Sculpting Music Performances: About Choreomania and the Process of Shaping a Performance
(2025)
author(s): Silvia De Teresa Navarro
published in: KC Research Portal
This research explores how choreomania - the historical phenomenon of uncontrollable, communal dance “plagues” that emerged in the Middle Ages - can inform and shape my artistic practice. Central to this inquiry is the question: how does choreomania influence my creative process and the way I shape my performance practice as a classically trained pianist? The study unfolds three main blocks. First, an essay examines the conceptual formation of choreomania, its contemporary relevance, and its impact on my artistic work. Simultaneously, I observe and document the creative processes of artists-in-residence during my internship at the residency programme "Choreomania - Bodily Excess, Collective Unrest". The thrid block involves an experimental playground consisting of several performance try-outs, each rigorously documented, analysed, and reflected upon. Adopting a rhizomatic approach, I explore performance-making as a fluid, irregular process. The resulting performances weave together classical piano, improvisation, movement, voice, collaboration, live-electronics, audience engagement, and the submerged elements of choreomania. The research culminates in a synthesis and reflection of the entire process, offering new insights into performance-making.
The TIME, SPACE, and GESTURE in a crossdisciplinary context
(2024)
author(s): Elina Akselrud
published in: RUUKKU - Studies in Artistic Research
In any performance genre, the use of time is a fundamental element that shapes the artistic experience. When artists from different disciplines come together to collaborate on the same material, the perception and utilization of time as an artistic device can undergo significant transformations. This exposition delves into the intricate realm of non-verbal artistic communication between performers from diverse disciplines, with a specific focus on how the actions of one artist can profoundly influence and shape the decisions of another.
To explore this dynamic interplay, a compelling case study is presented, examining the enchanting character miniatures for solo piano composed by Alexander Scriabin during the middle and late periods of his life. These exquisite musical pieces are interwoven with the fluidity and spontaneity of contemporary dance improvisation, creating a rich tapestry of artistic expression.
Within this crossdisciplinary collaboration, the exposition sheds light on the ephemeral layers of communication that exist between performers. It delves into thought-provoking topics such as the sense of flow, movement, and structure within the work, the role of physical distance between performers and its intricate relationship with the passage of time, the density of content (i.e., musical material) in the context of crossdisciplinary exploration, and the profound significance of gestural communication between artists.
Through this crosspollination of ideas and artistic exchange, the potential for profound and transformative artistic impact emerges. In essence, this exposition offers a thought-provoking exploration of the transcendent power of artistic communication between performers from different disciplines.
A Garden of Sounds and Flavours: Establishing a synergistic relationship between music and food in live performance settings
(2024)
author(s): Eduardo Gaspar Polo Baader
published in: KC Research Portal
During the past decade, there has been a surge in the literature about crossmodal correspondences, consistent associations our minds establish between stimuli that are perceived through different senses. Correspondences between sound/music and flavour/taste have received particular scholarly attention, which has lead to a variety of practical applications in the form of food and music pairings, mostly examples of so-called ‘sonic seasoning’, a way to use sound to enhance or modify the tasting experience.
This thesis aims to explore the pairing of food and music from an artistic perspective. Its goal is to find tools that would allow to present both music and food as components of coherent live performances in which neither of them is a mere ‘seasoning’ to the other. Through the description and exploration of different ‘mediating elements’ between them (such as crossmodal correspondences, but also structure, ritual, narrative, and others), a wide range of possibilities is presented to whoever wants to match food and music in a truly synergistic manner.
Readers interested in multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary artistic practices of any kind might find the outcomes of this research useful for their own work.
I HAVE THE MOON: aesthetics of contemporary classical music from a composer-performer band retreat.
(2024)
author(s): Samuel Penderbayne
published in: Research Catalogue
The artistic research project I HAVE THE MOON was an experimental group activity or 'band retreat' for five composer-performers resulting in a public performance in the aDevantgarde Festival, 2019, in Munich. Research was conducted around a central research question stated verbally at the outset of the project: how can aesthetic innovations of contemporary classical music be made accessible to audiences without specialist education or background via communicative techniques of other music genres? After a substantial verbal discussion and sessions of musical jamming, each member created an artistic response to the research question, in the form of a composition or comprovisation, which the group then premiered in the aDevantgarde Festival. The results of the discussion, artistic works and final performance (by means of a video documentation) were then analysed by the project leader and presented in this article. The artistic research position is defined a priori through the research question, during the artistic process in the form of note-taking and multimedial documentation, and a posteriori through a (novel) 'Workflow-Tool-Application Analysis' (WTAA). Together, a method of 'lingocentric intellectual scaffolding' on the emobided knowledge inside the creative process is proposed. Insofar as this embodied knowledge can be seen as a 'field' to be researched, the methodology is built on collaborative autoethnography, 'auto-', since the project leader took part in the artistic process, guiding it from within.
Evolutionary Gardens and Performative Habitats
(2021)
author(s): Egle Oddo
published in: RUUKKU - Studies in Artistic Research
My interest for plant seeds dates back to my early experiments during the '80, when I collected seeds in urban and rural contexts and translocated them in new habitats. Since then my work has taken different directions. At present I create public art works by installing living sculptures which I denominate as evolutionary gardens. The process behind this practice went through a long transformation recently enriched by the contribution of art curators with whom I engage in long term dialogue. This article explores the process of research between 2007-2017, it describes how I become reflective about my viewing and doing, how I progressively opened the work to multiple influences, and how this has generated a better integrative approach leaning towards the complexity of cognitive structures. Finally I asked a set of questions to the curators who worked with me, with the aim to offer the reader a direct view on the diverse approaches intertwined with my practice.
LGP Performative method
(last edited: 2025)
author(s): Lorena Croceri
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
LGP Performative Method
Embodying Creative Transitions Through Project-Based Immersion
The LGP Performative Method is a transdisciplinary support system designed for artists, entrepreneurs, and hybrid professionals navigating complex creative transitions. Rooted in performance, psychoanalytic insight, and ritualized thinking, the method invites participants to engage deeply with their emotional landscape and personal image as they develop projects that are both intimate and public.
This article presents the conceptual pillars and the evolution of the method through performative installations, site-specific experiments, and testimonial archives. Unlike coaching or therapy, LGP works by immersive presence and symbolic acts that reorient the practitioner in relation to their project, their desire, and their audience.
With a focus on Erotic Leadership, Liminal Psychoanalytic Fashion, and Project Reconfiguration, the method offers a dynamic toolkit to support non-linear processes and facilitate creative emergence. The piece includes visual documents, field notes, and reflections on what it means to be a body-in-process building something real.