Art & Safety? Be Prepared for the Unexpected
The content on this page was translated automatically.
Through four short presentations followed by discussions, we will explore the multifaceted interplay between artistic production and research and current issues in everyday social life.
Vlatko Kučan (Ligeti Zentrum & HfMT Hamburg): How do we prepare ourselves to be unprepared?
What we can learn from artistic processes for autonomous and co-creative social action.
Artistic production emerges at the intersection of affirmation and innovation. It succeeds only on the basis of a common ground—that is, a sufficiently secure system of reference and relationships from which a creative-exploratory movement can open up new spaces, ideas, interactions, and experiences. Something similar could be said about the areas of individual personality development and in the context of collective social processes of shaping and interaction. Development, transformation, and innovation become possible only when we do not misunderstand “security” as a conservative principle of stagnation or a projective mechanism of repression, but rather understand it as both the foundation and the driving force for individual and collective self-empowerment. Experiences from artistic practice and research—in particular, insights from the transdisciplinary field of Critical Improvisation Studies—can provide us with valuable guidance in this regard.
Vlatko Kučan works as a musician, improviser, music therapist, curator, and director. He is the director of SPIIC+ (Social Performance, Interdisciplinary Improvisation & Creativity) at the artistic research lab. at the Ligeti Center in Hamburg and also serves as a lecturer in improvisation/Critical Improvisation Studies and as an academic mentor at the HfMT in Hamburg. His work combines a transdisciplinary approach in the search for a holistic definition of “Artistic Intelligence.”
Axel Dürkop (TUHH & HOOU Hamburg): On Machines of Loneliness and the Value of Creative Collaboration for a Stable Democracy
Current AI systems enable the rapid generation of impressive artifacts: hyperrealistic images, music, film sequences, and—above all—texts of every format can be produced without being directly dependent on other people. Negotiations regarding the direction, message, and outcome of the work increasingly take place between humans and machines. Contradiction is not part of the role of these new simulators, because it must be endured and does not sell well.
Those who grow up this way miss out on the pseudo-existential challenges of a theater production, the exhausting yet fulfilling allure of filmmaking, and the surprising interpersonal and artistic moments that arise from making music together. Those who, on the other hand, immerse themselves in the social interdependencies of the creative process are not only training for mastery but also learning to interact with others in a trusting and secure manner.
Axel Dürkop studied philosophy in Hamburg and worked for ten years as a director, musician, and performer at German theaters. At the TUHH, he teaches computer science from both technical and philosophical perspectives and designs participatory formats at the HOOU at the intersection of science and art. In addition, he is a keynote speaker on the tension between AI, sustainability, and democracy.
Cornelius Puschke (Freelance & HOOU Hamburg): Security is a feeling. How artists and cultural institutions are developing forward-looking strategies to combat uncertainty.
What if we didn’t think of security as a state that can be practically achieved, but rather as a feeling? As an emotional state that is constantly changing through interpersonal experiences and everyday interactions? And what if we abandon the traditional notion that security is good and insecurity is bad?
Artists and cultural institutions are experts in dealing with issues of security. Their goal and their task is to unsettle society in a safe way. Actively engaging with this apparent paradox is more important than ever in these times. For the feeling of insecurity always offers a glimpse into future developments—and thus the opportunity to shape the future.
Cornelius Puschke develops programs, projects, and learning environments at cultural institutions and universities. He teaches regularly at the HfMT and the HFBK Hamburg, produces the podcast “Life After Art School” (with Anne Meerpohl and Nora Sternfeld) for HOOU, and works for the “Übermorgen – New Models for Cultural Institutions” funding program of the Federal Cultural Foundation.
Anne Meerpohl (HfbK Hamburg): Linking and Knotting—Weaving Networks for Stability in the Context of the Visual Arts.
Artistic work is often associated with the idea of the autonomous, individually working genius. At the same time, collective work in the visual arts has a long and diverse history: from workshops and artist groups to self-organized exhibition spaces and feminist collectives, all the way to today’s forms of collaborative artistic and political practice. In this context, collectivity refers not only to a mode of production but can also be a strategy for making existing labor and power relations visible, transforming them, and jointly creating scope for action. The lecture explores what changes when artistic practice is understood as social and organized labor. Using selected examples, the talk explores how collectives share resources, knowledge, and responsibility, and how forms of solidarity emerge from this—for instance, through self-organization, volunteer work, or unionization. The central question is how we can learn not only to produce art together, but also to shape its conditions collectively.
Anne Meerpohl is a curatorial assistant at the HFBK Hamburg, where she curates the ICAT—Institute for Contemporary Art & Transfer—and also works as a freelance artist and author. Meerpohl focuses on themes such as conditions of production, the body, fluidity, and care, and has presented work—collaboratively, collectively, or solo—at venues including the MARKK – Museum am Rothenbaum, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, the Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof, and others.
Eintritt frei
Registration is required and can be completed at HOOU.