Research Catalogue

WITHDRAWING THE PERFORMER WITHDRAWING THE PERFORMER is conceptualized and conducted collaboratively by Charlotta Ruth (SE/AT) and Jasmin Schaitl (AT). The starting point are two artistic practices based on methods of mindfulness and game/play; Performances for the Mind and Choreographic Clues. These two individual perspectives on participation emerge from the project leaders’ ongoing artistic research and merge in their common artistic curiosity in the facilitator role and facilitating the creation of immaterial material. Accompanied by neuroscientist and performer Imani Rameses (US/AT) the research asks: How does immaterial material perform within participatory situations? What role does participatory setting play and how does participation differ if situations are communicated as a workshop, a treatment, a practice or a performance? How can neuroscience support how immaterial and participatory art practices are developed and described? What relation exists beyond involvement and how can a participant become the situation rather than being part of a situation? What has to occur in the mind and body for this to happen? Through practice and dialogue conducted with experts in the fields of contemplative sciences, sound art, choreography, game art and somatics, the research explores how input from participants (e.g. memory, thought, emotion) can be placed at the centre of a flexible yet framed performance situation. WITHDRAWING THE PERFORMER was realised in collaboration with the Angewandte Performance Laboratory 2021-2022. In the course of the project, a lecture was given at the Center for Didactics of Art and Interdisciplinary Education, and a public series was realised at Kunsthalle, Wien & Angewandte Performance Lab. Collaborating expert practitioners and dialogue partners are: Philipp Ehmann (AT), Nikolaus Gansterer (AT), Mariella Greil (AT), Dennis Johnson (US/AT), Anne Juren (FR/AT), Krõõt Juurak (EE/AT), Imani Rameses (US/AT), Christian Schröder (AT), Lucie Strecker (DE/AT).

The subjective experience of time pressure in today’s efficiency- and performance-oriented society is fuelled by a paradox: acceleration is omnipresent due to economic and technological demands, while at the same time complexity and self-responsibility require more time for decisions. This exposition examines individual and institutional ways of dealing with discrepant time demands. Where and how do different age groups experience divergent time regimes that occur simultaneously? Which techniques do individuals and institutions use or invent to synchronize different time perceptions, rhythms, and activities? How can artistic research create asynchronicity and make it experienceable through filmic means? And, finally, to what extent can filmic thinking produce ways of knowing that convey (as yet) unverbalized perceptions of time? Methodologically, this research combines analytical and artistic approaches in an essayistic procedure comprising cinematic practice and writing. On the one hand, it explores different aspects of divergent perceptions of time in a series of case studies under the leitmotif of “asynchronous determinations of time.” Situated in both immaterial and care work, in which bodily and affective temporalities are highly important, these empirical investigations consider the role of lifetime (age, biography, memory) and temporal modes (tempos; imperatives, indicatives, subjunctives). On the other hand, this study develops specific artistic procedures for focusing perception by means of narration, fragmentation, montage, visual and linguistic interventions, extractions and interweavings. Since simultaneous non-simultaneities (tend to) overwhelm subjective experience, the procedures adopted in this research contribute to new forms of filmic thinking and images of thought. They should be understood as an incentive to empathize with different understandings of time.

This public space project is taking place in my local community Sv. Filip i Jakov at the Dalmatian coast in Croatia. It is embedded in artistic research, conducted through the Masters of choreography programme COMMA at Codarts University of the Arts and Fontys Academy of the Arts. Following up my artistic research on the interrelation of space and the human inner world I am investigating what impact a surrounding, in particular the environment of the public space we live in, has on our thinking, feeling, acting, living and ways of being. The purpose of this project is raising awareness about the importance how we shape our common living spaces. In this practice-based research process I am using methods and tools from artistic and academic practices as reflective writing, observation, content analysis, site-specific movement explorations, choreographic tools, interdisciplinary framework, as well as informal methods like dwelling, experiencing and socializing. The outcome of this process is a multilayered context being transferred into an artistic concept. In an unexpected way the artistic creation turned out to be a tool for comprehending not only content and context, but substantially knowing and understanding myself. The results are disseminated as an exhibition with historic and artistic photographies, a site-specific performance, a social event with the local community in the public space of my home village and this written paper.

This research investigates the visual narrative built within artworks that deal with colonial memory in Sapmi, and the heavy layers of history in the Baltics, particularly Lithuania during the Soviet era. The research question is: How can themes of Gulag, colonial history and traumatic transgenerational memory be addressed by the artists and by curators in large-scale exhibitions and art venues? The aim of this study is to examine how visual expression is aesthetically communicated by the artists, how their artworks are presented in exhibitions and media channels, and how they are received by audiences. The study examines four cases: artworks and projects by two Sami artists and two Lithuanian artists. The research is conducted as artistic research, where the author acts as the artist, curator, and spectator of the artworks being analyzed. The author has been actively involved in the creative curatorial processes, including designing the curatorial setup of the Sami artists' artworks for their audience. The comparative analysis of the visual expression is done through the reflexive tools of the author. The study's findings provide an outline of the tools that artists use within their artworks, as well as the curatorial strategies applied when presenting those artworks to audiences.

Exploring how artistic experience can be influenced by mimetic recognition of human motion patterns in non-representative kinetic figures. This project investigates imbuing non-representational kinetic figures with human-like movement patterns and examines how these characteristics can modulate the expe rience of such figure(s). The investigation explores whether these motion patterns may facilitate mimetic recognition of human movement patterns and whether such recognition can intensify onlooker engagement with the figure(s) by eliciting affective and emotional responses. Of particular interest is evoking experiences of kinship and relation between humans and non-humans and proposing that the figures’ actions be experienced as an expression of intent on the part of the figures. These topics are approached as artistic motivation and guiding principles for artistic creation and experimentation.

This exposition explores the concept of speculative utopias within artistic research, offering glimpses into potential futures at the intersection of artistic imagination and futures thinking. Developed as textual concepts, these speculative utopias serve as vehicles for envisioning inclusive and sustainable futures, addressing complex socio-economic, cultural, and environmental challenges. The study employs a multidisciplinary approach by integrating aerial photography of Iceland’s landscapes with futures thinking methodologies and artistic research practices. These photographs function not merely as documentation but as speculative utopias that prompt critical reflection on climate adaptation, socio-political transformation, and public engagement. A unique aspect of the research is the use of artificial intelligence (ChatGPT), which supported iterative narrative development and reflexive inquiry. Through this exploration, the research offers alternative visions for resilient futures catalysing transformative dialogue and deepening reflection on the politics of the present while imagining possibilities for the world to come.