acronym!of! “Taiteellisen!tutkimuksen!tohtoriohjelma”,!which!stands!for!the!English!“doctoral!programme! in!artistic!research”.!Therefore,!the!work!of!this!students!is!not!based!in!preconceived!notions! of!artistic!research!that!could!be!driving!the!structure!and!objectives!of!the!programme;!these! students!are!actually!assuming!“…responsibility!for!the!development!and!future!of!the!field! through!their!own!research”,!to!the!extent!that!“The!outcomes!will!include!not!only!new! degrees!and!researchers,!but!also!methodologies,!practices,!academic!pedagogies!and! assessment!criteria!for!artistic!research!as!well!as!expertise!on!the!interaction!between!art!and! society”114.!What!makes!TAhTO!unique!is!that!they!explicitly!assume!this!trailblazer!role.!! The!group!is!very!exclusive.!Their!students!are!enrolled!in!the!programmes!of!the!partner! institutions,!and!have!applied!to!be!part!of!this!supplementary!school!of!artistic!research.! TAhTO!is!funded!by!the!Academy!of!Finland,!the!main!funding!public!entity,!presumably!for! being!an!innovative!programme!that!unites!the!arts!and!research.!According!to!what!I!was!told! in!conversation!with!Mika!Elo,!there!is!an!amount!of!money!attributed!to!the!programme,! managed!by!the!board,!but!next!year’s!funding!might!be!transferred!in!a!different!manner!to! the!respective!partner!academies,!probably!meaning!also!a!different!organization!of!TAhTO.!! It!is!still!very!early!to!ascertain!the!overall!performance!of!the!first!year,!since!the!first! graduates!are!still!to!accomplish!their!researches.!From!what!I!was!told!in!the!interview!I!made! with!Leena!Rouhiainen,!Annette!Arlander!is!already!elaborating!a!report!that!might!serve!as! the!basis!for!the!future!assessment!exercise.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 113!More!info!at!http://www.artisticresearch.fi/tahto/about/.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 114!Retrieved!from!http://www.artisticresearch.fi/tahto/about/.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 135! ! The!activities!of!TAhTO!are!very!concerned!with!the!public!presentation!and!discussion!of!the! research!undertook!by!the!students.!Regularly!are!organized!seminars!–!research!seminars,! theme!seminars!and!open!seminars!–!where!students!present!the!state!of!their!research!and! receive!feedback.!It!was!in!the!occasion!of!one!of!those!research!seminars!that!I!came!to! acquaint!myself!with!their!work!and,!consequently,!with!the!Nordic!context.!! In!September!2015!I!attended!Ice!Breaking!Fantasies!Festival115!in!Helsinki,!organized!by!TAhTO! students.!The!festival!consisted!of!an!exhibition!of!the!students’!work,!performances,!sound! events,!a!closing!party,!presentations!of!their!ingprogress!research,!roundtables!and!keynote! presentations!in!a!seminar!titled!Why!do!we!do!what!we!do?.!In!these!days!I!had!the!chance!to! meet!Jan!Kaila,!Annette!Arlander,!Janneke!Wesseling,!Esa!Kirkkopelto,!Leena!Rouhiainen,!Henk! Borgdorff,!Anita!Seppä!and!learn!about!the!work!of!TAhTO’s!students,!as!well!as!the!lectures!of! Esa!Kirkkopelto!and!Leena!Rouhiainen,!Janneke!Wesseling!and!Mick!Wilson.!My!presence!was! also!important!to!set!things!for!the!seminar!Conversations!on!Artistic!Research!that!I!was!by! then!planning!to!organize!in!November!in!Porto.!! At!a!personal!level,!this!festival!marked!my!realization!of!how!networked!and!internationally! organized!was!the!phenomenon!of!artistic!research.!The!authors!that!I!used!to!read!before! were!there,!most!of!them,!at!the!same!time!and!place!participating