Art Project Research Articles

THE LANDSCAPE OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE IN VISUAL PROJECTS AND ARTISTIC PRACTICES OF 2022–2023 (case study of discourse)

Since February 24, 2022, the discourse of visual arts in Ukraine has been characterised by a significant focus on revising and rethinking the topic of the ongoing war in the country since 2014. The author analyses the forms of art representation of the war in Ukraine based on visual projects and art practices in the dimension of existential resistance to cruel reality, which contribute to the narrative of Ukraine’s resistance. The article discusses the correlations between the art discourse and the figurative topic of war, which has become an integral part of the art landscape. The article suggests analysing the events in Ukraine during 2022–2023 in the paradigm of cruel optimism, which is exemplified by the art projects by Alexander Krolikowski, Fedir Alexandrovich, Kateryna Yakovlenko, Anton Logov, and others. A crucial aspect of the research involves delineating the inherent characteristics of the new imagery and language in visual arts. This allows the author to posit the realisation of the concept of “zero” language, which lacks conventional forms of expressiveness but embodies an objectification of depicted signs and motifs associated with archetypal structures and linked to thanatological discourse. It has been demonstrated that the use of thanatological discourse in visual art practices was the impetus for finding new vitality in the pathological reality of military necrophilia. The art discourse takes on an objective ground, with a clear demarcation line between the living and the dead, one’s own and alien, cruel and optimistic, etc.

Metamodernist Discourse in Comparative Art Epistemology

In the last ten years, the scientific discourse has focused around a cluster of problems caused by the change of cultural paradigms, paying special attention to the spread of artepistems of the next civilizational cycle of cultural creation, which, presently, is called by some researchers “metamodernism”. Scientists discuss not only the formal adequacy and timely legality of this new term, which captures the corrections of the contemporary vector of postmodernism through the "de-doxification" of a renewed system of world perception, but also investigate the essential effectiveness of the oscillating aesthetics of metaxia (as oscillations between different narratives and cognitions), striving to overcome errors of cultural-industrial stratagems in anticipation of more harmonious, creative and productive results from new approaches recognized as post-liberal. In particular, applying comparative art epistemology, scientists analyze specific examples of the use of metamodern cognition in the creative projects of modern artists, where symbolic engrams of the "structure of feelings" are successfully used, which provide access to the absolute time of aletheia, while maintaining a connection with the realities of modernity.

Immersive Environment as a Tool for Changing Human-Centric Optic

The article is devoted to the scientific problem of theoretical elaboration and contextualization of an immersive environment implemented in the physical space of a gallery or museum, as well as a site-specific work, or in VR and AR, which work to change anthropocentric optics. The aim of the research is to identify the peculiarities of the formation of an immersive environment and the practice of creating VR and AR projects in Ukrainian contemporary art, to identify the work of Ukrainian artists, which takes place outside the country at the intersection of the latest ideas in European culture with a focus on the relationship between human and nature. The task is to study the theoretical foundations of the subjectivity of nature and the development of immersive environments, review and analysis of projects that use digital technologies to create immersion. The methodology of the study consists in theoretical and field researches at the intersection of eco-topics and immersive technologies and the development of author's experiments as part of the research "Analytical Instruments for Audio-Visual Translation of Metabolomics" merging genotype and environment regarding climate changes at Iméra — the Institute of Advanced Studies in Marseille. The main method is a comprehensive approach to highlight issues of the development of deep ecology, the theory of symbiosis, visual and photometric methods, analysis of concepts, spatial structure and artistic works. The peculiarities of creating an immersive environment in physical space were explored in the projects "Cosmogony", "Homage to Leonardo", "Garden of Divine Songs" after Hryhorii Skovoroda, "Homage to Matisse", "Gaia", "The Ocean", "Espace Ocean: Waters Come Into My Soul", "Ecocide", which analyzes the impact of the ongoing war on ecology, in order to be included into the national art discourse. The concept of "non-human agency" is concidered as an imperative of nature's subjectivity. The possibilities of molecular sonification in metabolomics were analyzed. A brief overview of the VR projects "Invasions 1.2.3", "Atmospheric Forest" and "First Day" and AR "Vegetable Kingdom, Vegetable Anarchy" is provided. Festivals OVNi in Nice, Scientifica #2 in Marseille, Ars Electronica in Linz, RIXC in Riga, UNESCO Media Art City in Karlsruhe and Venice Immersive are considered as platforms for the construction of "future civilization". The instrumentality of immersive environments for changing anthropocentric optics has been revealed.

