Abstract
In this essay am focusing on “defining”, in a non-traditional way, the idea of artistic research, starting from a “hunting game” metaphor which lays at the Indo-European etymological foundation of the words we use today to designate the process of research in various modern languages. But this way of understanding the process of artistic research leaves open the question about the “object” of artistic research. What is that which artists in general and DJs, in particular, “hunt” for? To answer this question, I will analize the multi-layered structure of research in DJing, thought as a form of art born at the intersection of visual, musical and performative arts with technology. This analysis leads me to the idea of “vibe”, “vibration” or “affective resonance”, which was briefly mentioned in the history of philosophy by thinkers like Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer and Maurice Merleau-Ponty.
Highlights
The question of artistic research has been raised for quite some time in the field of visual arts (Hannula 2009; Maharaj 2009; Andersson 2009), performative arts (Arlander 2008; Freeman 2010; Blain & Minors 2020) and music (Doğantan-Dack 2015; Impett 2017), not many studies tackled the problem of research in the contemporary artistic practices of DJing
It is true that the intentions of a DJ are “productive”, but this happens, paradoxically, in a re-productive manner
This re-productivity shall not be viewed as postproduction, because it is rather an “hermeneutical” process that creates new and original “stuff” from pre-existing material, not, as the term “postproduction” suggests, just a retouching of the original material
Summary
If we adopt a historical view on the subject, our concepts of creativity and originality are influenced by some events of the Western philosophical tradition that we take for granted. These elements themselves need not be artistic ideas or materials in the traditional sense of the word They could be emotional experiences, projections or representations of past events, like they could be pre-existing artworks or artifacts that constitute “raw material” for new ones, just like stone is raw material for a sculpture. The criteria for “good music” is not intrinsic to the music, but in relation to a performance and its context Thought this way, creativity is achieved through sampling and re-mixing the available material, not through creatio ex nihilo. Originality is not “being at the origin” of something and creating something out of nothing, but being authentic in the way you alter pre-available material In contrast with the former, the latter does not impose a break-up with tradition, but a continuation of the tradition in a new social and emotional context. If one is to make research part of nowadays’ artistic practices, one must adopt – consciously or unconsciously – this non-absolutist view on creativity and originality
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
