Art out of Philosophy

Art shall not bow before philosophy and neither the other way around.
In a seminar-setting we stage encounters between philosophical text, in the one corner, and hard-working students in the other. During an encounter nothing is guaranteed. At best, after such an encounter, art morphs into different and wondrous shapes, and so does philosophy, much like the orchid that has shaped its body after the wasp it hopes to attract (and to make some sort of love with). Questions such as the following might come up during such encounters: What are the implications of the interplay between these two forms of creation? Is there a way to practice philosophie through art? Is it possible to borrow artistic strategies and methods from philosophy?

In Archive (1) students engaged in close reading of texts and otherwise explored and engaged with philosophy in order to formulate a set of principles that challenges or infuses their own artistic practice.

In Laboratory (2) we did what laboratories allow one to do best: to test said principles in a contolled and safe environment. The ‘real world’ shall not enter to criticize; but one is allowed and encouraged to revise their own principles.

In Workshop (3), the summoning forth of new beings proceeds as before, but now with the added demand of concentration so that one shall try to devise multiple works holding themselves to the principles they have formulated.

"Making things public" is the fourth and final phase in which the students shared their experiences in Antiquariaat Isis Bookstore on Folkingestraat 20, Groningen. They related the outcomes of the course to the question whether it is possible to borrow artistic strategies and methods from philosophy. They indicated what in their view is lost or gained through this borrowing and whether it helped them to redefine their own artistic practice.

Participants

Elske Achterberg, Shervin Atighehchi, Esmee Atsma, Svetlina Ilcheva, Owen Kok, Noah Koster, Maria Kostova, Milou Laros, Mihály Littner, Nerea Nogales Ríos, Arina Podsekina, Mascha Maria Scholtmeijer, Inguna Skujiņa,  Beniamin Visarion, Vera Wind