Category: Research and Development Office

On Wednesday, August 19th at 15:00, pre-reviewing of Art and Design programme PhD student Ulvi Haagensen’s exhibition „From the Archive: a Collection of Funny Things” will take place at Tartu Art House Small gallery. Exhibition is part of the artistic (practice-based) doctoral thesis of Ulvi Haagensen.

Supervisors: Dr Liina Unt, Jan Guy (The University of Sidney).

Pre-reviewers of the exhibition: Villu Plink and Ester Bardone

The exhibition is open from 30 July to 23 August 2020.

This exhibition is by imaginary artist, Olive Puuvill, who creates work in the manner of a bricoleuse, cobbling, tinkering and using whatever is close at hand. In her latest work she combines patterns, lines, textures and light to create an installation where objects, situations, materials and ideas are juxtaposed in a slightly chaotic arrangement, but one that nonetheless has a logic of its own. All this bears the traces of her intentions, aims and ideas as physical evidence of the working processes where Olive’s everyday life clashes, meets and melds with her art practice.

Ulvi Haagensen’s doctoral research is about the line between art and everyday life. By merging a multi-disciplinary art practice that combines installation, sculpture, drawing, performance and video with everyday experiences – mainly cleaning, one of the more mundane aspects of everyday life – she works across and along the lines between everyday life and art to discover the lines, overlaps and boundaries between art and the everyday.

Together with three imaginary characters and using an autoethnographic approach that includes the methods, tools and attitudes of an artist who uses ‘what is at hand’ and ‘makes do’she uses the everyday, not only for inspiration, but also materials, tools and techniques.

As her characters move between their roles and various places of work and everyday life, they explore notions of the everyday and the specialness of art, especially from the viewpoint of an artist for whom art and art making are very much a part of the everyday and therefore quite un-special.

The annual conference of EKA Doctoral School takes place on June 10 at the Estonian Academy of Arts (Põhja pst. 7) room A101 and via Zoom.
To participate in the conference registration must be completed by June 8 the latest.

TIMETABLE 

10:00 – 10:15 Welcoming words

Vice Rector for Research Epp Lankots, head of programmes

Architecture and Urban Design 

10:15 – 10:55

Sille Pihlak. “Prototyping Protocols: Protocolling Prototypes* Identifying and systematising design methodology for contemporary modular timber architecture”. Discussant Markus Vihma

Art History and Visual Culture Studies

10:55 – 11:35

Merily Salura. “Flow and time: the temporality of a creative process in Gadamer’s aesthetics”. Discussant Maria Hansar

11:35 – 12:15

Hanna-Liis Kont. “From relational aesthetics to Arte Útil. Selected theoretical frameworks for analysing current curatorial practices related to community engagement and social wellbeing”. Discussant Darja Popolitova

12:15 – 12:45 coffee break

Art and Design

12:45 – 13:25

Ulvi Haagensen. “The art of cleaning: crossing the line between art and everyday life”. Discussant Merily Salura

13:25 – 14:05

Darja Popolitova. “Haptic Visuality of Jewellery”. Discussant Ulvi Haagensen

14:05 – 14:45

Markus Vihma. “Eco Design competencies”. Discussant Sille Pihlak

14:45 – 15:15 coffee break

Cultural Heritage and conservation

15:15 – 15:55

Maria Hansar. “Media Archeological Approach to the Archeological Monument – Narva Case Study”. Discussant Nele Rent

15:55 – 16:35

Nele Rent. “Changes in the use of terms and language over time on the example of the Heritage Protection Act”. Discussant Hanna-Liis Kont

16:35 – 17:00 concluding discussion

PhD Vitamin is a first-time event at the Estonian Academy of Arts that consists of public lectures and individual consultations. Our goal is to bring together experts in artistic research with prospective PhD students with the intent of introducing the latter to the field of artistic research and to advise them in developing their own PhD research proposals.

1. Join the lectures: (please register beforehand)

Monday, 04.05. 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Liina Siib works mainly in photography, video and installation. The most prominent and recurring themes in Siib’s work include social spaces, marginalised groups and overlooked experiences. In her work Siib looks into how history gets written and the role of memory in shaping various groups in society, often using interviews, observation or archival materials as her method of working. (CCA)

Monday, 04.05. 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Dr. Varvara Guljajeva is an artist and researcher. Varvara holds a PhD from Estonian Academy of Arts, and M.Sc in digital media from University of Luebeck, and a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from IT Collage (Tallinn University of Technology). Her practice-based doctoral thesis “From interaction to postparticipation: the disappearing role of the active participant” analyses and contextualises passive audience interaction through the lens of post-participation.

