Research Catalogue

Timelessness and temporality (Kruse, 2011) are widely studied topics in the classical music of the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century, mainly concerning the perspective of musical composition and auditory perception of music. But what is the perspective of temporal layeredness in the performer’s experience? This quote offers a starting point (Noble, 2018): “music whose temporal organisation optimises human information processing and embodiment expresses human time, and music whose temporal organisation subverts or exceeds human information processing and embodiment points outside of human time, to timelessness .” Specialized in the repertoire of Karlheinz Stockhausen, I want to investigate the role of temporality in music from the perspective of a performer. I will delve into the richness of different layers of temporal awareness in an artistic experience through experiential, embodied, and sensorial knowledge, using different temporal compositions by Stockhausen as case studies: HARMONIEN (2006) for flute solo,, Xi (1986) for flute solo and STOP (1969) for ensemble.

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.

NORSK: I dette kunstneriske utviklingsarbeidet undersøker jeg hvordan norsk folkemusikk kan integreres i mitt etablerte musikalske sound. Gjennom lytting, refleksjon og skapende praksis har jeg latt tradisjonsmusikkens estetikk og uttrykk påvirke mitt eget formspråk. Arbeidet har resultert i albumet "Relasjonsorkester", der jeg utforsker møtepunktene mellom tradisjon og samtid i tre utvalgte låter: "Hei, hallo", "Tankerom" og "Langsiktig sparing". Prosessen har vist at respektfull lytting, tilegning av teoretisk kunnskap og bevisste kunstneriske valg er avgjørende for å forankre nye uttrykk i en levende tradisjon. Oppgaven reflekterer over hvordan tradisjonen kan bli en del av egen kunstnerisk identitet, uten å måtte bli en tradisjonsbærer i klassisk forstand. ENGLISH: This artistic research project explores how Norwegian folk music can be integrated into my established musical sound. Through listening, reflection, and creative practice, I have allowed the aesthetics and expression of folk tradition to influence my own musical language. The project resulted in the album "Relasjonsorkester", where I explore the intersections between tradition and contemporary music through three selected songs: “Hei, hallo”, “Tankerom”, and “Langsiktig sparing”. The process demonstrates that respectful listening, acquisition of theoretical knowledge, and conscious artistic choices are essential for grounding new expressions within a living tradition. The thesis reflects on how tradition can become a part of one’s artistic identity without necessarily becoming a traditional bearer in the conventional sense.

Gjennom denne masteroppgaven utforsker jeg muligheter for å skape en tonalitetsfølelse innenfor dissonante rammer. Prosjektet er et kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid der jeg utforsker temaet gjennom komposisjon innenfor rammene av Olivier Messiaens Modes of limited transposition. Samtidig vil jeg forsøke å definere tonale sentre innenfor disse for å skape et tonalt uttrykk. Arbeidet skal resultere i et album og refleksjoner tilknyttet komposisjonsprosessen.

Through a series of photographic assemblages that focus on texture, depth, and atmosphere, “The Oracle of Delphi” documents interactions between these assemblages and AI language models. The work demonstrates specific ways that current AI systems struggle to comprehend material qualities and contextual relationships in personal narratives, particularly when dealing with dimensionality, surface qualities, and emotional resonance. By analyzing these limitations, the work reveals the gap between human and machine perception of materiality and affect, while suggesting potential approaches for developing more nuanced human-machine encounters. Through these material encounters and a deliberate “kinking” of established patterns, the work demonstrates how algorithmic systems might be recrafted from processes of reduction into expansive sites of co-creation and possibility.