Når designpraksis bliver til forskning.
Heldagsseminar på Det Danske Kunstindustrimuseum http://kunstindustrimuseet.dk/ ,
København den 4. november 2008.
OPLÆGSHOLDERE
Klik på oplægsholderens navn for information om oplæg og artefakt
Hanna Landin, Ph.d. stipendiat http://www.cs.chalmers.se/~hannala/ Interaction design collegium, Chalmers, Göteborg.
Pia Staff; Ph.d. stipendiat, www.taik.fi/en/ The University of Art and Design, Helsinki.
Anna Vallgårda, Ph.d. stipendiat www.akav.dk IT- Universitetet
Flemming Tvede Hansen, Ph.d. stipendiat, www.flemmingtvede.dk Danmarks Designskole
Grethe Refsum, Ph.D. www.refsum.no Oslo National Academy of the Arts
Kirsten Nissen; Ph.d. stipendiat , http://www.designskolenkolding.dk/index.php?id=513 Designskolen Kolding
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HANNA LANDIN , Ph.d. stipendiat http://www.cs.chalmers.se/~hannala/ Interaction design collegium, Chalmers, Göteborg.
EN VÄSKA
Interaktionsdesign
Väskan gjordes som en del av en undersökning av hur personers relation till datorartefakter påverkas av hur artefakterna uttrycker interaktionen, dvs. hur datorartefakters form, uttryck och estetik relaterat till användning påverkar hur vi väljer att relatera till och interagera med dem. Väskan var ett experiment i vad som händer om vi byter ut uttrycket hos ett vardagligt datorföremål: mobiltelefonen.
Väskan är ett samarbete med Linda Worbin på Textilhögskolan i Borås.
När du lägger ner din mobiltelefon i väskan stängs ljudet och vibratorn av, istället kommer inkommande samtal och meddelanden att visualiseras med olika färgförändringar i mönstret på utsidan av väskan. Mönstret förändras beroende på om någon ringer eller skickar ett meddelande, om det är en kontakt du har med i din telefonbok eller inte, om det är en person du ofta har kontakt med, om du har flera missade samtal/olästa sms eller bara ett, mm.
Vi gjorde dessa färgförändringar diskreta och relaterade dem till mobiltelefonens aktivitet på ett inte helt tydligt sätt. I vanliga fall finns det oftast bara två lägen, antingen så hör man sin omisskännliga ringsignal eller så gör man det inte. Vi ville se om vi kunde skapa ett mellanting, dvs. en situation där man inte blir ”avbruten” av en ringsignal (eller av vibrationer) men ändå kan få någon sorts information om samtal och meddelande om man själv vill det. Vi ville designa för en situation som är mer privat där man kan behöva tolka det man ser, så att det är mer ditt eget val när du vill bli informerad. Väljer du att kasta en blick på väskan och i så fall väljer du att tolka det du ser som något du borde undersöka närmare eller inte? Beslut som visade sig bero på situation och humör.
Min forskning är en undersökning av vad estetik, form och uttryck handlar om inom interaktionsdesign och hur vi kan förhålla oss till dessa begrepp i en designprocess. Fokus är alltså på design av ting som inte bara har en spatial form utan även en temporal form, och där formen i vissa fall kan påverkas av människors val av bruk. Väskan är en del av denna undersökning.
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PIA STAFF; Ph.d. stipendiat, www.taik.fi/en/ The University of Art and Design, Helsinki.
Artistic Process, Material and Style as a Source of Knowledge
The practice-led method
The practice-led research is a rapidly developing method suitable for the fields of art and design. The emphasis is on the artist-researchers active role as the producer of the artistic/design material and as an analyst of this material. Michael Biggs, one of the developers of the novel practice-led method of research praxis, states that experiential knowledge takes a visual form in the artefacts created during a practice-led research process. This kind of research is still experimental and receives a fair amount of critique and doubt from the more traditional fields of research. The problem is, from the traditional perspective, how to connect the results (the findings) of the practical working process to the wider context and existing knowledge of the research field. In the following I will discuss my practice-led research project as a “case –study”, and how it is to be working simultaneously on the fields of art and theory.
The question of the aging female subjectivity
The dissertation in process “Images of the Body. Interpretations of the Aging Female.” is a practice-led project where the practical act of producing artefacts, alter with the theoretical discussion.
The feminist approach underlines the subjectivity of the artist-researcher and the artistic production as a source of knowledge. The artist-researcher is positioned in the interdisciplinary research tradition of women studies and visualizes the cultural connotations of the female gender.
