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Forum for European Philosophy discuss Art as Knowledge?

11/12/2015

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​Wednesday evening at LSE, a panel consisting of Professor Matthew Kieran, Dr Alexander Massouras, Kathleen Soriano 
and chaired by Dr Vid Simoniti, questioned and discussed ‘Art as Knowledge?’. The event brought forth the notion of art being used as a tool to generate important ‘life’ questions and relay knowledge. 
The influence that art holds has not been agreed upon throughout the ages and through the pages of philosopher's thoughts. As the abstract to this event highlighted, Plato and Hegel did not value the usefulness of art, unlike Aristotle, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche who did.
Professor Matthew Kieran started the discussion conveying the skeptical and non-skeptical views one may have towards art in relation to it’s communicating knowledge. He revealed that “in science and history, there is a domain of truth” art does not proclaim that, however “art makes you think not just about the subject, but gets you in that experience”. Art might not provide “new knowledge but new experience”, it’s a “visual metaphor” and “the experience of art might remind us of an experience we have already had”.
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Dr Vid Simoniti, Professor Matthew Kieran, Kathleen Soriano and Dr Alexander Massouras
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The art work 'Women are Heroes' by the artist JR, was brought into the dialogue at the very beginning, where Matthew Kieran interpreted the art through the visual versus the meaning. As you look at this work, you know it's a favela in Brazil and that could be enough to understand the image, however knowing and understanding what is behind the photos of faces and eyes pasted over the outside of the favelas, provide another depth to the image when viewing it. In JR's artwork, they symbolise, the women's gaze to an area devastated by war, drugs and gangs as well as paying tribute to the local women.
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Vid Simoniti, then directed the discussion toward the essence of gaining knowledge from conceptual art, which led to Matthew Kieran highlighting Louise Bourgeois's work 'Cell (Eyes and Mirrors)' explaining in reference to this work, the difference between the visual effect through its surreal like approach, with, its impact and emotion from the art work once its meaning has been acquired. As well as providing glimpses of the artist's thoughts. In 'Cells (Eyes and Mirrors), the subject matter accentuates the meaning of pain and the difference between emotional and physical pain and both notions overlapping and interacting together.
Interaction with a work, as Kathleen Soriano communicated, is also the work of a curator, bringing to life and making available the meaning behind an art work for a visitor to a museum or gallery. She highlighted the idea of "not just explaining in words" with texts and sub texts next to the works of art. She noted the importance of the art's placement, how "to create a sense of focus" in a room and "play with the lighting". Nevertheless, she underlined that "there should always be space for the real meaning and the meaning you make [...] there needs to be room for the personal but also room for you to find the meaning".
Furthermore, she pointed out, some art works, like Kandinsky, though are "full of meaning" are sometimes responded to aesthetically. The debate around meaning versus aesthetics in art, led to Vid Simoniti posing the question for the sake of the discussion, "does beautiful art have to be denigrated to the role of kitsch?" The question advanced the dialogue to art being a market driven force. Although true, as Kathleen Soriano later indicated, a value of an art work is also when the audience sees it and thus its meaning can exist.
Just like the interaction with an art work, a member of the audience brought into the forefront of the discussion the notion of Edward Said's post-colonial theory on art.
In relation to that comment, one can say that the visual in 'Orientalist' art can lose some literal meaning. In other words, one may understand the meaning of the realistically painted visual, but the visual may not carry truth, or only carry a perspective. In other words the artist's vision. Therefore the visual cannot always just rely on a realistic approach to portray true meaning. What we literally see may not always be true.
'​During the discussion, Kathleen Soriano, had expressed the dangers of forcing art works into a narrative of an exhibition and Alexander Massouras highlighted the notion of art into its context. In regards to the exhibition at the Tate Modern 'World Goes Pop' he pointed out, that Pop Artists were said of as "capitalism realism [...] the pop art does not have the same edge in a communist country, it would mean something else".
The meaning of an art work may be taken into different directions and an art work may carry several meanings. As Matthew Kieran noted, in relation to Art History "we don't know where we are, only in retrospect can we see", nevertheless as he stated, progress in art does not make past works irrelevant.
The discussion ended with Alexander Massouras disclosing in regards to the future, "since everything is done by machines, we could have a society with just artists and academics".
Maybe by then, another discussion on art as knowledge will be needed.
​Wether art provides 'knowledge' and makes one think of 'life' questions, is down to the individual interacting with the art work. As viewers wether or not we respond to the visual or agree or not with the 'knowledge' we are being made to think about, art as a medium is a powerful tool that can be used to project ideas and notions. Art will never carry a 'yes' or a 'no' answer and looking at certain times in history, art has been used by some to push certain thoughts to the forefront, and in turn at certain times pushing the viewer to think a certain way. However, when the art work is seen to be a perspective and a snap shot of an idea and as viewers we look for other perspectives, art can hopefully, even if just aesthetically beautifully, make one think, and if not think, then feel.
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Alexander Massouras art work 'Now and Then'
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Eduardo Kac art work 'Natural History of the Enigma' interacts with science. The flower in the image is genetically modified expressing parts of the artist's DNA in the red veins of the flower.
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Symposium: Mirage 20 years on at ICA

