This BIP, “Atelier nómade – Lithography in situ,” pretends to rehearse an approach to the material culture of stone use from the standpoint of an understanding of the very idea of heritage and artistic practice as introduced in the XIX century, starting with the neglected use of stone-paper an accessible support of lithography, and continuing with the use of portable press. Such a historical path helps us to reassess and resignify the residues present in the landscapes and, consequently, the possibility of revisiting the technological, the natural, and the aesthetic values inscribed within it and daringly repurposing its use in the present.
This week's program is thought through a participatory placemaking approach to lithography in situ that starts on Cantanhede´s quarries and his stone museum as a starting point to reflect on the main feature of lithography – the stone. We use the co-creation that includes the use of an improvised studio situated in Porto, which has the potential to, while simultaneously addressing social ties such as the relation with heritage, nature, and sustainability, among other factors, help to reflect and experiment on forms of active participation that balance the quarries and the city as common ground – to respond to the need to rethink the relationship between human nature and human-city on a post-digital-pandemic society.
In the end, the outputs will be shown at an exhibition at three central cores that are connected with the storytelling of the abandoned space where we will act, namely:
We will divide the participants into three small groups: students from different schools and a teacher. Each group will exhibit in one of the three exhibition spaces so that there is some unity in what will be displayed and, at the same time, guide each participant in their research and collection throughout the week, thus fostering dialogue and cooperation between group members.
We think each group should have a (broad) theme that will be the common starting point that explores and reflects on lithography in situ in a transversal way – In the fieldwork in the Cantanhede´s quarries, in the studio work and exhibition place in Porto.
For this, we thought the three groups would go on different ways of seeing, feeling, and representing the landscape as an artistic practice. We believe the quarries are a fantastic place full of images and carry on material and immaterial stories – they are layered with meaning and shaped by time that can be interpreted through our different backgrounds and perspectives. How we perceive, interact, and understand landscapes can significantly differ depending on our perspectives and the context in which we view them.
The groups and guidelines are:
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The Quarries as a geological territory/landscape
A physical and geological entity that shaped the movement of tectonic plates, erosion, sedimentation, and climatic forces.
This perspective can focus on the earth’s natural formations, understanding them as the result of millennia of geological processes visible on minerals, soil composition, and natural structures, that can offer insights into the Earth's history, the evolution of these quarries, and the contributes that the stone museum can give to this perspective.
The Quarries as a natural landscape
A humanized place that still has a natural ecosystem made with micro and macro living beings. A network of interdependent organisms, flora, fauna, and environmental conditions. This ecological perspective of the quarries emphasizes the attention to biodiversity, natural habitats, and the balance between species and their surroundings. It considers how landscapes work as ecosystems that sustain life, that can open-reflections and artistic practices that claim on conservation, climate change, and the interconnectivity of nature or the post-human exploitation of quarries…. The rewilding.
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The Quarries as a human-shaped landscape
Human presence and activity have continuously shaped the quarries, transforming natural space into an industrial zone. This perspective can consider the quarries as dynamic entities where history, culture, and economy intersect. It can highlight this space as a cultural and industrial artifact that shows possible relationships between macro and micro economy, society, and their surroundings. Still, it also illustrates how human intervention redefines spaces over time.