!in!an!academic!event.!They! talked!of!past!events,!they!prepared!future!plans.!My!conscience!of!the!importance!of!the! Nordic!context!was!also!prompted!at!those!days.!In!one!way!or!another,!from!many!of!the! authors!publishing!and!organizing!relevant!events!in!the!concerns!of!artistic!research!can!be! spotted!a!link!to!TAhTO!or!to!one!of!its!board!members.!Just!to!give!a!few!examples:!Annette! Arlander!and!Esa!Kirkkopelto,!long!time!teachers!at!Theatre!Academy,!had!important!roles!in! the!foundation!and!accompanying!of!TAhTO!group;!Hito!Steyerl!and!Jan!Svenungsson,!who! taught!at!Kuva,!are!now!teaching!in!Berlin!and!Vienna,!respectively;!Mika!Elo!was!previously!a! teacher!in!Aalto!University,!and!now!teaches!at!FAFA/KuvA;!Leena!Rouhiainen,!member!of! TAhTO’s!board,!is!now!also!part!of!the!board!of!Society!for!Artistic!Research;!Jan!Kaila,!once! part!of!the!staff!of!TAhTO!and!vicegrector!of!FAFA/KuvA!was!recently!appointed!professor!in! Sweden;!Mick!Wilson!composes!the!Advisory!Board!of!TAhTO!while!directing!the!doctoral! programme!at!Valand!Academy;!Janneke!Wesseling!is!cogdirector!of!PhDArts!at!KABK/Leiden! University!and!was!invited!speaker!in!Ice!Breaking!Fantasies!Festival,!as!did!Mick!Wilson;!Anita! Seppä!is!the!actual!director!of!the!doctoral!programme!of!FAFA/KuvA!and!was!once!part!of! TAhTO!staff;!Henk!Slager,!director!at!MaHKU!in!Utrecht,!is!not!taking!direct!part!in!TAhTO!but! used!to!be!visiting!professor!at!FAFA/KuvA,!and!a!longtime!collaborator!with!Mick!Wilson,!Jan! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 115!More!info!at:!http://www.artisticresearch.fi/tahto/news/icegbreakinggfantasiesgfestivalgmakesgartisticgresearchgpalp/.!Last! access!on!30.06.2015.! 136! ! Kaila!and!Anita!Seppä.!Together!with!the!last!two,!Henk!Slager!formed!the!team!that!organized! the!‘event!of!the!year’!in!what!respects!artistic!research,!The!Research!Pavilion!at!the!56th! Venice!Biennale,!commissioned!by!Seppä!and!curated!by!both!Kaila!and!Slager.!! The!quality!of!the!discussions!and!the!work!shown!seemed!so!highgstandard,!everyone!so! committed,!that!I!remember!I!felt!baffled!for!the!first!time!of!my!life!in!this!kind!of!academic! seminarglike!events.!In!fact,!they!were!far!more!interesting!than!the!all!equally!average!feeling! I!end!with!in!this!kind!of!events,!by!outstripping!the!ever!present!discussion!of!knowledge! production!and!assessment.! ! Other&Finnish&doctoral&frameworks& Doctoral!studies!in!art!ministered!at!Abo!Akademi!University,!University!of!Helsinki!and! University!of!Jyväskylä!are!not!relating!to!artistic!practice!but!to!art!history!and!pedagogical,! social,!political!and!human!aspects!of!art!and!culture.!Tampere!University!of!Applied!Sciences! offers!higher!education!in!Art!only!in!BA!and!MA!levels,!as!well!as!Turku!University!of!Applied! Sciences.! ! Research&in&higher&arts&education&in&the&Netherlands/The&Hague& In!most!European!countries!polytechnics!are!not!awarding!PhDs,!whereas!in!some!cases! master!degrees!are!being!hosted!in!polytechnic!institutions.!However!these!are!not!regarded! as!valid!as!those!offered!by!universities,!so!that!in!order!to!follow!to!a!doctoral!programme,! the!student!of!the!polytechnic!has!to!collect!additional!ECTS!to!match!the!requisites!applied!to! university!students.!! According!to!Erik!Viskil,!“![a]!university!programme!is!different!from!an!art!school!programme! in!the!Netherlands;!we!have!a!system!with!two!