Tuesday, 05.05. 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Dr. Michael Schwab is a London-based artist and artistic researcher who investigates postconceptual uses of technology in a variety of media including photography, drawing, printmaking, and installation art. He holds a M.A. in philosophy (Hamburg University) and a PhD in photography (Royal College of Art, London) that focuses on post-conceptual post-photography and artistic research methodology. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for Artistic Research (JAR).

Wednesday, 06.05. 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Dr. Chris Hales has exhibited a variety of interactive film installations dating back to ARTEC’95 in Japan via Future Cinema at ZKM in 2003 to the Glucksman Gallery in Cork in 2019. Part of his enquiry is the use of novel or unusual interface technology including facial emotion recognition and brain-computer interfaces.

2. Join the consultations: (please also register beforehand)

In addition to the lectures, individual consultations take place within the framework of the PhD Vitamin from 6th to 8th of May. They offer the opportunity to talk about your artistic work and ideas for a doctoral thesis with an expert of your choice.

In addition to the experts who will give lectures in the first half of the event, it is possible to register for a consultation with artist Kristina Norman.

Kristina Norman is a freelance artist whose interdisciplinary work is characterized by an interest in the relationship between identity, memory and public space. One of her most internationally known works is the intervention in public space at the 10th Manifesta Biennale in St. Petersburg, when she installed a 14-meter iron Christmas tree frame – which has become a symbol of Euromaidan – in front of the Winter Palace. The action linked the tragic events in Kiev to the repressed memory of demonstrations at the Palace Square at various times. Norman’s newer research-based creation experiments with performative expressions.

To participate in the consultations, register HERE.

We encourage artists, alumni and graduates of the Estonian Academy of Arts and other universities working with creative research methods to register. Registration is open until 03.05.2020. The exact consultation times will be sent directly to the provided e-mail addresses. Be quick – the number of free spots for the consultations is limited!

The lectures and consultations will take place in digital environments. The event is funded by the European Regional Development Fund

Questions? Please contact madis.luik@artun.ee

On 14th January 2020 at 15:00 you are welcome to the Estonian Academy of Arts’ assembly hall to join EKA Design Showcase – a public presentation of the freshest design projects made in collaboration with various enterprises.

Registrer here: forms.gle/f57Np17xGetoVTAP6
Event on Facebook: facebook.com/events/2613872371981428/

Concepts, prototypes and final results for innovative products and services will be presented, featuring new developments in the field of design. All enterprises, EKA’s present and future cooperation partners, and enthusiasts of innovative design are kindly invited to attend the event! The presentations will be given in English and the event will be in English.

Timeline:
15.00 Opening remarks by Kristjan Mändmaa (Dean of EKA Design) and Martin Pärn (Professor of Design at TalTech, Design & Technology Futures Head of Curriculum).

15.10 Linnar Viik – “Innovation – verb, not noun”

15.30 – 16.30 First block of presentations
– Smart Clothing for Moon Habitat. Swiss Space Center, Igluna 2020, D&TF
– Modular Clothing System for Lunar Habitat. Swiss Space Center, Igluna 2020, D&TF
– Mindful Listening in Spotify. Spotify + IxD
– TalTech Library: Advisory. TalTech Library + D&TF
– Re-thinking TalTech library. TalTech Library + D&TF
– Terve ruum /Healthy room. PERH + Product design
– Banners for Reidi tee promenade. Port of Tallinn + Graphic design
– Tallinn Pattern Buildings. Faculty of Architecture

16.30 – 16.50 Coffee break

16.50 – 18.15 Second block of presentations and closing remarks
_ Vessels for Transition, Exploring Circular Economy for Bolt. Bolt + IxD
– Aruna Clothing (India) + Fashion design
– Tvilum + D&TF
– More than a piece of furniture. Tvilum + D&TF
– Ruum. Tvilum + D&TF
– NOOK. Tvilum + D&TF
– “Nest of Emotions”. Porkuni school + glass/textile design
– Viimsi bus stops and gates. Viimsi county + Product design

The event will be funded by European Union Regional Fund.

Exhibition „iTouch Store” Darja Popolitova

Vault Room of A-Gallery, Hobusepea 2, Tallinn

The exhibition can be visited from 31 Mayto 1 July 2019.
The opening will take place on 7 June at 6 p.m.