CONTEMPORARY ART AND ART MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES IN THE CONTEXT OF LOCAL SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN UKRAINE: THE CASE OF THE TEPLE MISTO PLATFORM

Most of the art projects related to modern art take place in the capital. Other Ukrainian cities mostly have few powerful centers for the promotion of modern art and few active representatives of art management. However, such initiatives outside the capital can have a significant impact on social transformations. The purpose of this article is to analyze the activity of art management of the public platform of Ivano-Frankivsk Teple Misto in the field of contemporary art. In the last nine years, this platform has implemented numerous projects that are aimed at social transformations in the urban community. One of the areas of its activity is the engagement of the city’s public with modern art through exhibitions, murals, performances, educational projects, etc. These projects were implemented through a number of grants from Teple Misto. Art managers of the platform work on the Warm Art program. After 2018, this program was transformed into other projects. Contemporary visual art has been chosen as the focus of artistic initiatives for the purpose of promoting artistic processes in the city. Since 2015, the projects Residence for Artists, Open Art Lecture Hall, grants for exhibitions, etc. have served this goal. In addition, the project promotes famous art figures of the 20th century from Ivano-Frankivsk and the region through the support of exhibitions of the art by Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit, Osyp Sorokhtei, Stepan Nazarenko and others

Impact of NFT technologies on spirituality and inner world of the modern generation

The article describes the possibilities of NFT technology as a phenomenon of digital culture. The case of using this technology by the authors of artistic projects is considered. The question about the impact of NFT technology on traditional values and the spiritual world of the modern generation is raised.

‘Headless women in public art’: Migrant artivism and do-it-yourself practices in the city of Porto

This article focuses on the do-it-yourself artistic creation of migrant women in the city of Porto, Portugal, and emerging modalities of artivism. It is focused on the project ‘Headless Women in Public Art’, by the artist Mariana Morais; an art and design project – sustained by a do-it-yourself praxis and ethos – that aims to examine public art in the city of Porto through a feminist and (i) migrant lens, to identify/deconstruct aesthetic narratives created around women in public art. By adopting a case study methodology based on the use of a qualitative and visual methodology, we present a sociological discussion around the project ‘Headless Women in Public Art’, as well as a content analysis regarding a semi-structured interview made to the artist. The goal is to enhance social, cultural, artistic and symbolic re-significations around public art and female bodies in public art in Porto, while using do-it-yourself.

The Open Mind Portrait: An Innovative Method to Promote Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking

This teaching tip article highlights the “Open Mind Portrait” as a visual art strategy to assess middle and secondary students’ complex expressions of texts backed by research, the steps involved for implementation, and a student example to highlight the power of visual art projects. Employing visual art projects to promote reading comprehension and critical thinking offers classroom teachers an innovative reading response method to the standard constructed response. Through the combination of reading and art, teachers can assess students’ comprehension of literary characters as students analyze the role of a character in a story, as well as the larger social, historical, and cultural world occupied by the character when responding to texts.

Ko Te Reo ō Ngā Tāngata / The People’s Voice

Ko Te Reo ō Ngā Tāngata / The People’s Voice

My Voice from Perth


 In this paper, I will examine my art projects, A long letter to home (2015-20) and Indian ocean ceremony (2020-present), to extend my discussion on the idea of non-verbal communication. I also discuss the influence of cultural institutions on the recognition of the local artists in Perth and consider possible ways of sharing my voice with the communities. 
 A long letter to home (2015-20): In 1999, I left my homeland Iran and immigrated to Australia. When I came to Australia, I never considered myself a migrant; I saw myself as someone who wanted to exchange and share cultural ideas and become an artist. Shortly after I started studying art in Australian institutions and realised that I am a migrant searching for a home, I understood that I could make something unique, meaningful and negotiable artworks, rather than works that only deal with or speak of my emotions. A long letter to home is a project that I developed during my study and visual research on the idea of home. It is a collaborative project between myself and a group of people living in Iran who responded to my two questions about home and homeland. 
 