‘streams’!of!higher!education:!the!university! and!what!we!call!higher!vocational!or!higher!professional!education.!The!university!is!scientific,! scholarly,!based!on!research!and!striving!for!research,"whereas"higher"vocational"education"is" more%practically%oriented”116."! In!the!Netherlands,!the!Technical!University!of!Delft!awards!PhDs,!although!not!in!art.! Academies!of!art!are!keeping!their!autonomous!statuses!from!universities,!benefiting!from!this! separation!in!what!concerns,!for!instance,!requirements!for!teaching!positions,!since!it!is!not! compulsory!that!teachers!in!academies!are!PhDs.!Academies!of!art!are!also!taking!advantage! of!the!possibility!of!courses!organized!in!association!with!universities!–!in!collaboration,!that!is!! g!that!allow!for!doctoral!programmes!without!undertaking!profound!changes!in!the!academy’s! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 116!Excerpt!of!the!interview!that!I!have!conducted!with!Erik!Viskil!at!KABK!The!Hague.!The!entire!edited!transcription!is!available!in! the!“Annexes”.! 137! ! structure!–!as!says!Janneke!Wesseling,!“[s]ince!our!Hogeschool,!our!Art!Academy!cooperates! closely!with!the!University,!it!was!only!logical!that,!after!the!Conservatoire!started!with!the! PhD!research!in!Music,!which!is!docARTES,!it!was!only!logical!then!also!that!KABK,!which!is!the! Art!Academy,!would!join!with!the!programme!in!Visual!Art!and!Design.!So!the!logic!behind!it!is! that!we!as!the!entire!Hogeschool,!which!consists!of!the!Conservatoire!and!the!Art!Academy,!is! a!collaboration!with!Leiden!University”117.!So!the!differentiation!between!polytechnic! education!and!scientific!education!is!‘technically’!being!preserved!in!the!Netherlands,!with! scientific!education!being!thus!reserved!for!universities,!while!applicability!and!technical! developments!are!the!aims!of!polytechnic!institutions.!! The!Royal!Academy!of!Art!and!the!Royal!Conservatoire!of!The!Hague!form!the!University!of!the! Arts!and,!in!association!with!Leiden!University,!they!are!the!Academy!of!Creative!and! Performing!Arts.!This!Academy!hosts!two!doctoral!programmes:!docArtes!(since!2004!and! together!with!Amsterdam!Conservatoire)!for!practicegbased!research!in!music,!and!PhDArts,!a! doctoral!programme!for!visual!arts!and!design,!running!since!2008.!My!interest!in!Dutch! framework,!and!the!reason!for!staying!a!few!months!in!The!Hague!as!a!visiting!researcher!was! to!get!to!know!better!the!organization,!aims,!staff!and!students!of!PhDArts118.! The!implementation!of!the!Bologna!Agreement!has!not!eclipsed!the!binary!model,!although! there!have!been!shifts!and!changes!in!trying!to!adapt!to!an!also!changing!reality.!A!2010!report! on!higher!art!education!commissioned!by!the!Dutch!Ministry!of!Education119!has!made!some! considerations!on!this!model,!suggesting!not!the!extinction!of!such!system,!but!its!revision.!In! the!document!was!claimed!that!polytechnics!should!not!try!to!look!like!universities,!and! instead!should!regprofile!themselves!in!the!open!possibilities!of!research!relevant!to! professional!practice.!This!also!leaves!an!interesting!interstice!for!the!higher!art!education! institution!to!be!placed!upon:!sometimes!regarded!as!a!‘polytechnicgplus’,!since!by!no!means!it! matches!the!scientific!demands!of!purely!research!universities,!post!graduate!arts!education! should!also!take!the!chance!of!the!shifting!environments!prompted!by!Bologna,!not!to! necessarily!join!university!framings,!but!rather!to!claim!for!a!space!for!useful!artistic!research.!! Judging!by!the!amount!of!criticism!in!the!public!sphere!towards!the!requirements!of!university! teaching,!research!and!assessment,!the!integration!of!the!Academy!of!Fine!Arts!of!Porto!in!the! University!of!Porto,!which!originated!the!presentgday!Faculty!of!Fine!Arts,!seems!to!be! generally!perceived!by!artists!and!teachers!alike!as!a!mistake.!