According to the French philosopher Michale Focault the body is defined through cultural discourses. In the woman studies Judith Butler’s idea of the body being simultaneously a biological organism and a bearer of cultural connotations is central. Sharing the thought of Iris Marion Young, the core of this research project lies on the question of the divided essence of the female subjectivity being an external representation of one self and an internal sensation of being. In this paper I will address the role of practical production of artefacts as the starting point of research practice.
Using textile and clay as a source of knowledge
The increasing awareness of the body in our culture and the idea of the body as a “life project” have formed the understanding of the body and the subjectivity. The intuitive choice of textile material as media to visualize and make interpretations of the female body has led to an interesting discussion in the research context. Professor of woman studies, Kaija Heikkinen stresses the role of handicraft and points out in her research that handicraft is a naturalized part of the female gender and our culture. It has indicated women to a certain kind of acting witch is considered suitable. As a ceramics artist I have repeatedly abandoned the natural material for my artistic expression, the clay. Following the artistic intuition using instead of clay, the experiential knowledge has taken a visual form in textile, sowing and embroidering. This has been a way to describe and reveal, a way to build a path to attaining understanding. The interaction between the process of making, the artefacts that are produced and the theory can provide a new perspective to the research questions.
While my interest lies in the cultural connotations of the aging female body, it has been natural to use materials that have their origin in the women’s world and everyday life.
The artistic working process, the production process of artefacts, has a central role in the research process. This presentations focal point is in the question of what kind of impact the artistic process, material and technical choices has had on the proceeding of the research and how this has opened new ways of understanding.
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ANNA VALGÅRDA, Ph.d. stipendiat www.akav.dk IT- Universitetet
PLANKER
Dette eksperiment er et led i en undersøgelse af computeren som designmateriale. PLANKER er et fysisk studie af en beregningskomposit (Computational Composite) dvs. et kompositmateriale, hvori en computers beregningskraft er udnyttet til at skabe en ny materiel egenskab i en grantræsplanke. Beregningskraften udnyttes til at forstærke og fordreje en velkendt årsagssammenhæng, hvor lyd omsættes til svingninger i en planke. Samtidig installerer computeren en mulighed for diskrete forandringer i planken, som på den måde kan omgøres og genskabes igen og igen. Referencen er krydsfiner, dets bøjelighed og kompositstruktur, hvor lagdelingen i PLANKER består af hhv. en planke, en computer og et ''lim'' lag, hvor resultatet af computerens beregninger omsættes til bevægelser i træet. Eksperimentet er funderet i en æstetisk kritisk design tilgang (c.f. Anthony Dunne og Lars Hallnäs & Johan Redström) , hvor resultatet i højere grad skal få et publikum til at tænke i nye retninger end det nogenside skal sættes i produktion. Disse PLANKER skal få et publikum til at overveje computeren i en rolle som materiale frem for som en abstrakt og virtuel maskine. Det skal få dem til at fundere videre over nye materielle sammenhænge fremfor, hvordan netop disse PLANKER kan finde en praktisk anvendelse.
PLANKER er et samarbejde mellem Henrik Menné og Anna Vallgårda.
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FLEMMING TVEDE HANSEN, Ph.d. stipendiat, www.flemmingtvede.dk Danmarks Designskole
PLASK
- beskrivelse, reflektion og diskussion
Artefaktet på billedet afspejler et igangværende Ph.D. projekt med titlen: ”Eksperimenterende brug af digitale medier i det keramiske fagområde”, der handler om eksperimenterende brug af det digitale medie i forhold til 3d fysiske artefakter i keramik.
Denne case handler om to trin i brugen af det digitale medie og om hvad det kan tilføje kunstnerisk kvalitativt:
1. Hvordan den 3d digitale form er genereret ved hjælp af eksperimenterende brug af “dynamics”* i det animationsbaseret software program Real Flow. Download Avi 2mb.
2. Overførelsen fra 3d digital form til 3d fysisk form ved hjælp af en 3d printer fra Dimension, og om dette prints brug indenfor de klassiske keramiske teknikker.
Beskrivelse:
Artefaktet på figur 1 viser et aftryk af en digitalt produceret form som en organisk, naturalistisk og dynamisk detaljeret formation i midten af artefaktet. Kanten på artefaktet er blød og kurvet, hvilket er fremkommet af det flydende porcelæn som artefaktet er produceret af.
