Art-(Social) Science
MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF
SOCIAL SCIENCE AND CONTEMPORARY ART
"All good science is art. And all good art is science"
John Robert Fowles
What are "Art-(Social) Science projects"?
"Art-(Social) Science" projects are aimed at the public presentation of ideas produced in the social sciences. Typically they combine different types of knowledge and often take the form of exhibitions, events, festivals, etc. While a large part of their content is based on ideas and research emanating from the social sciences, they incorporate knowledge and physical forms derived from the artistic sphere as well. Simply put, "Art - Science" projects combine art and science, presenting the results of social science-driven scientific investigations with the input and participation of professional artists. This multidisciplinary activity not only combines two different disciplines ("social science" itself encompasses several unique disciplines) but two different realms of knowledge and worldviews, each possessing different conceptual frames, paradigms, languages etc.
Why are such projects needed?
Unfortunately, a vast majority of the information and innovations emanating from social science research is discussed only within small academic circles. Newly discovered concepts and ideas remain inaccessible to wider audiences who do not possess an understanding of the specific scientific language in which results are published. As a result, many social scientists are both unable to and unconcerned with delivering their findings to potentially interested parties outside of academia.
In Russia this tendency is especially disturbing considering that not only social scientists, but various other actors and agencies forming the public sphere often discuss their problems exclusively within their own small circles. As a result, the public sphere in Russia is currently being split apart into isolated segments lacking communicative connections between them. This directly contradicts the very idea of public sphere!
At the same time, the role of social scientists as agents of civil society is crucial. Accordingly, the significance of social science research oriented towards public interests-as opposedto those of authoritarian or neo-liberalist states and ideologies-continues to grow. The importance of progress in this sphere is duly recognized by the international academic community as well as that in Russia, and is reflected in the concept of "public sociology" forwarded by American sociologist Michael Burawoy.
We believe that research in the social sciences should be accessible and open to public debate. In order to facilitate this, it is essential to consider in what "language" such a debate might exist. Here not only content, but also form matters - i.e. the way ideas are delivered and exchanged. For this reason, while academic texts on their own are not a preferable medium, when coupled with the arts-and the visual arts in particular-they can form the basis of a much more comprehensible and accessible language. Precisely because it touches us emotionally and effects us subconsciously, art is an incredibly powerful communication tool. "Art -Science" projects that take advantage of the visual arts in the form of exhibitions, events and other public presentations promise to aid social scientists in delivering their findings and initiating reciprocal public debate.
In what directions are we headed?
- combining research projects and events such as seminars, conferences, and workshops with art presentations such as photo exhibitions;
- encouraging the involvement of artists in academic projects and researchers in art projects;
- publishing materials in an "edutanment" format, i.e. presenting research results, new ideas and concepts and scientific debates in catalogs that incorporate visual data to a large extent;
- initiating and organizing interdisciplinary seminars and workshops in order to facilitate the exchange of perspectives, ideas, and practical skills between social scientists, artists, designers and other specialists;
- creating educational programs where students of the social sciences and the arts can work together on common projects
What projects are currently in the works? (2011-2013)
1. New public spaces in modern cities: the era of the "flea market"
In response to today's growing discussion concerning the degradation of traditional city spaces, social scientists are forwarding new prospects and exploring alternatives. Building off the experience of European cities and using Berlin and St. Petersburg as examples, we will be presenting city "flea markets" as public spaces; as "city stages," embodying and simultaneously producing and reflecting the atmosphere and "internal logic" of the two cities under examination.
The project embodies a multidisciplinary approach: at its base lies many years of comparative sociological study of Berlin and St. Petersburg, expanded upon by "art aspects" including photo and various other media projects as well as an exhibition "Flea market: a new format for St. Petersburg." The project and its results are to be published in catalog form.
It is hoped that the project will encourage future art-science-type exhibitions on the subject "New public spaces in modern cities," devoted to the discovery and study of new public city spaces and new forms and expressions of public life.
