Research Catalogue

The group acts as an open and inclusive formation for artist-researchers who share an interest and practice in working with sound. The group is committed to the indispensable action of encouraging and supporting personas of all diversity to participate and join in the collective exploration in and through sound, sensing and amplifying the heard, unheard as well as the overheard. As a collective the group welcomes contributors who are willing and eager to share their idea and practices, think collectively and are interested in shaping a emancipatory sonic futurism.

This study examines the relationship between the narratives in audio-visual artwork and the temporality of historical preservation within sociocultural contexts of destruction and re-construction, and rusting, through the concept of Sankofa. The series of photographic artworks titled “Patches of Time” delves into the socio-cultural fabric of memory, historical sites, forest, and the contemporary reconstruction of the past. Together with the written content, I show various forms of media such as photos, sound files and videos that reveal different aspects of the audio-visual practice. The photos and sound compositions are discussed here as ways of doing and making, exposing the experiences that hold aesthetic qualities and a sense of the sublime. The materiality of the photos and soundscapes mirrors an archaeological process, where remnants of the past are not only recovered but also recontextualized within contemporary sociocultural frameworks. Specifically, I investigate the integration of destruction and re-construction which aligns with Walter Benjamin’s notion that reproduction destabilizes traditional narratives, offering opportunities for reimagining history, and reshapes the aura of cultural artifacts. The destruction and re-construction of these photos impacts the narrative gestures of going back and starting anew (Sankofa). The study aims to observe the interconnectedness of art, memory and the mind as historical sites and explore the potential for re-imaging the nature of audio-photographic art.

Dit is een onderzoek naar 'het kunstzinnige' in het (professioneel) leven van alumni die, tijdens hun opleiding tot pedagogisch coach, werden ondergedompeld in een bad vol kunst en cultuur, vanuit de overtuiging dat dit hen zou verrijken in hun werk, in hun leven en hopelijk, misschien, in beide.

This concise study guide introduces the foundational framework of Post-Interpretive Criticism (PIC)—a new aesthetic philosophy that centers presence, moral proximity, and restraint in the practice of art criticism. Developed by Dorian Vale, the guide breaks down PIC into five core principles: Restraint over Interpretation Witness over Commentary Moral Proximity over Objectivity Viewer as Evidence Rejection of Performance Each principle is accompanied by a brief case study, reflection exercise, and ethical commentary, making this guide suitable for students, educators, curators, and critics seeking to apply PIC in the field. Instead of decoding the artwork, this framework encourages a posture of reverent presence, allowing the artwork to retain its autonomy and moral gravity. This resource is designed to be taught, discussed, and practiced. It supports classrooms, curatorial programs, writing workshops, and museum education—inviting a new generation of viewers to approach art with humility, silence, and philosophical depth. Vale, Dorian. Five Principles of Post-Interpretive Criticism: A Study Guide. Museum of One, 2025. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17077734 This entry is connected to a series of original theories and treatises forming the foundation of the Post-Interpretive Criticism movement (Q136308909), authored by Dorian Vale (Q136308916) and published by Museum of One (Q136308879). These include: Stillmark Theory (Q136328254), Hauntmark Theory (Q136328273), Absential Aesthetic Theory (Q136328330), Viewer-as-Evidence Theory (Q136328828), Message-Transfer Theory (Q136329002), Aesthetic Displacement Theory (Q136329014), Theory of Misplacement (Q136329054), and Art as Truth: A Treatise (Q136329071), Aesthetic Recursion Theory (Q136339843) Post-Interpretive Criticism, study guide, art education, critical theory, Dorian Vale, aesthetic philosophy, viewer as evidence, slow looking, ethical criticism, trauma in art, art pedagogy, witness-based art criticism, art classroom resource, art and ethics, moral proximity, presence over interpretation, contemporary criticism, museum education, poetic criticism, art curriculum

