This dissertation commences from the concept of poiesis, informed chiefly by Hannah Arendt’s use of the term in The Human Condition (1958) to indicate a form of creativity married to craftsmanship.... Show moreThis dissertation commences from the concept of poiesis, informed chiefly by Hannah Arendt’s use of the term in The Human Condition (1958) to indicate a form of creativity married to craftsmanship. This poietic framework will then be used throughout the dissertation to inform a practice-based analysis of the learning process involved with physically polyphonic notations (herein defined as notations of dissynchronous physical actions within a single performative body). Despite polyphonic asynchrony, the unifying performative demands of these pieces are the learning strategies necessary to accomplish this eventual reassembly of instrumental practice within a single, performing body. The following essays will explore the physically polyphonic repertoire of the trombone specifically as a laboratory for problematizing this poietic approach to the learning process. Show less
This dissertation explores the question of what contemporary mapmaking practices can reveal about the ever-evolving field of graphic design.The shift towards digital modes of production has... Show moreThis dissertation explores the question of what contemporary mapmaking practices can reveal about the ever-evolving field of graphic design.The shift towards digital modes of production has fundamentally changed the field of graphic design, to the extent that a clear distinction between the producers and users of visual information no longer exists. The evaluation of graphic design’s recent developments is too strongly focused on what happened to the persona of the graphic designer. In this research an alternative model is introduced that focuses on the technologies that have shaped the field.Graphic design and cartography have different origins and concerns, but their contemporary practices have much in common. In this research, cartography is considered a testing ground to understand the transformations of graphic design. Adopting notions from post-representational cartography, three mapmaking practices of amateurs and technology companies were selected to survey, analyse and test that transformation.The dissertation contains of a series of visualizations that embody an alternative documentation of the research. The development of alternative and complementary languages is considered to be an essential aspect of artistic research. This parallel visual documentation of the research questions the discursive text, and all the prejudices and histories contained within it. Show less
In this dialogue with Professor Dr. Henk Borgdorff, from Leiden University (The Netherlands), we revisit the current state of the debate on research in the arts -or practice-based research- in... Show moreIn this dialogue with Professor Dr. Henk Borgdorff, from Leiden University (The Netherlands), we revisit the current state of the debate on research in the arts -or practice-based research- in Europe and its possible connections with Latin America. Although it is a process that is constantly emerging in academic and professional fields, we intend to develop new perspectives which promote artistic practice as research. Show less
Between Freedom and Fixity: Artistic Reflections on Composition and Improvisation is a practice-based research project that aims to highlight the role of freedom and fixity in music and to develop... Show moreBetween Freedom and Fixity: Artistic Reflections on Composition and Improvisation is a practice-based research project that aims to highlight the role of freedom and fixity in music and to develop a discourse based on these two concepts. The research suggests a creative approach based on the interrelationship between freedom and fixity, for example their combination, juxtaposition, and tension, and describes them as abstractions or placeholders for musical agents such as rhythm, notes, structure, timeline, and interactive computer systems. Another important notion is the inherent coexistence of the two concepts, and proposing the constant oscillating between them as a creative musical approach. Furthermore, the research aims to establish the use of freedom and fixity as a productive paths for extra-musical disciplines. Four works by the author are used as case studies to examine the integration of the research concepts as tangible musical forms. In each of the case studies the concepts are embodied differently, thus different relationships develop between them in each piece. This study relies on the author's experience and experimentation as a composer, performer, improviser, and electronic-music practitioner, and draws inspiration from works by other musicians and scholars. Show less
My artistic practice deals with documents and, more specifically, with the use and the exploration of their narrative potential. This dissertation is about three different cycles of artworks I... Show moreMy artistic practice deals with documents and, more specifically, with the use and the exploration of their narrative potential. This dissertation is about three different cycles of artworks I produced as part of the research project. The notion of animation inheres in each of the three case studies: – Case 1 focuses on my artworks about Simone Pianetti (1858-?), an Italian mass murderer who escaped and disappeared, and who then became a puppet character, animated as a stock character.– Case 2 focuses on Augusto Masetti (1888-1966), an Italian soldier who shot at his superior officer and declared not to remember having done it, as if in a state of ecstatic possession, as if animated by an external entity. Mainly using publications and workshops, I produced a series of artworks related to legal, medical and anarchist records on his case.– Case 3 follows the appearance of a puppet character in Colombia, el espiritado, and its supposed connections to the Masetti case. I describe a series of artistic works I produced, starting from a puppet script about the self-destruction of a village, which can be read as a commentary on puppetry, anarchism and animation. Show less
