OCT–DEC 2013
FEMKE`S CLASS
DESIGN DARK POOL The artistic practice of designers increasingly consists i t of asking ones own question instead of problem solving or responding to other people’s questions. Asking a question also means opening a space for answers which means doing some research of your own. In the recent years we have seen the strong establishment of artistic research or the artist-researcher in the domain of contemporary art. Already in the 1960s conceptual artists rejected the view that art is isolated from politics, history and society. The strongaspect of research by artists and designers today – compared to for example a philosopher, a scientist, a journalist – is that theoretical reflection and practical action are combined. Thinking and making go hand-in-hand. “The artist-as-researcher distinguishes himself from other artists by taking it upon himself to make statements about the production of his work and about his thought processes. The artist-researcher allows others to be participants in the process, enters into a discussion with them and opens himself up to critique. […] The artist-researcher seeks the discussion in the public domain. ‘For research to be research it has to be debated in the public domain, as Sarat Maharaj remarked.” In many cases the artistic research becomes the artwork or design itself. Databases and archives for example are for many artists and designers a mode of representation. The collecting and organization of material is important tool in order to create perspectives in the world, groups and areas in which you participate. This project is about building your own database / collection / archive around a subject of interest – your own ‘pool of knowledge’. By collecting, filtering and engaging with different research material you will develop more insights on what your own interests and questions are as a designer. In addition it is important to build up and treat your knowledge pool as a designer. So it’s not just a list of web links and books, but information that is somehow questioned and processed through design. Your knowledge pool will be a experimental ‘place’ for researching data, poetry, photographs, news articles, movies, etc. through design. We will call this ‘place’ your design dark pool. Part of your design dark pool will be a collection of designers, artists, writers, …., thatwork on the same subject as you – the so called reference pool. This pool will help youto create a better understanding of the context your work & questions are placed and reviewed in. You will have the first semester to setup, build and formalize your project. You need to find a suitable way to present you design dark pool and reference pool at the end of this semester.
@ Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam
GUEST TUTOR
FEMKE HERREGRAVEN designer, researcher designer Femke Herregraven (b. 1982, lives in Amsterdam) is a designer and researcher. Herregraven’s work traverses the contemporary realms of global finance, geopolitics, network power and information politics. Her research and speculative scenarios address the deconstruction of power structures and the exploration of possible alternatives. Her work consists of texts, printed materials, information design, games, drawings and installations. Projects include Geographies of Avoidance (ongoing), Schizophrenic Assets (2013), Taxodus, (2013), Hyper-butter, Mana-batteries (2012), Art Reserve Bank (2011-ongoing), Caribbean Mirage Zuidas (2011), and Expo 2020 Gbadolite (2010). Geographies of Avoidance addresses the financial offshore system and avoidance of financial regulation; Herregraven is currently working on high-frequency trading.
Femke
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