Darja Popolitova’s exhibition examines touch as a part of digital culture: the tactility of digitally transmitted jewellery images, given the excessive focus on the phone and the screen.

The audience can also see the works in their representations —in the form of a video ad where the author attempts to find answers to the following questions: can the digital representation of the jewellery have tactile features?, how does the digital representation of jewellery affect real jewellery on a tactile level? and, how does the use of digital media change the relationship between jewellery and tactility?.

The jewellery and objects at the exhibition are meant to solve the potential problems of the digital age. The titles of the work speak for themselves: “Hot Not Only Online Phone Case”, “Silicon Nail for Touching Screen”, “Digital Detox Brush”, etc.

The exhibition is laid out as a shop and this is not accidental. Media critic Erkki Huhtamo brings a parallel between a museum and a shop, the tradition of which is related to “tactiloclasms” — tactile rules and prohibitions in public places. Similarly to the old days where you could have access to the product in a shop only with the help of a shop assistant, in the exhibition room touching the jewellery is not permitted due to security requirements. Namita Gupta Wiggers, the jewellery historian, spoke of the fact that jewellery perception in the museum is limited to the vision, while the potential destination of the jewellery is the body.

Replacing the sense of touch with the vision continues in the Internet age. Darja Popolitova notes that she has been inspired by AliExpress e-shop ads. “Reviewing products —even without buying them —offers me certain pleasure,” commented the artist. “As I read a book by the media theorist Laura U. Marks, I went deeper into the meaning of the term “tactile visuality offered by Laura U. Marks. At one moment everything came together in my head: I treat the images of the products with a certain plasticity — my eyes do not see, but “touch” these images.That is why I decided to explore the tactile properties of the images of jewellery with my exhibition.”

Darja Popolitova was born in 1989 in Sillamäe and lives and works in Tallinn. She is currently doing a PhD at Estonian Academy of Arts. Darja designs jewellery using innovative technologies and mixed media. Recently, Darja Popolitova has participated in exhibitions at the Art and Design Museum in New York (2019), the Kunstnerforbundet gallery in Oslo (2018) and the fourth biennial of contemporary jewellery, METALLOphone in Vilnius (2018). Darja Popolitova is represented by the following galleries: Marzee in Nijmegen, Beyond in Antwerp, and Door in Mariaheide. Her work is included in the collection of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design and also in private collections. The work of Darja Popolitova was awarded the scholarships of the Ministry of Culture and Adamson-Eric in 2018. She also received the scholarship of Young Jewellery in 2015.

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Video: Ando Naulainen

Sound Design: Andres Nõlvak

Graphic Design: Johanna Ruukholm

Artist’s gratitude goes to 3DKoda OÜ, A-Gallery, Adamson-Eric Museum,
Anastassia Dratšova, Benjamin Lignel, Daniil Popov, Doctoral School of Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonian Ministry of Culture, Kadri Mälk, Keiu Krikmann,
MakerLab Tallinn, Martina Gofman, Olesja Kulikova, Orbital Vox Stuudiod, Pire Sova,
Raivo Kelomees, Sarah Elizabeth Johnston, Shapeways Inc., Varvara Guljajeva, Vladimir Ljadov

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Date: June 4, 6, 7 at 10.00 to 17.00

Venue: Estonian Academy of Arts, Põhja pst 7, room A202

Lecturer: Benjamin Lignel

Artist, writer and curator Benjamin Lignel will conduct a 3-day seminar in June, focusing on the challenges and opportunities inherent to artistic research. We will be thinking through the temporalities of making, documenting, and argumenting, and the different sort of “proof” they invoke; we will attempt a 21st century autopsy of the author-function and look at subject-positions with the help of Italo Calvino, Joan Scott and Audre Lord; we will play at presenting an object (textual or physical) for public scrutiny with a view to understanding what “stewardship of ideas” might imply.

Students who sign up for the seminar will be required to read 3 texts in advance:

Audre Lord, the Use of Anger, Women responding to Racism (1981)

Joan Scott, The Evidence of Experience (1991)

Ulrike Müller, Herstory Inventory (2011)

You will also be required to write, in conversational/diaristic mode, how you first met an idea that subequently guided your current research (max. 500 words).

Registration

The seminar is open to PhD and MA students.

Registration form

Registration is open until 28.05.2019.

This event is organised by the Graduate School of Culture Studies and Arts, supported by the ASTRA project of the Estonian Academy of Arts – EKA LOOVKÄRG (European Union, European Regional Development Fund).

