The Entanglement between Gesture, Media, and Politics

DE ENG
The
Entanglement
between
Gesture, Media,
and Politics
April–July 2018: Artistic-scientific research in media studies teaching

07.04.2018

April–July 2018: Artistic-scientific research in media studies teaching

In summer term Irina Kaldrack holds a seminar and practical class on „gestures, technique, media“.

In the seminar, we analyze different gestural phenomena and work out different theoretical perspectives on them. For us, the central question is: (How) do (new) gestures arise in the entanglement of (recognition) technology, sensory perception and movement practices?

Based upon the theoretical background the students develop artistic-reflexive works about entanglements between gestures, technologies and media.

Projects

Workshop I / Braunschweig

From April 24 to 28, 2017, the project participants met for the first workshop in Braunschweig. During several days of intensive collaboration, we presented our materials and methods, as well as preliminary research results, identified common interests on the basis of selected case studies and tested various methods to acquaint ourselves with them analytically.

Workshop II / Hallein

The international art and design festival “Schmiede Hallein” was the setting for the second workshop of the research project “The Entanglement between Gesture, Media, and Politics”, held from September 20 to 30, 2017. In one section of the extensive grounds of the former salt refinery, the project team created a space for experiments involving physical gestures, technology and spatial installations.

Workshop III / Berlin-Köpenick

The third workshop took place at Lake Studios, Berlin Köpenick from May 15–19. Our task was to work intensively on installations, lecture performances and choreographies. Eventually, we concentrated on consolidations and aesthetic shapings after having explored and experimented on our focus topics and case scenarios in previous working phases.

Workshop IV / Berlin-Kreuzberg

From September 4 to 10, 2018 we met for the fourth and last workshop at the Art Quarter Bethanien (Kunstquartier Bethanien). We worked intensively on our collective and individual installations for the exhibition in December.

Symposium: Throwing Gestures

By Christian Schwinghammer / Daniel Stoecker, research college SENSING: On the Knowledge of Sensitive Media, Brandenburgisches Zentrum für Medienwissenschaften (ZeM), Potsdam

Kunstquartier Bethanien, Studio 1, Mariannenplatz 2, 10997 Berlin. Symposium December 8th, 10 am–7 pm.

Exhibition: Throwing Gestures

Review of exhibition „Throwing Gestures“ in Studio 1, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2, 10997 Berlin. Vernissage 7 Dec 2018, open 9–16 Dec 2018

The Project

The Entanglement between Gesture, Media, and Politics is a research project investigating the interdependencies that exist between bodily movements or gestures, and ubiquitous, globally networked technologies.

To display and displaying oneself gains greater significance within the context of the unrestricted and instantaneous global exchange of video material as well as in an everyday world increasingly defined by sensors and computers. Thus the meaning of presence and publicness changes, evolves and new forms appear.

More

The Publication

Throwing Gestures examines the recent intensification of interest in gesture and the entanglement between gesture, media, and politics.

The gestures discussed pass from body to body and between states of medial representation. Protest movements, the respective aesthetics specific to those movements, the perpetuation of socio-economic crises over many decades, the plight of gig workers in precarious employment and mechanisms for the quantification of work and leisure are some of the issues addressed.

More

Process

Workshop I / Braunschweig

From April 24 to 28, 2017, the project participants met for the first workshop in Braunschweig. During several days of intensive collaboration, we presented our materials and methods, as well as preliminary research results, identified common interests on the basis of selected case studies and tested various methods to acquaint ourselves with them analytically.

Workshop II / Hallein

The international art and design festival “Schmiede Hallein” was the setting for the second workshop of the research project “The Entanglement between Gesture, Media, and Politics”, held from September 20 to 30, 2017. In one section of the extensive grounds of the former salt refinery, the project team created a space for experiments involving physical gestures, technology and spatial installations.

Workshop III / Berlin-Köpenick

The third workshop took place at Lake Studios, Berlin Köpenick from May 15–19. Our task was to work intensively on installations, lecture performances and choreographies. Eventually, we concentrated on consolidations and aesthetic shapings after having explored and experimented on our focus topics and case scenarios in previous working phases.

Workshop IV / Berlin-Kreuzberg

From September 4 to 10, 2018 we met for the fourth and last workshop at the Art Quarter Bethanien (Kunstquartier Bethanien). We worked intensively on our collective and individual installations for the exhibition in December.

Symposium: Throwing Gestures

By Christian Schwinghammer / Daniel Stoecker, research college SENSING: On the Knowledge of Sensitive Media, Brandenburgisches Zentrum für Medienwissenschaften (ZeM), Potsdam

Kunstquartier Bethanien, Studio 1, Mariannenplatz 2, 10997 Berlin. Symposium December 8th, 10 am–7 pm.

Exhibition: Throwing Gestures

Review of exhibition „Throwing Gestures“ in Studio 1, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2, 10997 Berlin. Vernissage 7 Dec 2018, open 9–16 Dec 2018

News

Book presentation “Throwing Gestures”

On May 19, 2022, the book presentation of “Throwing Gestures. Protest, Economy and the Imperceptible” took place at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Marie Artaker, Gerald Bast (rector), Florian Bettel, Ernst Strouhal and Konrad Strutz spoke.

Final publication: Throwing Gestures

The final publication, „Throwing Gestures,“ was published by Verlag für moderne Kunst in September 2021. Editors are Florian Bettel, Irina Kaldrack and Konrad Strutz.

Partner/Cooperation

Durchgeführt an der Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig; gefördert durch die Volkswagen-Stiftung im Rahmen des Programms Arts & Science in Motion; unterstützt von der Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien.