The pleasure of research

By Henk Slager

Subjects: Research, Art, Catalogs, Installations (Art), Study and teaching

Description: Delves into issues such as knowledge production, artistic thinking, medium-specificity, and context-responsiveness. How do these issues connect to the current state of art education and artistic research? A starting point for the publication is a series of curatorial projects by Henk Slager in various parts of the world: 'Flash Cube' (Leeum Seoul 2007), 'Trans Local Motion' (Shanghai Biennale 2008), 'Nameless Science' (Apexart New York 2009), 'As the Academy Turns' (Manifesta 2010), 'Any Medium Whatever' (Venice Biennale 2011), 'Doing Research' (Documenta 2012), 'Offside Effect'(Tbilisi Triennial 2012), 'Joyful Wisdom' (Istanbul Biennale 2013), and Aesthetic Jam (Taipei Biennale 2014). The author argues that artistic research should foreshadow a gaya scienza: a temporary autonomous activity where intellectual pleasure and an experimental method invigorate forms of research and thought.