projects funded by the swedish research council
1. palle dahlstedt:
creative performance – computer-aided creativity (music)
Creative performance is about developing tech-nologies for control in real time/exploration – designing new electronic instruments, learning from acoustic instruments, new ways of playing together, understanding the intentions of crea-tive musicians and also creating an environment for public creativity . The project team comprises several musicians and researchers . The aim is to identify problems in artistic practice and attempt to resolve them . Workshops, concerts and recor-dings form part of the research process . The Re-search Council funding was granted for the period 2011–2013 .
A commentary on the project presentation was provided by Bill Brunson, who lingered over the veiled, almost magical section of generative mu-sic, a field in which Palle Dahlstedt stands at the absolute forefront of research – one can hear the result, but the audience has no idea how it is made, which sparks both tension and curiosity .
2. maria Zennström:
art, politics and papa. storytelling through other voices and transcending genres (literature, art, film)
The starting point for the project is Maria Zennström’s father, Per-Olov Zennström (1920–
1977), an art historian, critic and communist who spent much of his time in Moscow during the 1950s . The focus of the research lies in exploring genre boundaries and investigating how Maria’s father’s ideological allegiances affected his work as a critic and author . The material consists of inter-views, questionnaires, books, articles and letters . The result will be a book that takes the form of a research diary describing the project work . What sets this apart from Maria Zennström’s previous work as an author is that this time she is not writ- ing about herself . The Research Council funding was granted for the period 2011–2013 .
A commentary on the project presentation was provided by Cristine Sarrimo, who noted that Maria “wanders across the boundaries” – between fields and perspectives . She herself is present even though she is writing about her father – a kind of autobiographical artistic project . Here compari-sons can, of course, be drawn with research in the humanities, particularly where the research takes the form of archive studies and interviews, while
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the results in the form of a research diary are ex-pected to be of a more artistic/literary nature .
3. esther shalev-gerz:
trust and the development of a dialogue (fine art)
This project is a continuation of Esther Shalev-Gerz’s long-standing interest in dialogue as a point of departure for artistic conceptual work . The project is based on a dialogue between two people, where trust is a key component . The dialogues are built around works by Esther and other ar-tists, films and texts . Research questions concern- ing art, dialogue, trust and time, based around older works of art in an exhibition and museum context, are also included in the project, which is linked up with Valand Academy at the University of Gothenburg via a multidisciplinary seminar programme . The project team includes a further three people . The Research Council funding was granted for the period 2011–2013 .
A commentary on the project presentation was provided by Marta Kuzma, who approached this to some extent from a fresh perspective in her capacity as an art historian . She suggests that this more conceptual way of working is becoming increasingly common among artists around the
world . The artistic process that Esther uses is in-teresting, but it also provokes questions at a more theoretical level . It becomes a synthesis of several roles and perspectives, where one engages with something that is quite unpredictable in contrast, generally speaking, to more traditional science . The stances taken on more ethical issues are also interesting, although decidedly complicated in a context such as this .
4. anna lundberg:
experimental theatre. intersectional encounters between dramatic art, school and academia
This is an action research project on interactive dramatic art based on Ung Scen Öst (Östgötatea-tern), an experimental theatre group for children and young people with Malin Axelsson as artis-tic director . Project Manager Anna Lundberg has a background in culture and gender studies . The troika of dramatic art-school-academia provides an empirical focus, coupled with closer analysis of the artistic processes between children and adults based on productions by Ung Scen Öst . What happens with the staging when the method invol-ves open collaboration and shared learning? How are knowledge and meaning negotiated in artistic
54 – 2 Forms oF enQuirY – meThods and reporTing
endeavours? The project includes two perfor-mances . Publication under development . Funding granted for the period 2012–2013 .
A commentary on the project presentation was provided by Annette Arlander, who began by asking:
Who is doing the research? This is not entirely clear from the research plan, but clarity has emerged over the course of the project . There is a risk with collaboration, even in the context of action re-search – embracing the dichotomy of rere-search and artistic work – that the researcher researches and the artists make art . This question aside, the issues are interesting in both scientific and artistic terms . Anna Lundberg responded by describing the project’s far-reaching focus on shared learning as a feminist dramatic art critique of individual-centred and hierarchical traditions in both art and science, a critique that in itself has led to the project’s interest- ing artistic research results .
The first day of the symposium concluded with a panel debate involving the presenters and com-mentators, moderated by Catharina Dyrssen . Some of the contributions are reproduced below:
• The artistic process can often be important with- out always providing any answers – a kind of opposition that prompts new knowledge to be created .
• “Opposition” sounds negative – one is taking a leap into the unknown, so “new conditions” is perhaps a better expression than opposition .
• Everyone creates boundaries and contexts within normal artistic practice – whereas re-search often takes a different approach .
• Why should one use computers? Because it turns everything on its head and creates new opportunities .
• The multidisciplinary nature of current prac-tice is a challenge, but we should create our own methods in different fields . On the other hand – as a joint field of knowledge – shouldn’t we be able to come up with generally valid questions?
• In practice, methods of artistic research are closer to working methods than specific ap-proaches to research .
• General rules do not work in artistic research, but developed “tools” can be transferred to and used by others .
• In artistic research, as in the humanities for ex-ample, researchers/artists should make use of what others have said before (where relevant to the projects in question) .
• Research is generally results-driven, which is different from artistic activities . How do we view artists who do not verbalise their work?
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• If one does not share the results, it is not re-search! In this respect, the music field has cer-tain advantages over other art forms .
• Artistic practice is, by its very nature, experimen-tal . The artists who want to experiment normally have no problem reporting methods and results .
• “Silence is permitted but it speaks in other forms .”
• Artistic researchers also want to create good art – or at least exciting and challenging art that can be used in contexts such as education . After the panel debate came a sound installa-tion by Ricardo Atienza and Niklas Billström in Konstfack’s Vita Havet .
strategic questions for artistic research – speech by Rolf hughes
The Research Council’s Committee for Artistic Re-search is currently working to establish and develop the strategic issues pertaining to artistic research . On the policy front, the following activities have been set in motion to develop the area:
1 . Forskningsstöd/Support (research council, uni-versities/colleges, national and international networks, etc .)
2 . Rörlighet/Mobility (postdoc, international ca-reer)
3 . Bedömning/Peer review (Quality;
sar
/jar
) 4 . Utveckling av utbildning/Educationaldevelop-ment (e .g . Stockholm University of the Arts and Konstnärliga Forskarskolan) .
5 . Genomslagskraft/Impact (internationalisation, etc .)
Documentation and databases for artistic re-search and a better and separate subject classifica-tion (