Category: Faculty of Design

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

You are warmly welcome to the discussion with Taavi Talve, Kirke Kangro and the students Darja Krasnopevtseva, Izabella Neff, Johannes Luik, Katrin Enni, LAURi, Nele Tiidelepp, Olesja Semenkova. The talk is moderated by Pire Sova.

The talk is in Estonian language.

One of the central questions for social design is how to account for the social value achieved through research approach.

Often social design is mistakenly conflated with related areas such as design for social innovation and social entrepreneurship. What they all have in common is the involvement of citizens – in processes aiming towards social change or equality. Social design shares some similarities with these approaches, yet there are important differences. In his talk, Thomas Markussen will highlight these differences showing how social design processes may actually foster social change.

In addition, he will present an ongoing 3-year project of the University of Southern Denmark – “Social Games against Crime”. In this project, design researchers have developed an innovative board game to be played by children and their incarcerated fathers in Danish maximum-security prisons. The board game has been designed in close collaboration with children, inmates and prison staff. It provides a platform for understanding and communication, helping adolescents to cope better with problems they experience due to parental incarceration.

Thomas Markussen is Associate Professor and Co-Founder of the Social Design Research Unit at the University of Southern Denmark. In his work, Markussen focuses on how design can be used as a political and critical aesthetic practice, notably in the fields of social design, design activism and design fiction. His publications include journal articles such as “The disruptive aesthetics of design activism: enacting design between art and politics” (Design Issues); “Disentangling the ‘social’ in social design’s engagement with the public realm” (CoDesign); and “The politics of design activism – from impure politics to parapolitics” appearing in Routledge’s forthcoming book Design and Dissent.

Thomas Markussen visits EKA by the invitation of the Faculty of Design and the Doctoral School. He conducts here a series of seminars and talks on the topic of design research.

Paulis Liepa artist talk
TODAY 25.10 5pm in room A202

Paulis Liepa(1978) works with the most basic printmaking techniques – cardboard cut and collagraph. Techniques as simple as life itself. Knife, cardboard, glue and the magic of the moment in a quiet, sunny afternoon, when time freezes dreams about future turn into memories of things that never happened. Our plans, hopes and unfinished projects turn into foggy, fading snapshots and vibe of the moment – symbols, pictograms and worn down speech bubbles imprint themselves into every square inch of the image turning into diary from unknown time and place.

Paulis Liepa lives and works in Riga(Latvia), graduated Janis Rozentāls Art School(1996), obtained bachelors(2001) and masters(2003) degree in Department of Graphic Art of Art Academy of Latvia. Liepa has worked several years as animator and director in production company Vilks Studio and more recently worked on book design, illustrations and posters. His works are in public collections(e.g. Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga, Latvia, Mūkusala’s Art Salon, Riga, Latvia) and private collections in Germany, Switzerland, Austia and USA. Recent projects include solo exhibitions “Cabinet of the Fine Arts”(2017) and “Noise”(2015) in Mukusala Art salon, Riga(2017), “What is this time?” viennacontemporary 2017 in Vienna(2017) and group exhibitions “International Print Triennial – Kraków 2015”, Krakow, Poland(2015), “Telling Tales. Swiss and Baltic Artists” Biel/Bienne, Vilnius, Tallinn(2014).

Liepa is currently giving a workshop at EKA printmaking department called “Artist’s Technique”.

Artist talk will be held in english.

http://www.paulisliepa.lv/

Date:November 7-8, 2018

Venue: Estonian Academy of Arts, Põhja pst 7

Lecturer: Thomas Markussen

Research through design is about understanding how processes of designing and creating artworks can serve as the primary method of inquiry into questions relevant for art and design. Originally, the method was described by Christopher Frayling (1993) and Bruce Archer (1995), and since then many different suggestions for what the characteristics of research through design have been presented. This 2-day seminar offers PhD students visual sketching techniques and methodological tools that can be used to clarify how they practice research through design. Based on readings and the students’ position papers, we will be using visual models and diagrams to map out the role played by designerly and artistic experiments in the students’ own projects? Questions that will be addressed are: How can experiments in art and design serve as means for inquiry? How do we account for knowledge produced by these experiments? Each day will be framed by a talk that will set up a conceptual space for collective work.