Refleksion:
Ved første øjekast fortolkes formationen som et plask fra en flydende væske, og som en del af tilblivelsesprocessen. Men ved nærmere eftersyn kan det ses at plasket er ren fiktion, idet at det illustrerer et plask i en langt større skala og yderligere et plask, der er som fastfrosset på et unaturligt dramatisk stadie. Dette plask beskriver langt fra den karakter det flydende porcelæn som artefaktet er produceret af.
Diskussion:
Hvad tilføjer dette kunstnerisk kvalitativt?
I dette eksempel lægger det op til en diskussion om det potentiale, vi ser i den flydende og drilske grænse mellem fiktion og virkelighed, som er muliggjort netop ved hjælp af både digitale og klassiske teknikker.
Materiale og størrelser
Porcelæn, 45x40x15 cm.
* Dynamics dækker en række digitale redskaber til at simulere virkelighedsrelateret fænomener, såsom vind, væsker, tyngdekraft mm., i dette tilfælde især brugt i filmindustrien.
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Kirsten Nissen; Ph.d. stipendiat , http://www.designskolenkolding.dk/index.php?id=513 Designskolen Kolding
Iteration 2004.04.24
I forbindelse med mit ph.d.-studie foretager jeg undersøgelser under arbejdstitlen ”Mønsterudvikling i tekstildesign”. Mine undersøgelser omhandler, hvordan den digitale teknologi muliggør nye tilgange til tekstildesign, og hvordan computerpraksis kan berige tekstildesignpraksis. Det er således ikke så meget de konkrete tekstiler, som det er strategier for designprocesser, som udgør mit undersøgelsesfelt. I dette arbejde tjener egne vævede eksperimenter som empiri for mine undersøgelser, ligesom jeg anvender værker fra min praksis som tekstildesigner som refleksionsgrundlag.
Iteration 2004.04.24 er et eksempel på, hvorledes talværdier, anvendt som input i en mønstergenerator, kan danne begyndelsesværdier for mønsterudviklingen. I det konkrete tilfælde er det dato og tidspunkt for det konkrete arbejde, der anvendes, og på den måde kan man sige, at informationer vedrørende selve skabelsesprocessen er indlejret i objektet og dets mønstring.
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GRETE REFSUM, Ph.D. www.refsum.no Oslo National Academy of the Arts
ROSARIES for the FUTURE
The ongoing art/design project Rosaries for the Future aims at contributing to revitalize the rosary as a meditative practice and a material object .
Research starts with a problem; it asks questions that are answered by applying methods that systematically treats the object of study, thereby providing new knowledge, which is disseminated publicly and critically discussed.
Defining the theme
The term rosary denotes a) a set of prayers and meditations, and b) an object designed to accompany this particular prayer/meditation. As physical item, the rosary traditionally is a string of knops or knots that can be touched by the fingers, one by one, to keep count of the prayers said. Countless varieties exist. All the higher world religions have prayer beads; Christianity was the last to cultivate it, dating back to the 12 th century.
Restrictions
In Christian contexts, the rosary is practised within the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. This project is restricted to the Roman Catholic rosary that usually is a chaplet, consisting of five sequences of 10 beads on which are prayed Hail Mary. In between each decade there is one bead – five in all – that constitute the stations. Each station represents a meditation of one event in the life of Jesus, Mary and the saints. There are four different sets of stations that taken together reflect the essential elements within Christian teaching.
Statement of Problem
Today, rosaries are associated with kitsch, confession and old black-clothed women. The value of the rosary as a tool for meditative practice was lost after the Reformation within the Protestant Churches and has declined in Roman Catholic Churches. The late Pope John Paul II strongly recommended the rosary as a contemplative item of our time that might advance genuine spirituality, prayer for peace and inter-religious dialogue.
Religious thinking is related to its accompanying material culture. If the thinking is changed, its corresponding material expression will be altered. Likewise, new religious materiality will influence the theological thinking.
Anticipation
As an artist I have the privilege of making new objects. By producing new rosaries, I formally suggest new possibilities for conceiving the concept prayer/meditation within Christianity.
Research Question
The research question in artistic research may be regarded synonymously to the artistic idea that is to be explored in a making process, which will lead to a new product, artwork or design. In this project I intend to produce new rosaries.
