Dynamic Considerations
Asynchronous Session
Puy du Fou's Transtemporal Performativity: Embodied Heritage Practices between Participative Alienation and Artistic Emancipation View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Pablo Santacana López
This paper delves into the artistic practice of reenactments, specifically exploring the cultural model employed by Puy du Fou, a company operating European theme parks in France and Spain. This study investigates the multifaceted nature of reenactments as a medium for artistic research and raises thought-provoking questions about their political implications. Embedded within the concept of "softcore historicity," which intertwines affective performative heritage practices with the validation of hegemonic discourses, lies a fascinating realm of exploration. How do reenactments, as an artistic medium, navigate the intricate relationship between past narratives and contemporary political contexts? How does the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on physical gatherings accentuate the significance of embodied and performative representations of history within artistic domains? Participatory artistic reconstructions, offer a unique lens through which to validate constructed historical narratives as authentic experiences. They blur the boundaries between representation and reality, immersing participants in the physicality of historical events. But as reenactments gain popularity and become commodified, how do we navigate the fine line between artistic expression and political instrumentalization? Puy du Fou, with its immersive experiences and politically instrumentalized approach to history as entertainment, stands as a prominent case study for exploring the artistic potential and pitfalls of historical immersion. How do reenactments shape and are shaped by social and political contexts? By uncovering the complex interplay between reenactments as artistic practice and their socio-political dimensions. It invites further reflection on the transformative power of reenactments, the ethics of their commodification, and their role in shaping social narratives.
Haunted and Haunting Agencies: Alternative Agencies in Anna Kim’s The Great Homecoming and Frozen Time
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Bjorn Treber
Using Derrida's conception of spectrality, this paper explores the motif of arrival and arrivant in Anna Kim’s novels. In doing so, the narrative strategies come into focus. The narrative strategies are essential in Anna Kim’s The Great Homecoming and Frozen Time as they allow us to analyze the connections between the hauntings in the individual’s life and the multifaceted hauntings in the larger context of historical space. In The Great Homecoming, the story of the protagonist Hanna, born in Korea and adopted by German parents, who, as a proxy figure, goes in search of her origins) is connected with the complex history of South Korea (life in the civil war, violence, oppression, and the terror of opinion in North and South Korea, and the takeover by the Pak regime) with the overall historical constellations of the Cold War. Frozen Time explores the spectral experience of a Red Cross worker who coordinates the identification of bodies in Pristina, Kosovo, many of which were found in mass graves, and later returns to Vienna and conducts archival research of data on ghostly disappearances. Her story is, therefore, also closely linked to a specific historical reality: the hauntings of the 1998-99 Kosovo war. Through the lens of hauntology, this paper examines various literary representations of the spectre, and with the homecoming and searches for family traces of a young woman in the haunted atmosphere of Seoul and conjures the spectres that lurk beneath the surface of the text.
Exhibiting Societal Narratives: Exploring Creative Integrity in Contemporary Poster Design View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lisa Winstanley
This ongoing research explores the intersections of social, political, and cultural narratives within contemporary poster design practice. Via in-depth semi-structured interviews with three Poster Design Masters (Posterists) from three different continents, this study aims to unpack the cultural, ethical and societal influences shaping their design practices. It explores their phrenic and emotive motivations for creating non-monetised posters, aiming to unpack the thought processes and emotional drivers that underpin their work. The study leverages both textual and visual analyses to achieve these aims by curating and exegesing a selection of posters from each designer. Interim analysis of the data has revealed commonalities in altruism, advocacy, and intangible cultural heritage, offering insights into the challenges faced by Posterists in navigating tensions between artistic expression, societal relevance and commitment to ethical causes within non-commercial artistic spaces. The tangible outcomes of this research will be presented as a print-based volume documenting the creative processes and critical insights behind the posters. A virtual exhibition will support this publication, emphasising accessibility and inclusivity as key components of integrous poster design practice. This contribution aims to provide the art and design community with a practicable model of an integrous creative process within poster design, which transcends the boundaries of consumerism and moves towards ethical practice.
An Everyday World of Wonder and Weirdness : Restoring Hope in a Time of Climate Crisis through Collaboration with Mycelia and Fungi View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Judith Reardon
The study sets out how through my artist research I draw together the diverse discourses of solastalgia, ecological art, rhizomatic thinking, univocity of ‘Being’, and magic(al) realism in the multisensory installation An Everyday World of Wonder and Weirdness to elucidate the problems of climate change by connecting the audience to nature in ways that offer hope. The work involves a collaborative partnership between digital art and biological materials and the application of mycorrhizal thinking. Mycorrhizal networks are fungal networks that communicate across species in ways that are embedded in natural scientific processes yet seem strange and wondrous. The immersive multisensory installation is a collaboration with mycorrhizal networks and fungi exploring how hope might be restored in ways that reduce eco-anxiety and connect the audience to the natural environment. In An Everyday World mycelium broke down hessian and muslin butter cloth, symbols of colonial cultural paradigms. These deconstructed materials became the central structures onto which new ways of understanding and interacting with the natural world were projected. The resulting installation is an immersive experience of sound, touch, smell, colour, and light where natural scientific processes have been embedded in an experience that evokes wonder through the experience of the weird. Calling on art and science An Everyday World critiques the devastation caused by climate change and blurs the boundaries between the real and virtual to offer audiences hope and new ways of connecting with the natural world that privilege mystery, empathy, and tradition.
Exploring New Developments in Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Chang Liu
In the dynamic context of our rapidly evolving global landscape, the progression of time has not only enhanced cultural exchanges between Eastern and Western societies but has also exerted a profound influence upon the millennia-old tradition of Chinese Calligraphy. Against this backdrop, Contemporary calligraphy now diverges into two main trends, one is to continue to develop traditional calligraphy, which is indispensable as this is the foundation of all further advancements. The other is to innovate calligraphy. Calligraphy is no longer the main tool for daily records or communication nowadays. To better preserve and develop this cultural heritage, this study focuses on contemporary innovative calligraphy in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The exploration of various new forms of calligraphy enhances the richness of this traditional art form. This richness is reflected in the education and dissemination of calligraphy, captivating individuals with diverse preferences and fostering their interest and appreciation. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature, the current state of development in these three regions will be evaluated, including the backgrounds, causes, challenges, strengths and weaknesses of the current situation. As well as exploring what application calligraphy offers in contemporary society. In addition, through interviews with professional artists and a questionnaire survey of professional students, this study provides possible guidelines for the future training and development of Chinese calligraphy. Hence, this cultural heritage can be preserved and further flourish.
