Research Catalogue

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).

A work-in-progress artistic research project. Initiated by Hanns Holger Rutz and Nayarí Castillo in autumn 2021, it develops into multiple intermedia objects that involve collaboration between different artists, objects that engage in sensorial exchange among themselves and with humans. This exposition is very much in flux, trying to capture the meanderings of the process.

This exposition or archive is a work in progress, under construction, for gathering material of encounters with junipers.

Este ensaio faz parte da investigação em arte no âmbito do doutorado em artes plásticas na Universidade do Porto, e foi escrito com o intuito de registro de memória e debate sobre a obra artística "Congá Fora do Tempo" com lentes direcionadas ao ponto de vista filosófico e da investigação em arte, tentando compreender como uma instalação acompanhada de uma ação sutil pode proporcionar uma experiência sensível e espiritual ao espectador, à obra e às pessoas à sua volta. A espiritualidade aqui abordada não é a espiritualidade de Merleau-Ponty, em que a espiritualidade é um fenómeno enraizado na corporeidade e na perceção, mas a espiritualidade presente em cada pessoa, de maneiras diferentes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This essay is part of the art research within the scope of the doctorate in fine arts at the University of Porto and was written to record memory and debate on the artistic work “Congá Fora do Tempo” with lenses directed at the philosophical point of view and art research, trying to understand how an installation accompanied by a subtle action can provide a sensitive and spiritual experience to the viewer, the work and the people around it. The spirituality addressed here is not Merleau-Ponty's spirituality, when it is a phenomenon rooted in corporeality and perception, but the spirituality present in each person, in different ways.

The creation of this artwork employs a practice-based research approach, exploring plastic waste materials and transforming them into interactive installations. The artistic approach in this creation utilizes media art to embody the conceptual ideas. The production process of the artwork is divided into several stages: field observation of everyday objects in the community of Dakar, design, electronic device study, and assembly of the artwork. Additionally, other artistic approaches include the use of readymade and plastic recycling. The result of this creation process is presented in a park near the residential area in Sicap Liberté.

The Recorded Body is a process-based sound art project about bodily iteration and interdependence. It uses participatory performance and embodied listening techniques to explore the following questions: How do we recognize each other's bodies? What is contained by the body, and what is outside its bounds? When does a body need or necessitate other bodies?