I work in the field of art practice-based research. First of all, there are concrete questions or problems that concern me. Interpersonal encounters, people with whom I reflect on the issues involved, are an important part of the process of creating my conceptual works - that’s why I call some of them contributive. With the collected material, the different ways of looking at it and the insights gained through it, an experiential space is created, an artistic object of reflection. Our sensual perception, its individual and culturally different weighting, is not only the subject, but also an essential part of this process. Furthermore, I conceive art-in-architecture and public art measures, I am interested in autobiographical memory and in contemporary survival practices. My background is in sculpture and interior design, but my work is also characterized by the use of various media such as video, installation or sculpture. The topic of my practice-oriented dissertation is again dedicated to my main interest: intercultural confrontation. Address: www.angelika-boeck.de/en
Boeck, A. (2019). Portrait with Landscape. Humanities Bulletin, 2(2), 256-275. , 2019
Discussing the historical commonalities of portrait and landscape, this paper analyses how the cr... more Discussing the historical commonalities of portrait and landscape, this paper analyses how the cross-cultural and multi-sensory aspects, which W.J.T. Mitchell developed in his nine theses on landscape, applies to the portrait. Suggesting a stronger inclusion of different cultural practices/traditions and artistic positions in the discourse on landscape, I present my own practice-based research on portraiture as a possibility of how landscape could open up new perspectives in the light of other cultural practices and artistic expressions to deepen and expand Michell's intercultural and multisensory perspective on landscape. In particular, I argue that the combination of portrait and landscape through the positions of contemporary artists can make a significant contribution to the discourse on landscape. I therefore conclude my contribution by presenting the work of other contemporary artists (Jorma Puranen, Kathleen Petyarre) who have combined aspects of portrait and landscape in their work, providing opportunities for both reflection and social/political change.
Stillepost. Versuchsanordnungen in Kunst und Wissenschaft.Angelika Böck und Hans Himmelheber., 2004
The art installation STILLEPOST uses the principle of ‘Chinese Whispers’ for a series of five por... more The art installation STILLEPOST uses the principle of ‘Chinese Whispers’ for a series of five portraits that, in their development, showed that the sculptors, black African men, incorporated their own features in the copied portrait of a white European woman (Angelika Böck). STILLEPOST corresponds with the German art historian and anthropologist Hans Himmelheber’s report DAS PORTRÄT IN DER NEGERKUNST on a test series on self-image which he undertook in West Africa in 1970.
The art installation STILLEPOST uses the principle of ‘Chinese Whispers’ for a series of five por... more The art installation STILLEPOST uses the principle of ‘Chinese Whispers’ for a series of five portraits that, in their development, showed that the sculptors, black African men, incorporated their own features in the copied portrait of a white European woman (Angelika Böck). STILLEPOST corresponds with the German art historian and anthropologist Hans Himmelheber’s report DAS PORTRÄT IN DER NEGERKUNST on a test series on self-image which he undertook in West Africa in 1970.
ABSTRACT The presentation concerns the application of the human gaze as an instrument for drawing... more ABSTRACT The presentation concerns the application of the human gaze as an instrument for drawing in art. The presented art works are based on eye-tracking technology and have been carried out between the years 1996 and 2000. Much of my artistic work focuses on the representation of the individual. Thus, the presented body of work, for example, is interested in the unique eye-drawing patterns created by different people or how the beholders gaze is influenced by geometrical structures according to which a paintings has been constructed. Using a mobile eye-tracker (a novelty at that time) I gazed at repetitive movements (such as waves), experimented with intersecting views of a static and a moving space, sketched landscape as generations of artists had done before me, and recorded a literal eye contact between two people. For the latter, an interactive installation, two persons looked into the life-videoed image of the other persons eye which was presented to them as a reflection in a two-way mirror. Below the mirror a video camera (connected to the PC and eye-tracking program) recorded the viewers eye-movements. The resulting eye-drawings were time-coded as were the videos of the two peoples eyes. In the installation both videos are synchronized and overlap each other: The recorded tracks of each eye’s motion gradually cover the opposite eye like a sketched skein of black wool. When one of the exhibition’s visitors steps between the two monitors, the sketched lines disappear and the process begins anew. An infrared detector controls the setup. If a visitor steps between the monitors the video of the eye-drawing becomes transparent and only the video of eyes are visible. When the visitor leaves the space between the two monitors the eye drawings becomes visible again, starting at the very frame of the recording.
Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit einer Reihe von Arbeiten, die ich mit der Eye-Tracking Technologi... more Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit einer Reihe von Arbeiten, die ich mit der Eye-Tracking Technologie erstellt habe, insbesondere mit solchen, die sich mit der Herstellung und Wahrnehmung von Renaissance-Gemälden befassen.
‘Portrait as Dialogue’ is a practice-based study of forms of individual representation. It is bot... more ‘Portrait as Dialogue’ is a practice-based study of forms of individual representation. It is both, a series of art works and a collection of forms of human representation. The experiments draw attention to the fact that besides the Western tradition of ‘portrayal’ a rich potential of representational means exists – a potential which remains largely unperceived as such, and therefore unexplored. The art works propose a different view of ‘portrayal’ – in a very wide, as well as a very specific sense of the term – strategically by ‘looking’ at myself through the ‘eyes of the other.’ The role of the artist as the sole performer and the status of the researcher as an outside observer are overturned in this dialogue of representation. ‘Name Me,’ the detail described here, focuses on the designation and change of name among the Kelabit, an indigenous population in central Borneo. Their name system as well as the (formerly practiced) system of their neighbors, the Penan, is presented in this context.
Querelles. Jahrbuch für Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Jul 2014
Dieser Beitrag betrifft die künstlerische Arbeit Name Me, die im Rahmen von Porträt als Dialog, d... more Dieser Beitrag betrifft die künstlerische Arbeit Name Me, die im Rahmen von Porträt als Dialog, der Erforschung von Formen der individuellen Repräsentation, entstand. Porträt als Dialog provoziert in unterschiedlichen Konstellationen einen Darstellungsdialog, um zur Erweiterung der Kunstform Porträt beizutragen. Name Me richtet den Blick auf die Benennung und Namensänderung der Kelabit, einer indigenen Bevölkerungsgruppe im Hochland Zentral-Borneos. Vorgestellt wird deren Namensystem und das (ehemals praktizierte) ihrer Nachbarn, der Penan.
Diesseits der imperialen Geschlechterordnung (Post-)koloniale Reflexionen über den Westen, Dec 2013
Im Bereich der Kunst eröffnen sich Möglichkeiten, westliche Vorstellungen, Blickregime und Stereo... more Im Bereich der Kunst eröffnen sich Möglichkeiten, westliche Vorstellungen, Blickregime und Stereotypen zu thematisieren und kritisch zu hinterfragen. Angelika Böcks Beitrag Was bilden wir uns eigentlich ein? befragt Personen im Jemen wie auch in Deutschland zu ihren Assoziationen beim Anblick einer verschleierten Frau. Die Antworten machen unterschiedliche Blickregime erkennbar, welche jeweils durch geografisch und kulturell verortete Parameter determiniert scheinen. Während der jemenitische Blick den Schleier zu durchdringen vermag und zur Imagination eines weiblichen Lebensentwurf anregt, prallt der deutsche Blick daran ab. Der Schleier als Leinwand und Projektionsfläche wird hier zu einem Spiegel, der das Selbst des Gegenübers sowie seine Einbildungen lediglich rück-spiegelt. Böck selber exponiert sich in diesem Spiegel-Spiel, indem sie es nicht bei einer einseitigen Frage- Antwortrichtung belässt, sondern ihre Sichtweise in die Befragung mit hinein bringt. So entstehen ›dialogische Porträts‹, die der Frage nach Identität im Zwischenbereich von Realität und Fiktion nachgehen und das klassische westliche Porträtverständnis an der interkulturellen und (post-)kolonialen Grenze erweitert.
