Series of lectures and seminars by Prof. Dr. Paulo de Assis of the Orpheus Institute (Belgium)
9-11 October 2024
LECTURE AND SEMINAR SERIES BY ORPHEUS INSTITUTE PROFESSOR DR PAUL DE ASSIS (BELGIUM)
Wednesday, 9 October 2024, 3 pm
LMTA Balcony Theatre (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)
LECTURE ON ARTISTIC RESEARCH: THE DEVELOPMENT OF AESTHETIC-EPISTEMIC RELATIONAL ART PRACTICES
Abstract:
Art and society are undergoing an epochal transformation. Digital tools, information-driven systems, and new technologies are inducing a major epistemic revolution, radically altering our conception of who we are, how we relate to each other, what we do, how we conceive of reality, and how we interact with the world. Primarily associated with processes of digitisation, much attention has been given to the technical and technological apparatuses that directly impacted and changed our lives in the last decades: innumerable microelectronic devices, countless software tools, growing network-systems, widely available big data, instant informational flow and widely accessible artificial intelligence. This transformation profoundly challenges institutions and discourses, leading to an unavoidable rearrangement of human practices and to a redefinition of major societal constructs. It also leads to new modes of knowledge production, forms of human interaction, perspectives on the natural world, and artistic expressions.
Western art music is also undergoing a significant historical shift. From the invention of notation by Guido of Arezzo around the year 1000 to the late twentieth-century avant-gardes that explored the limits of action- and hyper-notation, this tradition now appears increasingly historical and disconnected from contemporary challenges. Having moved beyond its initial oral phase and a subsequent epoch dominated by written/symbolic artifacts (scores), music culture now thrives in the digital realm, where ‘sound’—whether recorded or digitally produced—is central. Additionally, the integration of sound with visuals, scenic contexts, and semantic associations shifts the focus from the autonomy of the artwork to a relational (post-) aesthetics that fosters new modes of sensorial and epistemic engagement.
In this context, artistic research emerges as a highly promising vehicle for innovation in the arts and music worlds. By merging artistic practice with epistemic inquiry, artistic research creates new networks that encompass both tangible and intangible elements, material particles, and abstract diagrams. This approach engages both practitioners and audiences in the creation and reception of diverse and diffractive outputs that intertwine thought, sense, and sensation in complex ways.
In this two-day lecture and seminar, musician and artist-researcher Paulo de Assis will explore these topics from a practitioner’s perspective. The lecture and seminar will include theoretical discussions and feature concrete examples through case studies for participant discussion and interaction. Furthermore, individual coaching sessions will be an integral part of actively engaging participants.
Thursday 10th of October 2024, 10 am
LMTA Balcony Theatre (Gedimino Ave. 42, Vilnius)
SEMINAR AND PRESENTATIONS OF PHD STUDENTS’ ART PROJECTS (PUBLIC DISCUSSION)
10 October 2024, 3 pm and 11 October 2024, 9:45 am
PROF. DR. PAULO DE ASSIS INDIVIDUAL CONSULTATIONS
The lecture and seminar will be held in English.
Professor Dr. Paulo de Assis (Orpheus Institute, Ghent, Belgium) is a leading researcher combining musical practice (as a pianist in the classical repertoire, as an experimental performer and as a director), musicological expertise in 20th-century Western art music, publishing experience (as an author and an editor), and broad interdisciplinary interests in contemporary philosophy and epistemology. He has been working in the field of artistic research for the last twelve years: he was Principal Investigator on an ERC grant (2013-2018), is founder and chair of the international conference series Deleuze and Artistic Research, and is editor of the book series Artistic Research at Rowman & Littlefield International (London/New York). The author of three monographs and 14 volumes, his works and series of events develop innovative concepts and approaches that have a huge impact on the international development and prestige of artistic research. Prof. Dr. Paulo de Assis teaches and advises young researchers in many European countries and in the USA, and is an expert on research policy and support institutions such as the European Science Foundation, the Swiss National Science Council, the Flemish Science Foundation and others.
Free admission, welcome!