 
 Indian ocean ceremony (2020-present): While I was completing my PhD in Fine Art, I arrived at the understanding that I am still a migrant who is continuously searching for a home and exploring the idea of home in public and private places. I have also found myself who needs three key elements to sustain creativity and an artistic career: compassion, dignity and obligation. Indian ocean ceremony reflects a symbolic relationship between the idea of home, these fundamental elements, and the Indian Ocean water. 

THE ROLE OF A MEDIATOR IN MANAGING ART PROJECT TEAMS

The paper reviews and analyzes approaches to the formation of project teams. The disadvantages, probability and feasibility of applying each approach to the implementation of art projects are identified. Approaches to team building and parameters for determining well-coordinated teamwork that directly affect its effectiveness are considered and analyzed. Arguments are presented for the expediency of involving a psychology specialist both for the organization as a whole and for the project team during the implementation of a specific project. Arguments are presented for the expediency of involving a mediator in projects of any field and, especially, in art projects. The roles and tasks of psychology and mediation specialists in managing art project teams are clarified in order to analyze the functional similarities and differences in their work. On the basis of this analysis, a matrix of distribution of functions is formed, which determines which of the most common situations in the work on an art project are within the competence of a psychologist, and which require the intervention of a mediator. This analysis proves the need to involve a professional mediation specialist in the implementation of art projects, along with a psychologist, for a more effective outcome in resolving conflicts and disputes, including the settlement of conflicts of interest arising in the process of negotiating and concluding agreements and contracts. This matrix can be used not only for art projects, but also as a useful tool for a project manager in the distribution of functions when engaging a mediator in projects of any kind. Two ways of involving a mediator in an art project are considered: as a full-time employee of the organization and inviting an external specialist to work on a specific project. The advantages and disadvantages of each of them are analyzed. The result of the analysis shows that it is impossible to unambiguously determine the optimal method for all art projects. Based on the priorities of the art project customer and an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of each method, the project manager chooses the method of involving a mediator in each art project separately.

Anthropocene as Capitalocene

If the Anthropocene designates humanity’s environmental footprint, the Capitalocene underlines the economic and political premises of the current climate crisis, tied to long-term colonial dispossession and exploitation of ‘cheap nature’. The current article explores the matrix of violence embedded in the Capitalocene as it is appears in the research-based critical art projects produced by Romanian artists Anca Benera and Arnold Estefán. I show how, focusing on devastated or fabricated landscapes, as well as on contested sites of conflict from the Global South that are often camouflaged or disguised under eco-veils, Benera and Estefán’s art practice rethinks post-socialism from a planetary perspective. I also claim that their body of work, which employs archival and cartografic formats of visualisation, proposes an alternative epistemological matrix, directed against the global exercise of environmental and political violence.

Teaching children about dementia: blending old and new technologies to capture evidence of student learning – an auto-ethnographic reflection

ABSTRACT This study examines ways that both old and new technologies were employed in an educational project teaching children about dementia. Participants were taught about the impact of dementia on the health of individuals and on the communities where they live. The Dementia knowledge, Art, Research and Education (DARE) project initiated in Australia, used a multimodal approach, blending digital technologies with traditional creative art materials. This paper explores a second iteration of the project in Scotland, where data obtained through observations, field notes, journaling, and analysis of artwork are presented through auto-ethnography. Conclusions discuss the effectiveness of blending old and new technologies and the pedagogical impact on the researcher, teacher, and student participants involved.

Machine Vision and Tagging Aesthetics: Assembling Socio-Technical Subjects through New Media Art

This paper builds on the concept of ‘tagging aesthetics’ (Bozzi, 2020b) to discuss new media art projects that combine machine vision and social media to address how different kinds of socio-technical subjects are assembled through AI. The premise outlines how the naturalisation of machine vision involves a range of subjects, juxtaposed along different conflictual lines: ontological (human-machine), biopolitical (classifier-classified), socio-technical (tech worker-data cleaner), political (AI-viewing public). Embracing the ambiguity inherent in the shifting boundaries of these subjects, I analyse works by different new media artists who approach one or more of these juxtapositions by engaging with diverse forms of tagging. The practice of tagging is often discussed through data-driven analyses of hashtags and how related publics can be mapped, but in my framework, tagging can encompass a wider spectrum of techno-social practices of connection (e.g. geotagging, tagging users). I discuss artworks by Kate Crawford and Trevor Paglen, Dries Depoorter and Max Dovey to illustrate how these practices can be leveraged artistically to make visible and even ‘stitch together’ the manifold subjects of machine vision. I explain how those taggings denaturalise processes of socio-technical classification by activating awareness, if not agency, through the sheer proximity they enact. Far from being a tool to map knowledge and essentialised identities, tagging aesthetics are ways to perform the techno-social and shape future cultural encounters with various forms of others. By exploring different approaches to tagging aesthetics – (dis)identification, semi-automated assembly and embodied encounter – this paper illustrates how tagging can be used to culturally negotiate the impact of machine vision in terms of issues such as surveillance and the performance of digital identity.

