Research Catalogue

Transmutations seeks to redefine the term transformation through a staged concert — a concert conceived as a work of art in itself. The traditional concert format and conventional performance practices are showing signs of stagnation, thus calling for the emergence of a voice adapted to this transformation. The boundaries of music, especially within the classical realm, have gradually blurred in recent times. Increasingly, artists are exploring the concert as a form of expression that not only integrates other artistic disciplines but also embraces technological advancements. This approach challenges traditional aesthetic conventions and the notion of genre and musical style. The omnipresence of technology in contemporary society underlines the need for research that explores the many possibilities of the concert format. This staged concert aims to redefine the concept of transformation by avoiding any stylistic boundaries. The works of Richard Strauss, John Cage, and Alexander Schubert are included not only for their artistic value but also for their contribution to the very notion of transformation.

Artistic research project: "Resisting Gentrification: In-situ Performative Protests in Trešnjevka Neighborhood"

My Bachelor's project investigates the spellbinding Sufi music practices by questioning and comparing its origins and traditions in two culturally significant locations: Syria and Morocco. It is interesting in the various but spiritually connected manner of two prominent Sufi orders—the Qadiri Boutchichi Tarika in Morocco and the Naqshbandi Tarika in Syria. These orders not only serve as spiritual guides but also play a central role in preserving and disseminating the unique art of Sufi music. This artistic research consisted of different steps. I interviewed two Sufi musicians, the first one from Morocco and the second one from Damascus. The questions were focused on the differences and the similarities between the two cultures, instruments, melodies, and rhythm. I studied Sufi music from Arabic sources as well, so I had to translate many important historical facts, taking into account the ethics of the research. I relied on my musical background in this research as part of the Syrian Sufi music and on my tours during Sufi music festivals, where I met Sufi musicians from different countries. Being a seasoned Sufi music practitioner myself, I tried to add a personal touch to this work based on my experience. I found many cultural differences between the two Sufi music styles, but I found many similarities at the same time. Two countries in different places far from each other have wide cultural diversities, but the same rhythm is the key to making the conversation with the divine. Dhikr is a mutual element as well, even though it has some special details related to the geographical region. Keywords: Sufism, Sufi music, Morocco, Damascus, Universal, History

The artistic works discussed in this article – two audio pieces and three experimental films – showcase a tangible connection with the tools, machines, and processes used in their making. The sonic works include Mes bronches by Henri Chopin and “Opus Putesco” by Jacob Kirkegaard. The films feature Noisy Licking, Dribbling & Spitting by Vicky Smith, Transit(ive) by Sarah Bliss, and a Darkness Swallowed by Betzy Bromberg, including a soundtrack by Pam Aronoff. The five case studies depict the technologically mediated human body as the source and basis of sound. This article aims to examine the complex relationship between materiality and hapticity. The theoretical approach will explore how performativity is embedded in the production of embodied sounds (and images) and why a dynamic view of materiality is essential. It will then discuss haptic vision and haptic listening, shifting the focus to the act of reception. As I will argue, engaging with the material through embodied forms of art production and reception has significant ethical and political implications.

Reworking the archival estate of the Turkish-born poet Semra Ertan, who has lived in West Germany as a so-called “guest laborer” from 1971 until her death by self-immolation in 1982, Cana Bilir-Meier’s film Semra Ertan (2013) pursues representational concerns via material means: in particular, via the materialities of sound cuts and tape hiss. This article brings Bilir-Meier’s sound work in dialogue with Tina M. Campt’s “listening to images” (2017) and Salomé Voegelin’s “sonic methodologies of sound” (2021) in order to develop a sonic method that accounts for the situatedness of historically and socially differently positioned listening subjects.

This article discusses sonic materiality through Alfred North Whitehead’s organicist materialism. The sonic materiality that is here outlined is not related to sound vibration. Materiality should here be understood in the sense of actuality and concreteness. Anything that produces an effect bears a qualitative difference. The actualization of qualitative difference is concreteness. It is in this sense that sonic materiality is developed in parallel with spatiality. The liveliness of this space emergence is that of affect; its concreteness is that of affect. It is based on Affect theory that we may understand its experience as an immersion in a concrete but abstract qualitative difference, an abstract materiality. Thus, the sonic materiality departs from a conventional conception of objects to foster a sonic object that constitutes itself through relationality and extensive connections. The empirical concept of affective territory speculatively attempts to grasp the spreading out of affect expressiveness through these connections to track its effects in experience.