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 117!Excerpt!of!the!interview!that!I!have!conducted!with!Janneke!Wesseling!at!KABK!The!Hague.!The!entire!edited!transcription!is! available!in!the!“Annexes”.! 118!More!info!at:!http://www.phdarts.eu/Index.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.! 119!!Differentiëren!in!drievoud,!accessed!in!https://eliaartschools.wordpress.com/2010/09/06/highergartsgeducationgingtheg netherlandsgtwogreports/.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015. 138! ! In!Portugal!the!possibility!of!a!university!of!the!arts!is!something!yet!to!be!explored.!And! despite!in!the!Dutch’s!report!the!University!of!the!Arts!London!is!given!as!an!example,!the! Dutch!Academy!of!Creative!and!Performing!arts!is!also!doing!well!exploring!that!role.! *! After!leaving!Helsinki,!I!arrived!in!The!Hague!in!the!middle!of!February!2015,!preparing!for!a! stay!of!five!months!as!visiting!researcher!at!KABK!–!Royal!Academy!of!Art/University!of!Leiden.! Just!a!few!days!upon!my!arrival,!PhDArts!programme!held!one!of!five!Spring!Collegia!at!the! Academy.!Usually!Collegia!are!just!open!for!the!staff,!supervisors!and!studentship!of!the! programme,!except!in!a!few!cases!where!they!are!elaborated!as!public!symposia120.!! This!was!the!second!Collegium!of!the!Spring!Programme!2015,!and!comprised!the!presentation! of!two!students!and!one!initial!lecture!by!an!invited!speaker.!This!Collegium!was!my! introduction!to!the!group!and!first!acquaintance!with!their!dynamics.!That!evening!some!of!us! went!out!informally!to!Der!Stroom,!for!a!public!talk!of!Jürgen!Bock!and!Ângela!Ferreira!on!their! project!Maison!Tropical,!so!I!think!my!introduction!to!PhDArts!group!was!easy!and!quick.! On!that!Collegium!on!the!19th!February!I!met!again!Jeremy!Diggle,!who!was!the!invited!lecturer! of!that!session.!Again!I!was!delighted!with!his!methods!and!very!personal!approach!to!artistic! research.!The!session!comprised!also!the!presentations!of!Yota!Ioannidou,!after!Jeremy! Diggle‘s!lecture,!and!Delphine!Bedel’s!after!dinner.! As!an!artist,!Diggle!shared!with!us!one!of!his!complex!narratives,!visually!led!and!partially!autog biographical.!Once!more!I!found!it!very!inspiring!for!the!way!I!felt!engaged!in!the!succession!of! pieces!he!put!together!and!how!these!made!me!think!of!more!general!things!of!the!broader! field!of!research.!We!talked!for!a!while!during!dinner!(which!in!the!Netherlands!is!scheduled!at! 18h,!in!the!middle!of!the!work!plan!of!that!day),!again!about!my!research,!Portugal,!Cumbria! and!Australia,!his!near!future!artistic!plans,!and!my!nomadic!current!state.!After!dinner!the! session!went!on!for!the!last!presentation.!! Everyone!in!the!audience!is!expected!to!contribute!with!something!to!the!discussion,!either!by! commenting!or!posing!questions.!This!is!part!of!the!duties!of!these!students,!as!an!active! audience,!and!their!role!is!specified!in!the!norms!of!the!Collegium121.!They!proved!to!be!a!very! concerted!group!in!what!respects!this!feedback!stimulus:!“…!the!primary!goal!of!the!Collegium! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 120!From!the!official!document!of!PhDArts!on!“Collegium!PhDArts”:!