Crafting Recognition: Understanding Gendered and Ethnicised Experiences in an Arts-Based Integration Project

In Denmark, heightened public interest surrounding migration politics has become embodied in the arts, leading to the development of migration-related arts projects. In this study we explore the experiences of women taking part in an arts-based integration project designed for migrant and Danish women to knit, sew, and crochet in female company, with a view to professionalise their handicrafts. Our findings, which are grounded in ethnographic fieldwork as well as interviews with members of the group, demonstrate how handicraft acts as a prism through which categories such as gender, class, and ethnicity are negotiated within the project. We found that group members’ national and cultural backgrounds shaped their different expectations and experiences in the project. The roles they occupied and their self-perception within the group were also shaped by other factors, such as their family status, their state of employment, and whether handicraft was more of a ‘hobby’ or a source of income. The study makes a case for appreciating the importance of social recognition. Understanding how these women perceived their own and each other’s work becomes a magnifier of the socio-political context in which the integration project is situated. Artistic practice both enabled members to respond to an integration and refugee discourse, while simultaneously positioning them within such frameworks.

Scientific background impact on aesthetic perception in residential environments

This study focuses on examining the aesthetic preferences of students from different academic backgrounds in residential environments. The purpose of the study was to identify liked and disliked aesthetic characteristics among student groups with different academic backgrounds. The research involved students from various academic backgrounds, including the Departments of Architectural, Civil, Electrical Engineering, and the Department of Arabic Language. The study employed an appropriate factor analysis method to accurately assess the aesthetic quality. The study found that students’ academic backgrounds significantly affect their aesthetic sense. Architecture students have a strong ability to evaluate works of art and engineering projects effectively. Some aesthetic characteristics, such as movement, harmony, and simplicity, are preferred across all student groups, while others, such as excessive complexity and rigidity, are disliked. The research also suggests that designers should consider the preferences of different resident groups when creating environments. Furthermore, the study found that most student groups, except for architecture students, exhibit great admiration for Western architectural styles with contemporary, non-traditional characteristics. Overall, the study provides new insights into the aesthetic preferences of students in residential environments and identifies visually desirable and undesirable attributes that most students agree upon.

MODERN CULTURAL COLLABORATIONS OF OPERA HOUSES OF KYIV, LVIV, AND ODESA UNDER MARTIAL LAW: THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION

The purpose of the research is to analyse the international cultural collaborations of the opera houses under the martial law on the examples of national operas of Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv. The research methodology is based on the interdisciplinary approach, which includes the knowledge form cultural studies, media studies, and management of sociocultural activity. Using the comparative one, we try to highlight the main international events of the studied theatres and their role in the representation of Ukrainian culture. The scientific novelty of the research is the analysis of the international cultural collaborations of the opera houses under the martial law on the examples of national operas of Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv in 2022 – 2023. Conclusions. Analysing the content, which in open access on the official websites of the studied theatres, we can state that the international collaborations are reflected in the participation of theatres and their artists in charitable events outside the country in online and offline formats, including a number of charity events organised by theatres as part of the “Stand with Ukraine” project.
 Keywords: cultural practices, international collaboration, opera houses of Ukraine, ballet, opera, art project.