Thomas Markussen is associate professor and co-founder of the Social Design Research Unit, at the University of Southern Denmark. In his work, Markussen focuses on how design can be used as a political and critical aesthetic practice, notably in the fields of social design, design activism and design fiction. He is one of the contributors to the recently published book Practice-based Design Research, edited by Laurene Vaughan, and has previously been head of phd education at Kolding School of Design. His other publications include journal articles such as “The disruptive aesthetics of design activism: enacting design between art and politics” (Design Issues); “Disentangling the ‘social’ in social design’s engagement with the public realm” (CoDesign); and “The politics of design activism – from impure politics to parapolitics” appearing in Routledge’s forthcoming book Design and Dissent.

Registration

Theseminar is open to PhD and MA students and researchers with ongoing research projects. Registration is open until 26.10.

Requirements

Particpants must submit a position paper (max 1 page) that describe their PhD project. The paper should provide understanding of the aim of the project, primary research questions, methods and the students training and background. Please send your paper to elika.kiilo@artun.eeby 30.10

As preparation for the seminar, participants will be asked to read:

Bang., A-L; Ludvigsen, M; Krogh P-G & Markussen, T. (2012):The Role of Hypothesis in Constructive Design Research. The Art of Research Conference, Aalto University, Helsinki.

Krogh, P-G; Markussen, T & Bang, A-L (2015): ICord’15 – International Conference on Research into Design, Springer Verlag.

The text will be made available upon registration.

Students can earn 2 credit points (ECTS) for participation.

Preliminary Program

Wednesday, Nov 7

13:00-14:00Introduction to Research through Design – a murky concept or expanding methodology?, talk by Thomas Markussen

Break

14:15-15:30 Group work – understanding the basic elements of research through design PhD projects

Break

15:45-16:30 PhD Poster exhibition

Thursday, Nov 8

9:30-10:30Ways of drifting – 5 methods for experimenting in research through design, talk by Thomas Markussen

Break

10:45-11:45 Group work on the role of designerly and artistic experiments in research through design PhD projects

Lunch

12:30:-13:15 Group work on the role of designerly and artistic experiments in research through design PhD projects

13:15-14:30 Collective sharing and presenting

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).

Opening on Friday, September 28 at 6pm

Curators’ tour will take place on September 29 at 5pm (in English)

Curators: Laura Põld, Kati Saarits

Artists: Mona Aghababaee, Katja Beckman, Leesi Erm, Nadia Hebson, Anna Mari Liivrand, Eva Mustonen, Leo Rohlin, Kaisa Sööt ja Koit Randmäe, Mall Tomberg, Helle Videvik

Graphic design: Aadam Kaarma & Sandra Kosorotova

For the first time the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM) will host an exhibition presenting works by classic Estonian applied artists in dialogue with material-sensitive and process-based works by a younger generation of artists. one-on-one. on skills brings together tradition-rooted applied art and the increasingly material-centred contemporary art practices. The core of the exhibition is comprised of accomplished works from four classic Estonian applied art figures – Leo Rohlin, Leesi Erm, Helle Videvik and Mall Tomberg. Mona Aghababaee (IR), Katja Beckman (SE), Nadia Hebson (GB), Anna Mari Liivrand (EE), Eva Mustonen (EE), Kaisa Sööt and Koit Randmäe (EE) help explore the skill-based creative methods that have changed, persisted or reappeared in time.

The exhibition reflects on topics such as the possibility of self-contained form in a contemporary art exhibition, craftsmanship in material-based technologies, and the differences in the self positioning of artists working in time-consuming handicraft techniques in the immediate past and contemporary art field. The exhibition brings up questions like how can we best evaluate the part of the work of artists working in manual media that is articulated as tacit knowledge – natural or intuited knowledge? How best can we convey knowledge about skill? What is skill made up of?

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, which will be presented on November 4.

Supporters and cooperation partners: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Academy of Arts, Center for Contemporary Arts, Estonia, British Council Estonia, Estonian Artists’ Association, Akzo Nobel Baltics AS, Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design.

The next lecturer of the Open Lecture Series this autumn semester will be Jason Hilgefort, stepping on the stage of the large hall of the new EKA building on 4th of October at 6 pm to talk about the disruptive developments of dispersed infrastructure.

Jason’s lecture is titled “Dispersed Infrastructures for New Collective Urban Constellations”. Cities began as a simple collection of individuals sharing common elements. They have slowly evolved to include megageopolitical networks. These systems have been manifested by large, far reaching governmental and corporate built forms. With the emergence of dispersed infrastructural realities (mobiles, drones, etc), we stand at a disruptive moment – where the assumed reliance of human habitat upon top down forms is in question. A new form of interdependent individuality is possible.