“The!Collegium!is!a!meeting!where!doctoral!students,!staff!and! supervisors!discuss!current!research!projects!and!exchange!feedback,!where!students!learn!to!situate!their!research!questions!and! projects!in!broader!contexts,!and!where!more!general!intellectual!and!artistic!exchanges!take!place.!All!doctoral!students!report! here!on!their!research!progress!in!papers!and!in!oral!and!artistic!presentations”.!The!document!offers!instructions!on!the!time!of! presentation,!the!time!intended!for!discussion,!the!role!of!the!audience!in!posing!questions,!and!the!necessity!of!distributing! written!material!for!the!colleagues!and!staff!at!least!one!week!before!the!Collegium,!so!that!it!can!be!discussed.!It!also!proposes! a!list!of!topics!to!be!discussed!independently!of!the!research!being!presented.!Since!this!document!is!not!publicly! available!except!for!PhDArts!students,!I!will!not!include!it!in!the!“Bibliography”!section!of!this!dissertation.! 121!It!is!written!“Each!student!(who!is!not!presenting)!will!prepare!at!least!one!question!based!on!the!distributed!materials.!These! questions!are!to!be!reflective!and!critical,!not!informative!(i.e.!not!merely!asking!for!more!details”!(PhDArts!Collegium!2014/2015).! 139! ! is!getting!feedback.!In!other!words,!a!student!should!organize!her/his!presentation!in!such!a! way!that!s/he!can!receive!an!optimal!response!with!regard!to!various!components!of!her/his! research.!One!possibility!to!achieve!this!is!to!pose!questions!to!the!audience,!about!problems! concerning!the!content!and/or!about!problems!concerning!methodological!or!formal!matters.! …!In!general!the!student!should!keep!in!mind!that!her/his!fellow!PhD!candidates!might!not!be! experts!on!the!same!terrain.!…!However,!as!all!students!are!dealing!with!practice!based! research,!they!all!are!supposed!to!be!able!to!contribute!something!with!regard!to!methods,! the!relation!between!written!part!of!the!dissertation!and!the!artistic!outcomes,!problems! regarding!progress,!time!table,!etc”(PhDArts!Collegium!2014/2015)122.! As!said,!this!Collegium!of!the!19th!of!February!included!the!presentations!of!Yota!Ioannidou! and!Delphine!Bedel,!the!first!went!right!after!Diggle’s!lecture,!and!Bedel’s!took!place!after!the! break.!They!were!quite!different,!as!are!their!subjects,!but!the!two!insightful!to!listen!to.!I!had! previously!read!their!research!projects,!as!did!all!their!colleagues,!in!order!to!prepare!the! session!and!the!feedback!in!advance.!! The!first!interesting!fact!I!came!across!was!that!the!presentations!were!not!a!repetition!of! what!was!written!in!the!projects.!This!act,!per!se,!seemed!to!me!it!embodied!the!conscience!of! the!different!expectations!associated!with!different!forms!of!documentation.!Text,!oral!and! artistic!practice!are!all!tied!to!the!same!investigation,!yet!are!grounded!in!distinct!platforms! which!mobilize!also!different!tools!and!ways!of!articulation!of!the!author’s!concerns.!These! realizations!are!not!meaningless!details!that!should!go!unnoticed;!they!do!play!a!role!in!the! broader!understanding!of!artistic!research!and!its!most!crucial!points.!What!the!separation! ultimately!means!for!the!notion!of!artistic!research!in!what!concerns!its!reification!in!a! dissertation,!is!that!the!writing!part!should!not!repeat!the!practical!investigation,!or!vicegversa.! The!dissertation!must!function!as!a!whole,!but!the!wholeness!is!not!to!be!found!in!each!of!its! components,!through!different!languages,!but!perhaps!in!an!articulation!of!these!that!occurs! outside!themselves!