The Living Lexicon: Post-Interpretive Criticism – First Edition By Dorian Vale Museum of One | Written at the Threshold The Living Lexicon is the official glossary of Post-Interpretive Criticism — a literary movement that displaces interpretation in favor of presence, restraint, and custodial witnessing. It is not written to standardize, but to protect. These entries are not mere definitions; they are ethical and poetic coordinates. From Threshold to Witness, from Stillmark to Felt Proof, the lexicon outlines the sacred vocabulary of a genre committed to reverence over reading, and presence over performance. This document anchors the critic’s posture, language, and responsibility. It guides without fixing. It names without claiming. It orients those entering the terrain so they do not mistake silence for absence, or discipline for detachment. In a critical culture flooded with noise, The Living Lexicon restores the weight of words. Vale, Dorian. The Living Lexicon: Post-Interpretive Criticism – First Edition. Museum of One, 2025. DOI: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17111649 Dorian Vale is a chosen pseudonym, not to obscure identity, but to preserve clarity of voice and integrity of message. It creates distance between the writer and the work, allowing the philosophy to stand unclouded by biography. The name exists not to hide, but to honor the seriousness of the task: to speak without spectacle, and to build without needing to be seen. This name is used for all official publications, essays, and theoretical works indexed through DOI-linked repositories including Zenodo, OSF, PhilPapers, and SSRN. Post-Interpretive Criticism, Aesthetic Theory, Art Criticism, Philosophy of Art, Ethical Criticism, Literary Movements, Witnessing, Silence in Criticism, Contemporary Aesthetics, Poetic Philosophy, Witness, Threshold, Restraint, Stillmark, Hauntmark, Silence, Viewer-as-Evidence, Ethical Proximity, Custodianship This entry is connected to a series of original theories and treatises forming the foundation of the Post-Interpretive Criticism movement (Q136308909), authored by Dorian Vale (Q136308916) and published by Museum of One (Q136308879). These include: Stillmark Theory (Q136328254), Hauntmark Theory (Q136328273), Absential Aesthetic Theory (Q136328330), Viewer-as-Evidence Theory (Q136328828), Message-Transfer Theory (Q136329002), Aesthetic Displacement Theory (Q136329014), Theory of Misplacement (Q136329054), and Art as Truth: A Treatise (Q136329071), Aesthetic Recursion Theory (Q136339843)

Absential Aesthetics Theory On Ghosts, Absence, and the Afterlife of Art A Complete Theoretical Framework by Dorian Vale What happens to a work of art after it disappears — and why does it linger? In this seminal treatise, Dorian Vale unveils the full theoretical scaffolding of Absential Aesthetics, a core pillar of the Post-Interpretive Movement. This framework reconceives absence not as a void to be filled, but as a residue that haunts, instructs, and remains. Drawing from metaphysical inquiry, trauma studies, and post-structural aesthetics, Vale argues that absence is not the opposite of presence — it is a continuation of it. From lost artifacts and sealed objects to erased histories and unspeakable memories, this theory reframes absence as aesthetic substance. The missing becomes legible through its consequences, not its form. Across three theoretical movements — Erasure, Afterlife, and Hauntmark — Vale introduces critical constructs such as The Aesthetic Ghost, Negative Presence, and Lingering Witness. These ideas challenge visual primacy, proposing that what art does after it vanishes may be more ethically potent than what it does when it is seen. Absential Aesthetics Theory is not a speculative musing — it is a structured philosophy of art’s most elusive force: what remains after it is no longer there. A vital contribution to contemporary art theory, this treatise opens a door for curators, critics, and philosophers who seek to engage art not just through its objecthood, but through its departure. Vale, Dorian. Absential Aesthetics Theory: On Ghosts, Absence, and the Afterlife of Art A Complete Theoretical Framework. Museum of One, 2025. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17052070 Dorian Vale is a chosen pseudonym, not to obscure identity, but to preserve clarity of voice and integrity of message. It creates distance between the writer and the work, allowing the philosophy to stand unclouded by biography. The name exists not to hide, but to honor the seriousness of the task: to speak without spectacle, and to build without needing to be seen. This name is used for all official publications, essays, and theoretical works indexed through DOI-linked repositories including Zenodo, OSF, PhilPapers, and SSRN. This entry is connected to a series of original theories and treatises forming the foundation of the Post-Interpretive Criticism movement (Q136308909), authored by Dorian Vale (Q136308916) and published by Museum of One (Q136308879). These include: Stillmark Theory (Q136328254), Hauntmark Theory (Q136328273), Absential Aesthetic Theory (Q136328330), Viewer-as-Evidence Theory (Q136328828), Message-Transfer Theory (Q136329002), Aesthetic Displacement Theory (Q136329014), Theory of Misplacement (Q136329054), and Art as Truth: A Treatise (Q136329071), Aesthetic Recursion Theory (Q136339843) Absential Aesthetics, Dorian Vale, Post-Interpretive Criticism, theory of absence in art, aesthetic ghosts, art afterlife, disappearance in art, witness and erasure, trauma and aesthetics, art and memory, aesthetic haunting, art as residue, invisibility in art theory, negative presence, art criticism and absence, disappearance as ontology, art of the unseen, sacred erasure, ethics of loss in art, non-object based aesthetics, hauntmark theory, afterlife of the artwork