Method
Phase 1: Information Seeking
This phase comprises a survey of literature (see references) and an analysis of existing objects. Rosary parameters are:
- completes or decades
- type of beads
- type of binding material
- technique of binding
- solution of beginning
- solution of stations
- solution of cross
- utility
- size
Phase 2: Synthesizing
The interest of the professional artist or designer most often is qualitative. It may, however, be quantitative, but I guess the quantitative aspect within the art or design process belongs to phase a, during information seeking. This phase may constitute an actual research project, dependent on how extensive the exploration is, its methodology and dissemination. In my case, I seek solutions that appeal to me aesthetically and theologically in relation to eco-feminist thinking. Compositional parameters in my project are:
- completes and decades
- hanging
- flat
- balls
- lettering
- stations
- materials
- binding techniques
Phase 3: Implementation and Outcome
The actual making is documented in photo.I bind rosary forms by hand in cheap materials: metal thread, wood, stone, shells, glass, etc. These objects will be exhibited and/or used in appropriate places.
Phase 4: Retrospective Reflections
Retrospective reflections of the process will be presented at conferences and in written papers. It is this phase that represents the distinction between a professional art or design and a research practice. My work may be considered basic research; it is also artistic research in which the production of art or design work is crucial. Whether it is scientifically research or not, I would say depend on the rigor in this 4 th phase. The work is a contribution to contemporary theological thinking through material form and articulation. Words may be incomprehensible, but form may communicate globally. Therefore, the production aspect in this project is not illustrative or secondary, but primary.
References
500 Jahre Rosenkranz. 1475 Köln 1975 . 1976. Köln: Erzbischhöfliche Diözesan-Museum Köln.
Medieval Germany. An Encyclopedia . 2001. Edited by J. M. Jeep and M. University. New York & London: Garland Publishing, Inc.
New Catholic Encyclopedia . 2003. 2 ed. Detroit, New York etc.: Thomson Gale, in association with The Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C. Original edition, 1967.
Baumann, Martin. 2003. Mala und Lobpreiskette. Die Andachtskette in hinduistischen,
buddhistischen und Islamischen Traditionen. In Der Rosenkranz. Andacht Geschichte
Kunst , edited by U.-B. Frei and F. Bühler. Bern: Benteli Verlag Bern Museum Bruder
Klaus Sachseln.
Bergmann, Sigurd. 2003. I begynnelsen är bilden; en befriande bild-konst-kultur-teologi. Stockholm : Proprius förlag AB.
Dubin, Lois Sherr. 1995. The History of Beads. From 30.000 B.C. to the Present. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers.
Frei, Urs-Beat, and Fredy Bühler, eds. 2003. Der Rosenkranz. Andacht
Geschichte Kunst . Bern : Benteli Verlag Bern Museum Bruder Klaus Sachseln.
Jarvis, Peter. 1999. The Practitioner-Researcher; Developing Theory from Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
John Paul II, Pope. 2002. On the Most Holy Rosary. Rosarium Virginis Mariae. Vol. Publication no. 5-538. Washington D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Johnson, Kevin Orlin. 1999. Rosary. Mysteries, Meditations and the Telling of the Beads. Dallas, Texas: Pangæus Press.
Koch, Hanne Dahlerup. 2000. Rosenkranse i grave. Gravskikkens baggrund, datering og perspektiver. Paper read at Middelalderens kirkegårde. Arkæologi og antropologi - indsigt og udsyn, at 2.-5. june 1999, Ribe, Denmark.
Olson, Garry, and Peter Toaig. 2001. Onetree. London: Merrell.
Refsum, Grete. 2007. Personal Theory; Towards a Model of Knowledge Development for Design. Paper read at NORDES, Nordic Design Research Conference, 27-30 May, at Konstfack, Stockholm.
Refsum, Grete. 2005. Theory for Praxis Exemplified by the Making of a Rosary Pearl. A Contribution to a Theory for Praxis for Artists and Designers. In Oslo National Academy of the Arts Annual Review, edited by P. Butenschøn. Oslo: Akademisk publisering.
Warner, Marina. 1976. Alone of All Her Sex. The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson.
Wilkins, Eithne. 1969. The Rose-Garden Game; The Symbolic Background to the European Prayer-Beads. London: Victor Gollanz Ltd.
Winston, Anne. 1993. Tracing the Origins of the Rosary: German Vernacular Texts. Speculum 68:619-636.
Winston-Allen, Anne. 1998. Stories of the Rose. The Making of the Rosary in the Middle Ages. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
The Rosary theme would seem ideal for digitalization and the use of rapid prototyping for designing new varieties.
My project, however, is accented on the conceptual side of the scale between content and form in this product. Therefore, I stick to hand binding as a method to explore the very notion of prayer/meditation itself. My research outcome, which is new formal solutions, may be taken further to production by new technology.