–!perhaps!in!the!subject?!The!components!are!unavoidably!connected,!but! they!must!offer!different!perspectives!on!the!studied!topic!through!their!own!particular! structures!of!making!sense.!This,!it!seems!to!me,!is!how!PhDArts!staff!conducts!the! investigations.!! My!interest!in!looking!at!the!working!methods!deployed!in!PhDArts!and!other!programmes! lays!precisely!in!observing!such!procedures,!the!importance!dispensed!to!such!aspects,!in! order!to!access!the!general!convictions!that!support!their!view!on!the!field.!Therefore!it!is!in! these!smaller!peculiarities!that!are!more!often!than!not!embodied!the!political!positioning! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 122!This!is!part!of!a!series!of!official!and!orientating!documents!of!PhDArts!curriculum!and!structure,!which!were!kindly!sent!to!me! by!the!programme!coordinator,!Judith!Westerveld.! 140! ! towards!a!main!subject.!So!even!if!the!research!background!is!always!present,!Yota!Ioannidou! opted!to!put!the!emphasis!of!her!presentation!on!the!artistic!side!of!her!investigation,!in! contrast!to!the!written!project!that!shared!a!more!theoretical!approach!and!general! explanation!of!the!research!proposal.!! Yota!Ioannidou!spoke!more!of!the!artistic!productions!she!had!been!developing!in!articulation! with!the!research!proposal,!and!shared!with!us!a!video!of!her!participatory!lecture!The! Storyteller,!the!Knife!and!the!Machine,!included!in!the!Athens!Biennale!2013.!I!was!told!and! shown!things!I!couldn’t!know!just!by!reading!her!research!proposal.!In!turn,!the!written!text! gave!me!a!general!positioning!that!I!could!not!possibly!understand!just!relying!on!the!oral! presentation.!This!actually!made!me!think,!because,!as!I!see!it,!it!sort!of!removes!the! absolutism!so!often!assigned!to!text:!the!written!document!is!not!expected!to!comprise! everything!that!concerns!the!doctoral!investigation,!either!by!means!of!ingdepth!reflection,!or! mere!description!of!a!practice;!everything!is!the!sum!of!every!part,!each!playing!its!unique! role.!PhDArts!was!therefore!proving!to!promote!a!balanced!view!on!the!matter!of!the!form! and!documentation!of!artistic!research.! Yota!Ioannidou!research!subject!is!“Research!based!art!as!Docudramaturgy:!performative! aspects!of!research!based!art!at!the!beginning!of!21st!century”,!and!she!starts!off!the!question:! “What!performative!aspects!are!emerging!in!the!research!process!of!collecting,!registering!and! presenting!material!and!in!what!ways!are!they!contributing!in!knowledge!production!and! aesthetic!experience?”123.!In!the!document!she!sent!the!staff!and!colleagues!of!PhDArts!for! this!Collegium,!she!also!wrote!that!“[i]n!my!art!practice!the!research!process!itself!becomes! the!artwork”.!This!fragment!of!text!has!become!the!trigger!of!the!problematic!aspects!on! Ioannidou’s!research!extensively!discussed!during!the!Collegium.! I!see!that!many!developments!in!contemporary!art!may!have!led!to!an!increasing! subjectivation!of!the!artist!as!being!more!researchgminded,!and!therefore!to!be!interested!in!a! reflective!art!making.!The!contemporary!artist!has!reached!a!point!where!it!seems!part!of!the! way!to!be!an!artist!also!to!go!down!in!the!contextualization!of!the!work,!and!to!position!this! work!and!the!author!in!face!of!political!and!social!events.!Placed!in!the!middle!of!a!knowledge! society,!where!the!production!of!knowledge!has!become!a!new!capital,!the!artist!feels!the! need!to!have!a!word!on!where!this!economy!meets!art!practice!and!the!art!world,!so!that!the! publicgness!of!the!artwork!does!not!escape!artist’s!control!completely.!The!appearance!of!the! phenomenon!of!artistic!research!can!therefore!be!regarded!as!political!position,!in!the!side!of! the!artist.!In!this!sense,!the!use!of!the!term!