11/2/2015

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Important symposium this weekend at the ICA for the anniversary of Mirage, 20 years on.
The 1995 project of Mirage: Enigmas of Race, Difference & Desire curated by David A. Bailey in collaboration with INIVA, examined the importance of Frantz Fanon's writings and protesting the absence of diversity in art. On the anniversary of that project, the symposium highlighted the questions and notions that were posed then, to consider them in relation to today. Looking at the practices of art and institutions according to decolonizing culture, identity and race. Asking, how to bring about more diverse representation and avoid the traps of a monoculture.
Art, and today the digital world, are and have been used as tools, to push boundaries, and create forms of resistance. 
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The speakers in order of appearance :
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Allison Thompson, Director of the Centre for the Visual and Performing Arts at the Barbados Community College, discussing Black Diaspora Visual Arts in Barbados, building a platform for Caribbean artists in Barbados.
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Allison Thompson highlighting artist Indrani Nayar-Gall's art work on identity. Members of the public were able to draw their own identity on Nayar-Gall's template. The following day, they would be erased to make room for new members of the public to draw theirs.
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Morgan Quaintance, writer, musician, broadcaster and curator mentioning his thoughts on institutions, galleries are "radical in theory and neoliberal in practice" and there's "still so much to be done, still so much injustice". His work at Dam Projects, a curatorial collective, showcases emerging and underexposed artists.
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Artist Evan Ifekoya declares "making space for language we don't understand is really crucial". The image on the screen is a spoof of the identity rows that surrounded Rachel Dolezal.
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Lyle Ashton Harris, artist and Assistant Professor of Art at the University of New York, showcases his work featuring an archive of his personal photos over the music of Grace Jones. The picture in the background is of photographer Nan Goldin. Art is "Redefining the space outside the Institution".
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Yasmina Reggad, writer, curator, and curator for Art Dubai Projects 2016. She highlights the notion of techno diaspora, showcasing here the list of many phone calls she had done in the last four months in relation to her work in the arts. She brought forth her idea of the body being static in relation to crossing different time zones, moving from one country to the other in a state of techno diaspora through the power of a call.
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Yasmina Reggad performs, moving from one time zone to the other citing "my best friend was the world clock". Her performance explained the movement of her conversation, her voice, whilst being static in front of her computer. She discovered "networks creating networks discovering new networks" , questioning, if " can this help those with reduced mobility?" For instance for a person who may need a visa to travel. With Skype and other forms of technology, new notions around diaspora start to form.
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Osei Bonsu, writer and curator, talking about Identity Politics, questioning if "my race means i could or should be interested in post-colonialism" and wanting "to make myself scarce" in relation to detachment of identity.
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Greg de Cuir Jr, selector/curator for Alternative Film/Video Belgrade, discussing Film in relation to Fanon. Quoting Fanon "I can't go to a film without seeing myself" "I wait for myself". Greg de cuir discussing if humanity "refuse to see?" and the "acknowledgment of 'the other'".
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Melanie Keen, Director of Iniva, speaks on "visual culture entangled with politics", as well as it "seeping through different channels" and highlighting the "role of the artists as political agents".
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David A. Bailey MBE, curator, photographer and writer. Bringing back Mirage: 20 Years On.
The symposium at the ICA brought about for the anniversary of Mirage 20 years on, raised some important notions and questions. Such as, has social media created a shift in postcolonial theory since 1995? Technology has enabled all people if not most to have a voice, a space to say what one thinks, however who's listening, how many people can we each reach? In relation to creating a piece of art, a film, as Greg de Cuir mentioned, a film can be made, and brought to screen but "how do we bring the bodies into the cinema?" 
The panel finished the day referencing Fanon's relevance today, after some discussion, it was generally agreed, that, though the circumstances during Fanon's time have changed, the notion and ideas behind his writings are still prevalent and important. As a man named George from the audience expressed "Thinking with Fanon different to following Fanon".
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