Research Catalogue

This project aims to develop transcultural approaches of inspiration (which we regard as mutually appreciated intentional and reciprocal artistic influence based on solidarity) by combining approaches from contemporary music composition and improvisation with ethnomusicological and sociological research. We encourage creative (mis)understandings emerging from the interaction between research and artistic practice, and between European art music, folk and non-western styles, in particular from indigenous minorities in Taiwan. Both comprehension and incomprehension yield serendipity and inspiration for new research questions, innovative artistic creation, and applied follow-ups among non-western communities. The project departs from two premises: first, that contemporary western art music as a practice often tends to resort to certain degrees of elitism; and second, that non-western musical knowledge is often either ignored or merely exploited when it comes to compositional inspiration. We do not regard inspiration as unidirectional, an “input” like recording or downloading material for artistic use. Instead, we foster artistic interaction by promoting dialogical and distributed knowledge production in musical encounters. Developing inter­disciplinary and transcultural methodologies of musical creation will contribute on the one hand towards opening up the—rightly or wrongly supposed—“ivory tower of contemporary composition”, and on the other hand will contribute towards the recognition of the artistic value of non-western musical practices. By highlighting the reciprocal nature of inspiration, creative (mis)understandings will result in socially relevant and innovative methodologies for creating and disseminating music with meaning. The methods applied in the proposed project will start out from ethnographic evidence that people living in non-western or traditional societies often use methods of knowledge production within the sonic domain which are commonly unaddressed or even unknown among western contemporary music composers (aside from exotist or orientalistic appropriations of “the other”). The project is designed in four stages: field research and interaction with indigenous communities in Taiwan with a focus on the Tao people on Lanyu Island, collaborative workshops in Vienna, an artistic research and training phase with invited indigenous Taiwanese coaches in Vienna, and feeding back to the field in Taiwan. During all these stages, exchange and coordination between composers, music makers, scholars and source community experts will be essential in order to reflect not only on the creative process, but also to analyse and support strong interaction between creation and society. Re-interaction with source communities as well as audience participation in the widest sense will help to increase the social relevance of the artistic results. The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW) will host the project. The contributors are Johannes Kretz (project leader) and Wei-Ya Lin (project co-leader, senior investigator) with their team of seven composers, ten artistic research partners from Taiwan and six artistic and academic consultants with extensive experience in the relevant fields.

Arts-based-philosophy is an emerging research concept at the cutting edge of the arts, philosophy and the Sciences in which cross-disciplinary research collectives align their research practices to finally stage their investigations in field-performances, shared with the public. Our research explores the significance of the HEART in artistic research and performance philosophy from a cross-cultural perspective, partially based on the concepts of the HEART in the works of two artist-philosophers, in which philosophy already became arts-based-philosophy: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Aurobindo’s poetic opus magnum Savitri. We generally assume that the works of artist-philosophers are not only engaged in “creating concepts” (Deleuze), but their concepts are also meant to be staged artistically to let them bodily matter in fact. The role of the HEART in respect to this process of “bodily mattering” is the core objective under investigation: Firstly, because we hold that atmospheres trigger the HEART of a lived-body to taste the flavor of things it is environmentally engaged with basically in an aesthetic manner (Nietzsche). In this respect the analysis of the classical notion for the aesthete in Indian philosophy and aesthetics, sahṛdaya––which literally means, “somebody, with a HEART”––becomes crucial. Secondly, because the HEART is said to be not just reducible to one’s manifest Nature, but has access to one’s virtual Nature as well. The creation hymn in the oldest of all Vedas (Rgveda) for instance informs us that a HEART is capable of crossing being (sat) & non-being (asat), which makes it fluctuate among these two realms and even allows its aspirations to let virtual possibilities matter. Such concepts show striking similarities with contemporary concepts in philosophy-physics, e.g. the concepts of “virtual particles” and “quantum vacuum fluctuations” (Barad).

short bio and cv

The Past is Rotting in the Future: Exploring the Aesthetics of Absence in Daily Life, embarks on an exploration of absence within the human daily life, examining its manifestation through relations, processes, and objects. It seeks to understand how absence is not merely a void but a significant presence that shapes perception, memory, and imagination. Through a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates personal narrative with academic writing, this research investigates the ways in which absence is performed, textured, and materialized. Central to the thesis is how photography, as both a personal and artistic practice, serves as a critical medium for discussing and visualizing absence, navigating through personal experiences of loss, and broader philosophical questions about how absence influences and constitutes our understanding of the world.

Esta página web recoge la memoria del proyecto narración gráfica a partir del proyecto Narración gráfica, laboratorio de objetos, cartografía digital y mediaciones en experiencias con comunidades de artistas migrantes, registrado con Cód. 10160180521 proyecto institucionalizado sin financiamiento del Centro de Investigaciones y Desarrollo Científico - CIDC de la Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas. Hace parte del proceso metodológico de desarrollo de la tesis doctoral Narración Gráfica de Experiencias: Intercambios en Imágenes de migración. Como Laboratorio de investigación - creación ha indagado y trabajado en sus 17 años de existencia en procesos de creación, gestión, investigación, formación y producción de conocimiento desde tres líneas de trabajo: - Imagen, arte y cultura: como campo de prácticas pedagógicas y estudios de la cultura; donde se cruzan diversos discursos sobre la identidad, los procesos de memoria, lo simbólico, es de interés la sistematización de prácticas artísticas en donde surgen experiencias generadoras de conocimiento sensible. - El conocimiento libre: Trabaja en la elaboración conceptual de talleres y laboratorios de creación con procesos que se desarrollan desde el concepto de cultura hacedora, promueve el aprendizaje activo, la colaboración abierta, el D.I.Y. y su aplicación en diversos escenarios y contextos. - La narrativa y la lectura: Se han trabajado procesos de mediación y agenciamiento desde hace mas de 15 años, acompaña sus procesos desde el estudio y elaboración de propuestas creativas que refieren a la narración gráfica y los cruces generados entre las nociones de objeto, plataforma, libro, público y sus relaciones en los procesos de difusión, promoción, producción, edición y diseño de piezas interactivas. Este proceso fue concebido por Daniel Pinzón Lizarazo quien es Doctorando en Estudios Artísticos de la Universidad Distrital, Magíster en Escrituras Creativas de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Diplomado en Antropología del arte de Latir A.C. y el CIESAS en México, Diplomado en estudios editoriales por el Instituto Caro y Cuervo; Licenciado en educación artística de la Universidad Distrital, trabaja como docente, investigador y creador, ha sido gestor y asesor en el diseño de políticas referentes a las pedagogías del arte y la cultura.

Thesis of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2022 BA Interactive Media Design Since the Covid19 pandemic began, we have to wear a mask to protect ourselves. Not being able to see full facial expressions and hear the voice can be crucial to the interaction of speaking a second language. Additionally, with most of our physical routines online, it has become impossible to see the whole body, making it difficult to observe non-verbal messages. This thesis explores the ideas of how we can communicate more efficiently if the current phenomenon continues. How could we communicate when our language delivery is impaired? It argues that communication obstruction caused by the mask worn can be overcome with bodily communication with gestures and eye contact. Gestures as a symbolic action and eye contact as a window by emotionally synchronising brain waves require a deeper level of contextual and emotional exchange. Empathising from a desire to understand and to be understood can break a blockage by connecting together. Furthermore, the thesis suggests what mindset and position we need to take when experiencing difficulties of cultural differences during bodily communication. If we keep the gestures simple and embrace the embodied cultures and co-learn the diversities, we can go beyond language and connect globally.