Humanity’s life on Earth is taking a concerning direction: issues such as climate change or the consequences of mass migration shape our future. The research departs from this concern, and... Show moreHumanity’s life on Earth is taking a concerning direction: issues such as climate change or the consequences of mass migration shape our future. The research departs from this concern, and proposes that humanity’s approach to the world can change only if the things-of-the-world start to matter to us, personally. This understanding can emerge in us, if we go beyond the hegemony of the ego that is driven by the current, gain and profit centered mindset. Therefore, I argue that the space in which individuals can revisit and alter how they are in the world, are spaces of ‘ground zero’, empty spaces beyond the structured taken-for-granted reality. Through theoretical arguments based on personal experience, it is demonstrated that certain contemporary art practices invite the beholder into this state of ‘ground zero’, beyond ego-boundaries in a very particular way: cognitively, emotionally and even physically. This state might have relevance for global decision-making as it offers to imagine the world in other ways than the present teleological, instrumentalist attitude. Show less
The artistic PhD research "Shifting Identities" investigates the musicians' professional identity and how this identity might shift when musicians start acting as theatrical performers. In most of... Show moreThe artistic PhD research "Shifting Identities" investigates the musicians' professional identity and how this identity might shift when musicians start acting as theatrical performers. In most of the theatrical situations where musicians "perform", their profession is extended by additional tasks such as walking on stage or reciting text. As an alternative strategy to extension, this research introduces and focuses on reduction, which means the abstracting away of specific qualities or abilities of the musician's profession. The audience watches musicians not doing certain things that usually belong to their profession. Both the expansive and the reductive approaches are concepts of working theatrically with musicians. They are different, perhaps even contradictory strategies, but both bear the ability to enrich the musician's professional identity with a more theatrical appearance. In order to build an understanding of what is extended or reduced when the identity shifts from a musician to a theatrical (musician-)performer a dynamic model is developed which builds strongly on what musicians actually do, a model that categorises the musician's professional activities into internal, external and contextual elements. Show less