Jason studied urban planning and design at The University of Cincinnati and architecture at The University of British Columbia – Vancouver. His work experience ranges from New York (Ehrenkrantz Eckstut and Kuhn), to Los Angeles (Behnisch Architekten) to Mumbai (Rahul Mehrotra). From 2000 to 2004 he worked with Sustainable Urbanist and innovator Peter Calthorpe. After joining Maxwan A+U in 2007, he was involved in the ongoing projects Moscow A101, Central District Rotterdam, and Barking Riverside in London. Also, Jason lead a series of Maxwan’s competition victories – in Helsinki, Basel, Kiev, Hannover, Ostrava, Magdeburg, and Kaunas. During that time won Europan 11 in Vienna. Since then he formed Land+Civilization Compositions for investigating issues ranging from daily objects, to infrastructures, to cultural research. He is also a contributor to uncube magazine with writing on ‘architecture and beyond’.

Land+Civilization Compositions is a Randstad (Netherlands) and Istanbul (Turkey) based office that works and collaborates on issues related to built form, with a portfolio scope from research to design. According to LCC we are living at a time when the connections between the professions, which are engaged in the shaping of built form, are getting stronger and the differences amongst them are blurring. Glocal economic context, and emerging social and environmental issues are leading the way to a new set of priorities. A new generation of ‘urban thinkers’ is emerging and ‘process’ is becoming more prominent than the ‘product’.

The architecture and urban planning department of the Estonian Academy of Arts has been curating the Open Lectures on Architecture series since 2012 – each year, a dozen architects, urbanists, both practicing as well as academics, introduce their work and field of research to the audience in Tallinn. All lectures are in English, free and open to all interested.

The series is funded by the Estonian Cultural Endowment. Jason Hilgefort’s lecture is part of the Future Architecture program which introduces and celebrates innovation, experimentation and the ideas of a generation that will design the architecture and build Europe’s cities in the years to come. See: http://futurearchitectureplatform.org.

Curators: Sille Pihlak, Johan Tali
https://www.facebook.com/EKAarhitektuur/

More info:
Pille Epner
E-post: arhitektuur@artun.ee
Tel. +372 642 0071

The co-exhibition of two young jewellery artists – Hanna-Maria Vanaküla and Hansel Tai– will be opened in Hop Gallery at 6pm on Friday, September 28^th, 2018.

Hanna-Maria (1987) is an Estonian jewellery artist and optometrist. She is currently finishing her MA studies in the department of jewellery and blacksmithing at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Hansel (1994) is a Chinese artist and designer currently residing in Estonia. He has obtained BA degree at Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 2016.

Hanna-Maria was awarded the Young Estonian Jewellery Grant 2017 and Hansel was nominated as the finalist to Amberif Design Award competition in 2018.

Jewellery artist Tanel Veenre comments on the current exhibition:

„Is Hansel’s and Hanna’s world flat or round?

These worlds are both flat and round. Once you feel that you have reached the edge from where there is nothing else to do than fall – aaaah! – into the galactic abyss. Yet, then you will see the strength and tension of the core, the navel is nicely in its place, everything seems to be whirling around its axis. There is POP at the intersection of Hansa’s and Hanna’s navels – the desire to disburden one’s heart with cleansed imagery.

Hansel’s navel is in its extreme cultivation. In his work, naturalness has been shadowed by body cult, deformation, subcultural signs and high gloss metal. At the same time, instead of the artist’s hand the rolled traces of eruptions tell us about physical laws and the rolling mill. However, complicated constructions and nipple rings have pulled the image again back to the (sub)cultural space. Hansel is rationally irrational – the natural tones he has used have been tuned to the most estranging futuristic bitter green. When to think about it, nature has actually other colours than mellow green – for instance, some beetles are wearing strikingly super metallic green shells. So the Hansel’s Prince Albert is simultaneously a fairy-tale prince and a genital exhibitionist.

Hanna’s navel is in focus. While having moved towards simplicity and precision, she has reached the minimal compositions made of eyeglasses’ lens. Even if engraving and especially polishing acrylic glass is the test of outmost patience, the result of the artist’s work is digitally light. Cool consideration replaces the strains of being human. Steel wire rope as a guillotine unifying roundness. Scarce and strikingly precise. The words are unnecessary.