Early recordings made between the 1880s and mid-1930s reveal a wide gap between the performance practices of a century ago and those of today. Though many contemporary musicians often claim... Show moreEarly recordings made between the 1880s and mid-1930s reveal a wide gap between the performance practices of a century ago and those of today. Though many contemporary musicians often claim fidelity to composers’ intentions, they clearly prefer to avoid the risks associated with playing in ways familiar to the very composers to whom they pledge fidelity. Given this state of affairs, I suggest a re-thinking of the concept of Werktreue, predicated upon the notion that 19th-century performers enacted their fidelity to works and composers by creating altered and highly personalized versions of the detail, structure and time of composers’ works.My own performances aim to enact this performer-centred Werktreue in order circumvent the frequently restrictive nature of modern performance practices while closing the gap between these practices and those heard on early recordings of viola solo, viola/piano and string quartet repertoires. The question my work engages with is: how might viola and string quartet playing in the performer-centered, moment-to-moment and communicative style heard on early recordings be brought about today? In order to achieve this aim, the study of relevant literatures on early-recorded style is combined with historical research and the detailed analysis and ‘all-in’ copying of early recordings. Show less
In 1811, 1814, and 1817, the renowned Dutch actor and painter Johannes Jelgerhuis Rienkszoon authored three illustrated journals to document the productions of the English, French, and Dutch... Show more In 1811, 1814, and 1817, the renowned Dutch actor and painter Johannes Jelgerhuis Rienkszoon authored three illustrated journals to document the productions of the English, French, and Dutch theatre companies that came to perform in Amsterdam. This article provides an overview of Jelgerhuis’s manuscripts, placing them in context with his other published and unpublished works as a means to illuminate differences and similarities between early modern and contemporary European performance practices. Show less
The research explores what and how sound does in certain art practices; it lends an ear to so-called material-discursive events that come into expression as in/determined sonic occurrences. The... Show moreThe research explores what and how sound does in certain art practices; it lends an ear to so-called material-discursive events that come into expression as in/determined sonic occurrences. The dissertation has three main objectives. Firstly, it describes sonic art practice as experimental research and makes a case for curating such practices as a form of research; it positions this type of research as a contribution to new forms of knowledge and provides a resource for future research-creations and evaluation practices. Secondly, it brings together philosophy and art to elaborate a genuine manner of working with sonic matter (mattering); it conceptualizes and materializes novel ways of thinking, and creates a case for writing itself as practice and curating/producing art as theory; that is, it seeks to practice what it theorizes and vice versa. Thirdly, it advocates a certain transformation of self that lets us side-step ourselves, intervene and invent possible worlds or future fabulations. Practicing a process-oriented exploration complexifies as it advances; it creates resonances between theory and practice, between audience and sound art, between the written thesis – inclusive of presented artifacts – and the reader. It wants not to reduce but foster awareness of the ongoing complexity of life. Show less
An important question facing musicians both in the practice room and on stage is “What should I focus on?” There is a great deal of research in the fields of movement sciences and sports... Show moreAn important question facing musicians both in the practice room and on stage is “What should I focus on?” There is a great deal of research in the fields of movement sciences and sports that suggests that adopting an external focus of attention – focusing on the intended effects of one’s movements – can be beneficial both for learning and for performance of complex motor skills. There has been very little research done on the effects of external focus on musicians. The aims of this study on external focus were as follows: to translate the idea of external focus from movement science into the field of music (how can external focus be characterized for music-making?); to design several ways to use, test and explore the application of external focus in field situations; and to collect data and find information to elucidate the effects of external focus and the instances in which it can work for musicians. A series of three empirical projects were designed and carried out in both semi-controlled as well as natural environments. The mixed methods research approach included both quantitative and qualitative elements. A music-pedagogical practice tool based on external focus was designed and used in all three projects. Show less
This thesis presents the research process behind the project Rupestres Sonoros, by the São Paulo-based musical group Mawaca, that recreated indigenous Brazilian songs, and the Cantos da... Show moreThis thesis presents the research process behind the project Rupestres Sonoros, by the São Paulo-based musical group Mawaca, that recreated indigenous Brazilian songs, and the Cantos da Floresta tour of the Amazon, involving an intercultural exchange with six different indigenous groups. The thesis also addresses the projects’ outcomes, such as the publication of didactic books, creation of websites, workshops and new projects that seek to shed light on indigenous musical expressions. The thesis is about the journey of going up on stage, organizing intercultural activities, producing books, records and videos that transformed me and Mawaca, in a postmodern context, into artists that create in order to help raise awareness on the current political issues concerning the indigenous communities in Brazil. The purpose of this thesis is to reveal how music performance and research can be conducted by “anthropophagizing” knowledge, that is, consuming from a broad range of cultural sources, regurgitating and reinventing multicultural musicalities. Show less