The Estonian Academy of Arts, Curriculum of Art and Design’s PhD student Varvara Guljajeva will defend her thesis “From interaction to post-participation: the disappearing role of the active participant”(“Interaktsioonist osalusjärgsuseni: aktiivse osaleja kaduv roll”) on the 21st of December 2018 at 12.00 at Põhja pst 7 building, room A101.

Supervisors:dr Raivo Kelomees (Estonian Academy of Arts) and dr Pau Waelder (The Open University of Catalonia)

Pre-reviewers:prof dr Christa Sommerer (Interface Cultures, The University of Art and Design Linz) and prof dr Moises Mañas Carbonell (Faculty of Fine Arts, Polytechnic University of Valencia)

Opponent: prof dr Christa Sommerer (Interface Cultures, The University of Art and Design Linz)

The practice-based dissertation analyses and contextualises passive audience interaction through the lens of post-participation. Research explores the shift from active to passive participation in interactive art. By exploring interactive art history and the discourse of identity within the field, this dissertation investigates how artworks that demonstrate no audience involvement, but still incorporate an internal system interaction with a data source, are addressed. In other words, the research tracks down the interest shift from human-machine to system-to-system interaction, and explores the reasons behind this.

In this thesis, a differentiation is made between direct and indirect post-participation. Hence, the selected artworks are analysed from the perspective of concept, direct or indirect post-participation components, and realisation. In addition, related artworks by other artists are introduced and discussed under each subcategory of post-participation.

In the end, the dissertation contributes to the evolution of interactive art, by analysing and contextualising passive audience participation in the form of post-participation. Author argues that the concept of post-participation helps to address the shift from an active to a passive spectator in the complex age of dataveillance, an age in which humans are continuously tracked, traced, monitored and surveilled without our consent.

Please find the PhD thesis here.

The defense will be in English.

Exhibition dates:

15.11.2018 12-18

16.11.2018 12-20

Sofia Hallik’s “Tangibility Matters” exhibition finissage takes place on Friday, November 16th, in the ARS Project Room at 18.00.

Peer-review event takes place in Nov 16th, at 14.00 in ARS Project Room (Pärnu mnt 154, Tallinn)

Supervisors: prof Kadri Mälk and dr Jaak Tomberg

Peer – reviewers: dr Kärt Ojavee and dr Raivo Kelomees

Works on display are made as a part of a PhD thesis, and consist of wearable objects that are a hybrid of hand work and digital production. While working on a jewellery, the author is in need of touch and tactility, while an object that is made using 3D printing appears as an empty form, which demands substance. In the world of tech, because the process of work using CAD or 3D printing excludes tangibility, the author is lacking physical contact with a work of art. That is exactly why in these series of works the artist razes in a way the digital tarnish from the surface of the printed object by implementing hand work and traditional jewellery techniques. In this way a 3D printed object gains emotional expressiveness.

The works presented during the exhibition originate from two contradictory principles: digital production and hand work, and embody the mutual closeness of human and the machine. In other words, while people approach the digital world, technology becomes more and more humane.

Sofia Hallik (1991) is a jewellery artist, designer and PhD student at the Estonian Academy of Arts. In her doctoral thesis “Hand vs. Machine: Three Methods of Jewellery Making” (supervisors prof. Kadri Mälk and Dr. Jaak Tomberg) Sofia focuses on innovative materials and digital technologies. What interests her the most is the way digital technology influences jewellery.

Special thanks to: Kadri Mälk, Jaak Tomberg, Oskar Narusberk, EAA Jewellery and Blacksmithing department, 3D Koda OÜ.

The exhibition was made possible with the support of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Date: November 19, 2018 at 14.00 – 17.30

Venue: Estonian Academy of Arts, Põhja pst 7, room A502

Lecturer: Pia Sivenius

The idea of using psychoanalysis for artistic research seems tempting for artists in various fields, designers and architects. The aim of the seminar is to introduce the cornerstones of the theories of psychoanalysis and reflect on their uses in the field of arts. The seminar is open to PhD and MA students.

Pia Sivenius specialises in the French psychoanalysis theories. She has published numerous articles on the subject and translated the works of Lacan, Kristeva and Irigaray into the Finnish language. She is the long standing research coordinator in Aalto Arts (formerly University of Art and Design Helsinki) which gives her valuable insight into current artistic research.

Registration

Theseminar is open to PhD and MA students. Registration is open until16.11.

Registration form.

Program

14.00-15.30 seminar

15.30-16.00 break

16.00-17.30 seminar