Simon. Thanks for such a structured analysis of change within universities maybe there is intellectually free space for certain artists to work creatively if these changes have occurred within an enlightened university administration ....................... 30 years have passed since I worked in one and not aware previously of this 'paradigm shift'..... still feel different conclusions can be made about ideas by artists within academia to those outside due to nature of differing environments, I'm not part of daily stimulating intellectual debate as one might expect in a University, life in a London studio can be silent and a lone occupation in comparison perhaps this is reason why my point of view is seen as singular or dogmatic......... I'm trying not to be.
Do remember Cages intellectual glow without words. Thanks. Martin. On 8 Jan 2010, at 22:15, Simon Biggs wrote: > I attended a workshop with Cage (around 1980). He was rather semi-detached. > He certainly didn’t teach anything, unless we were expected to pick it up by > osmosis. He was a nice guy though and I continue to enjoy his work and > appreciate his contribution. My partner worked with him a bit (being a dancer > she worked with Cunningham and Brown, so that’s her connection) and her > perspective is different. She is far more enamoured of the Cageian. My > background is more European in its traditions, Xenakis and stuff like that. > > As for the difference Martin proposes between art and academia – this is > arguably a question of epistemology and whether a mode of knowing or > apprehending is teleological or not. A few decades ago much of academia had > teleological tendencies. That is no longer the case. I am not saying it has > changed all its spots. There are still powerful conservative forces at work > within the academy. Nevertheless, things have changed. Once the research > councils (initially in the UK, but now in Australia, Canada and Europe) > accepted that creative practice could be considered and funded as research > the flood gates were opened. Partly as a result of this dominant notions of > what might constitute knowledge were brought into question. The impact was > not just on the creative arts, sucking practitioners into academia as > researchers, but also on the academy, shifting what might be considered > academic activity. Although there is still an expectation that academic > research makes a contribution to knowledge the idea of what knowledge might > be has been deeply problematised. To know no longer has to involve facts or > proofs. It can be an (inter-)subjectivity. This is what artists have always > been good at. In this context we have a willing audience who are also our > collaborators. > > I am not making grand claims here for the role of artists. Other disciplines > have been key in this, including cultural studies, critical studies, > philosophy (particularly phenomenology) and informatics (which was on the > “outside” until relatively recently). I would propose it is a paradigm shift, > which art is part of. > > Best > > Simon > > > Simon Biggs > > Research Professor > edinburgh college of art > [email protected] > www.eca.ac.uk > > Creative Interdisciplinary Research into CoLlaborative Environments > CIRCLE research group > www.eca.ac.uk/circle/ > > [email protected] > www.littlepig.org.uk > AIM/Skype: simonbiggsuk > > > From: Alan Sondheim <[email protected]> > Reply-To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > <[email protected]> > Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2010 16:05:31 -0500 (EST) > To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [NetBehaviour] Call for Submissions: > MultichannelVariableEconomies Screening Programme Deadline 28th January > > > > On Fri, 8 Jan 2010, martin mitchell wrote: > > > Academics or academia is a prescribed process of thought to prove a > > theory, factual based breadcrumb trail to prove perhaps a defined fact. > > Sorry, but this is ridiculous, and an insult to a lot of people on this > list and elsewhere. As far as what Beuys or Cage said - I didn't know the > former, but Cage said some idiotic things in his time. > > > Art or its creation is more to do with free thinking even irrational > > thought often about a visual idea that does not have proof in academic > > terms but initially exists as image, event or 3D, many times an artist > > will create something but is unable to explain how it came into being. > > Academic thought process is different you have an idea and set out to > > prove it with verifiable facts. > > There are no "proofs in academic terms" and what you write about academia > again is ridiculous. > > Sorry, I usually don't say this, but it seems to me you're trolling. I'm > not trying to be rude, but again this is insulting. > > Alan (I don't want to engage further on this, but I don't understand what > the point of writing on and on, with this kind of discussion. I don't know > what bones mm has to pick with "academia" and really don't care at this > point: this is just nasty.) > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > Edinburgh College of Art (eca) is a charity registered in Scotland, number > SC009201 > > > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
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