“research”!ought!to!be!an!informed!choice,!in! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 123!As!the!document!is!not!made!publicly!available,!I!will!not!include!it!in!the!“Bibliography”!of!this!dissertation.! 243! ! 28th!of!June!2015.! In!an!interview!Dirk!Hoyer!did!to!Henk!Slager,!he!asked!the!curator:!“What!is!the!difference! between!an!Artistic!Research!exhibition!and!a!regular!exhibition?”&Slager!answered!that:!“A! research!exhibition!is!obviously!an!exhibition.!And!every!exhibition!has!to!be!visually!strong! and!intellectually!exciting.!What!I!think!is!specific!about!the!Research!exhibition!is!that!it! includes!a!lot!of!discursive!moments,!so!in!the!same!space!there!are!lot!of!events,!activities,! seminars!that!also!contextualize!the!projects!and!create!other!perspectives.!It!offers!an! ongoing!process”226.! The!relationship!between!contemporary!art!and!artistic!research!is!explored!through!the!axis! of!experimentality.!This!actually!sounds!not!so!surprising!for!a!postgconceptualist!and!postg structuralist!environment:!after!accepting!the!reconnection!necessity!of!the!society!of!the! twentiethgfirst!century,!the!idea!of!a!state!of!stability!has!been!settled!up.!This!idea!is! characterizing!artistic!events,!which!in!turn!are!molded!by!the!inescapable!neoliberal!context! wherein!they!occur,!and!which!is!responsible!for!flattening!the!aspiration!of!revolutionary! shifts!into!a!climate!of!more!or!less!controlled!experimentalism227.!I’ve!written!previously!in! chapter!2:!”Contemporary!rhythms!have!not!armed!us!with!sufficiently!accurate!tools!or!the! right!frames!to!analyze!events!in!the!globalized!era.!Everything!happens!too!fast!in!the! experimental!regime…!Images!produced!in!these!circumstances!are!therefore!playing!the! aestheticization!of!its!content:!the!numberless!biennials!only!rarely!propose!experiments!of! interest!out!of!the!cul0de0sac,!and!also!the!manic!neoliberalgprompted!research!impetus!are! two!good!examples!of!attempts!of!capturing!a!reality!that!in!turn!act!as!their!deg functionalization”!(p.!55).! The!Research!Pavilion!anchors!its!activities!in!the!following!questions,!according!to!the! information!on!the!Catalogue:!“How!does!experimentality!manifest!itself!in!contemporary!art?! Did!the!discourse!on!artistic!research!and!its!methodologies!redefine!our!ideas!regarding! experiments!and!experimentality?!Does!current!research!generate!new!types!of! methodologies!(such!as!affective!or!multisensory!approaches)!reassessing!the!nature!of! experimentation?”!(University!of!the!Arts!Helsinki.!2015).!For!a!more!ingdepth! problematization!of!these!issues,!the!questions!should!be!addressed!with!the!consciousness!of! the!‘state!of!experimentalism’!where!contemporary!artistic!production!is!embedded!in,!rather! than!standing!with!the!devaluing!of!the!term!with!which!Kaila!apparently!sees!it.!Answering! the!question!of!Dirk!Hoyer,!“What!does!experimentality!mean!in!the!context!of!this! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 226!Excerpt!of!the!interview!between!Dirk!Hoyer!and!Henk!Slager.!Retrieved!from:!http://www.uniarts.fi/en/blogs/researchg pavilion/birthgpavilion.!Last!access!on!30.06.2015.!! 227!I!have!explored!further!these!ideas!in!chapter!2!“Framework”,!in!particular!in!the!part!“From!autonomy!to!new!materialism!or! how!did!we!move!from!experienciality!to!experimentalism”.! 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