‘Asi: Working with the unseen spirit

In 1993, Wolfgramm referred to the climax in faiva (Tongan artistic performance)1 as ‘asi (the presence of the unseen). This spirit of artistic expression is an agent sometimes identified when Oceanic people work together to bring artistic projects to their apotheosis. Building on the idea of the unseen spirit that energises and gives agency to artistic work, this article discusses occurrences that surface when young Oceanic people collaborate artistically, drawing on values from their cultural heritage to create meaningful faiva. Emanating from my 2022 PhD study ‘Asi - The Presence of the Unseen, the article considers how, in a group of New Zealand secondary school students aged between 10 and 18, ‘asi brought forward a powerful spirit of belonging that resourced their artistic practice. The research proposed that the ‘asi identifiable at the peak of an artistic performance, might also be discernible before and after such an event, and resource the energy of artistic practice as a whole. The research considered a co-created project called Lila. This was developed by a team of students who combined talents and experiences to produce a contemporary faiva for presentation in 2019. In understanding ‘asi the project drew on student reflections, the researchers experience and interviews with contemporary Oceanic youth leaders who discussed the nature and agency of ‘asi as a phenomenon that might resource artistic practice. The significance of the research project lay in its contribution to a distinctive understanding of ‘asi, such that we might identify and consider its potential agency for resourcing creativity and belonging inside the development and performance of contemporary artistic practices among Oceanic youth.

PR Technologies in the Art-Cultural Realm: Interaction between PR Strategies and Vocal Artist Promotion

This article examines the use of PR technologies in the context of art and culture. Focusing on the Ukrainian experience, the purpose of the research is to unveil the dynamics of interaction between PR strategies and the promotion of a vocal artist. The research methodology is based on the principles of a systemic approach and content analysis, as well as fundamental tenets of the theory and history of PR technologies in the cultural and artistic sphere. Employing a research-oriented approach, a comprehensive literature review was conducted, encompassing both domestic and international sources. The research underscores the significance of effective PR tactics in the development and promotion of art projects, particularly within the Ukrainian cultural arena. The scientific novelty of this research lies in the first attempt within Ukrainian art studies to organise approaches to PR technology usage and create an algorithm within the context of vocalist promotion. Conclusions. The multifaceted role of PR technologies in shaping the image of a vocalist, their perception by the public, support, engagement, and ensuring sustained artistic influence has been revealed. It is determined that the promotion of an artist takes place on two intersecting planes: within the audience realm and the entertainment industry system. It is emphasised that among the traditional main marketing goals of the music showbiz are the maximisation of both qualitative and quantitative indicators of the artist's popularity, the enlargement of the target audience, and the enhancement of project quality. The study has identified that the social effect of the promotion process is manifested in elevating the initial social value and significance of the musical product in mass consumer consciousness, improving the performer's stage image in front of audiences, and increasing the growth of music product sales.
 Keywords: PR technologies, PR strategies, vocal artist promotion, social effect.

The Silk Road as One of the Phenomena of Chinese Music: Past and Present

The article presents two collective art projects for the fi rst time: the multimedia symphony “In Pursuit of the Dream of the Silk Road” and the large-scale macrocycle “The Silk Road”. Both of them consider the theme of the Silk Road in different genre-stylistic and dramatic planes. The concept of the interaction of the Silk Road with the artistic culture of China opens up broad and versatile perspectives for researchers of modern Chinese music. The point is not only that over the past twenty years dozens of quite original works have appeared, one way or another interpreting its cultural and even “economic” motives. A look at these experiences allows us to imagine a whole range of compositional and artistic trends that characterise the work of musicians of different generations, religious schools and ideological positions, as well as new searches in modern performance and music education. Two large collective projects presented in this article are inspired by the general artistic idea of the Silk Road. However, this concept is implemented in them with completely different genre-stylistic and technical means.

Photo Art Project “First Ray”

The “First Ray” project was launched in 2009. According to the idea and concept developed, the shooting takes place in the high mountain systems of the Himalayas, Karakoram, and the Cordillera at dawn. The shooting aims to capture the first rays of the sun illuminating the snow-capped mountain peaks. A prerequisite for shooting is no later than two minutes after the first touch of the sun's ray to the peak. Since the sun is still deep below the horizon at this time, the lighting at the shooting point corre­sponds to twilight conditions, although the subject is in daylight conditions. This pro­vides additional opportunities for creative reinterpretation of the scene and presenta­tion of the result as an art object. The prerequisites for achieving the result are that the photographer should be located mostly at an altitude of 4000 metres. The height of the peaks to be photographed is from 6500 metres above sea level. The exposition is arranged according to the light, which allows for detail and draws the viewer’s at­tention to the idea of the project. Additionally, to enhance the impression, the sky was “dulled” in post-processing until details and colour disappeared completely.