2. Research and exhibit "Avenue of Hope"
The basic idea of the project stems from the notion that in order to accurately discuss St. Petersburg, its life, its problems, its needs and its future, one not only needs the input and expertise of city government experts-representatives of the administration, city architects, etc.-but also that of so called "ordinary" or "everyday experts." In essence, the project is a researching of St. Petersburg taxi drivers: their views of the city, its spaces, and its transformation over the last few years. In this way, "Avenue of Hope" approaches the idea of citizens' rights to their city and the opportunity to participate in an open discussion, taking place in the public sphere, of that city's peculiarities.
The chief product of the project will be an audio-video presentation; a capturing of St. Petersburg from the window of a taxi accompanied by the stories of the individual drivers as they describe the city from their own point of view and recount their own experiences and the experiences of the passengers they ferry.
An additional product of the project will be an art exhibit in the form of a St. Petersburg map with renamed streets. The streets will be renamed by the taxi drivers themselves, not according official toponymy, but according to their individual experience and practice connected with the concrete public spaces of their work. The exhibit will be presented in one such public city space. The project is a cooperative effort undertaken together with artists from Germany: RENGUNGSGESSELSCHAFT
3. International seminar/workshop series on public/street art
The principal goal of the project is to change St. Petersburg citizens' as well as specialists' (academics, artists, architects, city planners and those in city government) conceptions of the city's appearance, the kind of creative methods that exist to change St. Petersburg's atmosphere for the better, and how one might draw citizens into a dialogue with the city, making it a more auspicious place for its inhabitants.
Our seminars will be built around (1) an examination and evaluation of the situation concerning public city space emerging currently in St. Petersburg; (2) a discussion of the experiences of other cities from the point of view of development, humanization and "reanimation" of public city space through artistic methods; and (3) the creation-through a joint effort by specialists including sociologist and artists-of ideas and concrete projects for the creation of new and interesting public city spaces in St. Petersburg through methods based in "public art."
4. Project "The Designer's Platform" (In creative cooperation with the curators at ТОК)
The project focuses on the development of socially oriented art and "designer projects" for the comprehensive schools of St. Petersburg. The team of participants, drawn from Russian sociologists and designers from Russia and other Northern countries, will prepare a series of modules, in which the application of artistic and design ideas will focus on the improvement of the visual, functional and aesthetic components found in typical comprehensive schools. In total 3-4 modules will be developed and presented to the city administration and various businesses/companies in St. Petersburg for realization in the city's school system.
The primary product of the project will be a roundtable on the question of socially integrated design and its implementation in the city setting specifically for designers, employees of design bureaus, representatives of the city administration, representatives of various businesses/companies in St. Petersburg, sociologists and education professionals.
The foundation of the "Designer's Platform" project rests on prior sociological research, conducted by sociologists at CISR in creative cooperation with the curators at ТОК. The principal tasks of the researchers include choosing the schools for study and clarifying the demands/problems facing these schools. The hope is that these demands/problems might be solved, at least in part, using future products of art-design projects like "The Designer's Platform."
5. "Welcome!" The everyday life of migrants in St. Petersburg through their eyes
The goal of the project is to give migrants the opportunity to present their own culture, daily routine and way of life in a museum setting. Most importantly, the project looks to raise the level of tolerance among St. Petersburg citizens in relation to migrants. Specifically, it will emphasize the construction and expansion of mutual understanding on the level of everyday life, and focus on the viewpoint that the everyday life of those considered to be the "other" is often very similar to that of those considered to be "one of us" and is, in fact, much more easily accessible both intellectually and culturally than is often thought. As such, in the everyday life of migrants, citizens of St. Petersburg may often discover elements of their own daily routines. We are convinced that knowledge and understanding can lead to mutual acceptance.
The project is expected to last one year. During this period, one group of migrants (from one specific country) will have at its disposal an exhibit space in which to present its culture and way of life to the citizens of St. Petersburg. Museum specialists will work together with sociologists and representatives of the selected migrant group on the development of the exposition.
Contacts:
Lilia Voronkova: lilia.voron@gmail.com; +7(921)743-60-04; +49-152-042-95769
Oleg Pachenkov: pachenkov@yahoo.com; +7(921)997-29-76; +49-174-633-7150