Research Catalogue

A 2-part module by the MA Transdisciplinary Studies of ZHdK, Department Kulturanalysen und Vermittlung. Held by Anna Rubi & Eirini Sourgiadaki. Autumn 2023-Spring 2024 Colour perception varies, so do the semantics of colour terminology, for both sighted and blind individuals. The questions around colour perception from ophthalmology or neurobiology perspectives to cognitive and artistic ones, are infinite: Is there a universal human experience of the blue sky, the green grass and the brown soil? How is colour perceived in the brain, how is it translated into a communicable concept and how does it affect our perceived world, our mental and physical state? What is the role of colour in synesthesia? And most importantly, does colour have to do just with vision? In this module we work with the generation of blue colour on print, using the major light source available, the Sun. The Island of Amorgos is often referred to as “Le grand bleu” after the famous french film was shot at location. Its ancient name is “Melania”. “Melani”, the Greek word for ink, (“Melano” for dark blue, cyan) as it is said that in ancient times the place was covered with dark green flora. Our investigation begins exactly with this deep tint. We pay a visit to the famous monastery and the water oracle, walk the trails to observe the sensual -not only vision-based- shades of blue. In the spring term, we participate in local activities such as beach clean-up initiatives of the remote bays by local fishermen and their boats. We visit bee-hives and herb-distilleries, we work with the most basic bits and pieces of the island to capture its essence.

Thesis / Research Document of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2025 BA Interior Architecture and Furniture Design Summary (8968)

Through an artistic research process, I examine the ethical issues that arise in transcultural music composition, a context familiar to the students of the Global Music department at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. Through reflexive autoethnography and musical analysis of the composition used for my Bachelor concert, I look at the questions of cultural appropriation vs. appreciation, and imitation vs. plagiarism. In the discussion I use a reflexive and investigative process for navigating these questions, and in the conclusion I expose my reflections and ideas on how to tackle this elusive yet important subject.

On drawing as a practice of the in-between in the sense of the Japanese concept ma. Using the Sketch&Draw method, it is shown that drawing is neither mere representation nor pure invention, but a dialogical process between perception, memory, hand, and world. Neuroscientific models such as Predictive Coding demonstrate that each line is a proposal by the brain of how the world might be, which is then fed back and refined in the process of drawing. The hand appears not as a mere tool, but as a thinking organ, tightly coupled with perception and memory. Referring to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s theory of Flow, it is shown that the immediacy of hand drawing – in contrast to digital procedures – is decisive for entering a state in which perception and action seamlessly merge. Philosophical perspectives from Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Tim Ingold highlight that the line is not merely a boundary, but a resonance space in which the invisible can become manifest. Drawing thus proves to be a process of knowledge, one that unfolds slowly, comparable to a species-rich meadow: unplannable, yet not random. In the in-between of world and subject, line and gaze, a form of knowledge emerges that can be understood as Intelligens – a creative third way beyond control and helplessness.

Brennan RC

Greyson RC