Research Catalogue

15 documented artistic works performed by Ellen Ugelvik et al. (solo/chamber/sinfonietta/orchestra)

This exposition documents my explorations of pondering with pine trees. Tämä ekspositio dokumentoi yritykseni miettiä mäntyjen kanssa. Den här ekspositionen dokumenterar mina försök att fundera med furor.

Photography with sound and net art, drawing, found folk sculpture with digital drawing, readymades, 2012, 2020, 2021. Accompanied by archival material. The exposition exposes the question of what is artistic research. Usurping the mini-essayist format, which is traditionally associated with research in say the area of philosophy, the exposition formally operates on different levels. I selectively included visual art research material from my own artistic archive, as well as anonymous material that's readily available from the internet and in film archives. In this way, I wanted to emphasise the role of archiving and using archives in the artistic process, as an element of artistic research and artistic production that might involve remediation. Taking that we live in a largely theoretic culture, which means that we use external information systems for storage and retrieval of written, visual and other material, the implication is that art is part of this theoretical system. Moreover, I specifically problematise the notion of value in relation to the visual arts by using the popular media figures of the counterfeit and the impostor, with reference to the so-called "impostor syndrome", correlated with being a minority of some sort in one's field: "A different thought is that two people may be answerable to the very same standard of success or competence, yet be subject to different epistemic standards for reasonable belief in their respective success or competence. This would be an example of pragmatic encroachment." (Katherine Hawley, "What is Impostor Syndrome?", Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 93, 2019). I use visual art and figurative examples as illustrations, adapting from methods, such as the example, used in analytic philosophy. I suggest that some artworks operate as philosophical provocations of the archive. "The artwork just exists", as Frank Stella argued. In this view, I ordered this exposition as a design proposal for two independent, yet interconnected exhibitions: one for the final artistic exhibition show; and one as a general overview for the artist's studio, set up as a stand alone, if parallel, exhibition.

In this exposition, Falk Hübner and Heleen de Hoon share the process and reflections of their collaborative research project "Running Tilburg". In this project, Falk aimed to connect to an urban surrounding by means of long distance running. In September 2021, Falk Hübner started his work as professor of Artistic Connective Practices at Fontys Academy of the Arts in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Together with dramaturge Heleen de Hoon, he decided to get to know and connect to the city and the new surroundings by running it, and explore running as a connective practice - literally through spending time with feet on the ground. Heleen and Falk asked a group of colleagues, all living in the city, to share places to run by, and related stories to these places. Guided by these stories Falk and Heleen created a map and a script for a 53K run, documented by video, photos and field notes. Rather than presenting conclusive findings and final reflections, the purpose of this exposition is to share the documentation of the process and the experience. Thus, we understand the project and this exposition quite literally as a first step to lead to potentially next and new steps.

This project investigates Western musical instruments as being critical and even dangerous sites, which should be approached with the greatest of caution. Approached as liminal interfaces between the living and the dead, suspended between past(s) and present(s), turning these instruments into both paranormal and parasitic sites, which should be treated as such. Instruments as pathological contaminated bodies of parasitic discourse ready to jump at you and embed themselves in you, sedimenting within you and, subsequently, playing you. Instruments as haunted sites saturated with ghostlike matters of toxoplasmatic ectoplasm, fostering ghosts with the capacity to possess and inflict pain on to other bodies, active in the past as well in the present. With an interest in the notion of instrumentalization and what instruments can mean, control, and do to bodies, instruments are approached from a safe(r) distance through different (group) interventions, raising questions on how best to emolliate and soften the instrumental body? How to soften the big silent? How to soften the sedimented?

In my artistic research project, I embarked on an exploration of the continuum between the roles of a music producer as both facilitator and initiator. Through in-depth engagement with real-world scenarios in professional music production, I examined the dynamics and nuances of how these roles negotiate, intersect, and shape the final artistic outcomes. This investigation not only unveils the intricate processes that underpin music creation but also highlights the implications these negotiations have on the resulting works of art. The findings shed light on the subtle artistry embedded in production decisions and offer a fresh perspective on the evolving landscape of music production.