Critical Arts: South-North Cultural and Media Studies, 27:5, Nov 4, 2013
This practice-based research in and through art aims to develop a critical approach to representa... more This practice-based research in and through art aims to develop a critical approach to representation that is based on primary fieldwork. It addresses the question of how we can identify with the depictions/descriptions of our ‘selves’ that are created from ‘other’ cultural perspectives. The major focus of this research is to understand how specific forms of representation reveal differently authored perceptions of the individual. The overarching aim is to map contemporary practices of identity construction and expression through the study of specific non-Western and subcultural forms of ‘portraying’ that start from different social and cultural codes and modes of production. A central focus of the case studies is the strategic reversal of classical artistic and scientific perspectives. Both the artist/researcher and the practitioners of a particular form of cultural production are equally subject and object in this dialogue of interpretation and representation. The resulting artworks present distinct cultural practices of selection, interpretation and definition as new possible forms of ‘portrayal’.
Arabischer Frühling? Alte und neue Geschlechterpolitiken in einer Region im Umbruch., May 2013
‘Unter hundert Frauen erkenne ich meine Schwester!’ rief Mohammed, unser Fahrer, plötzlich als wi... more ‘Unter hundert Frauen erkenne ich meine Schwester!’ rief Mohammed, unser Fahrer, plötzlich als wir eine Gruppe verschleierter Frauen passierten. Seine Fähigkeit eine einzelne Frau aus einer Menge von unter schwarzen Ganzkörperhüllen verborgenen Gestallten, die für mich identisch aussahen, zu erkennen, faszinierte mich. Es rührte nämlich an ein Thema mit dem ich mich schon seit einigen Jahren herumschlug – wie wir uns selbst und andere wahrnehmen. Mohammeds Kommentar löste für mich eine Reihe von „Forschungsfragen“ für ein neues Kunstprojekt aus, z.B.: Wen sehen wir wenn wir eine verschleierte Person betrachten? Können wir (besonders wenn wir in einer verschleiernden Kultur aufgewachsen sind) einer verhüllten Person ein spezifisches Aussehen oder gar Charaktereigenschaften zuschreiben? Zwei Jahre später stellte ich diese Fragen 31 jemenitischen Männern und Frauen in Sana’a, der Hauptstadt des Jemen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Umfrage sind Grundlage des Kunstprojektes ‚Imagine Me’. Neben dessen Beschreibung von der Durchführung bis zur fertigen Arbeit gehe ich auf die dialogische Methode ein, mit deren ich die Antworten der Projektbeteiligten provozierte, sowie auf die Strategie die ich entwickelte um das‚Porträts’ in unterschiedlichen Lebensbereichen und Kulturen zu erforschen. Betrachtet man den Schleier hat man automatisch das Bild im Blick. Neben einer kurzen Übersicht hierüber beschließe ich meinen Artikel mit einer vergleichenden Studie, die ich im Anschluss an die Realisierung von ‚Imagine Me’ in meiner Heimatstadt München durchführte. Vergleicht man die Reaktionen, die der verschleierte menschliche Körper bei beiden Gruppen von Befragten hervorrief, werden typische kulturell geformte Vorurteile deutlich.
Journal of International Women's Studies, Oct 2012
In this article I discuss the dialogical method which is used to study the idea of perception amo... more In this article I discuss the dialogical method which is used to study the idea of perception among individuals, especially to understand the question of perception toward the veil in Yemen in 2007. Furthermore I elaborate on my exploration of “portrayal” as an art form which lies at the basis of my approach. To be occupied with matters of the veil means to deal with questions of image and gaze. Therefore I also try to give a basic overview on this topic. The article ends with a short description of a corresponding experiment I carried out in Germany one year later. By comparing the Western and Eastern responses to the veiled female body, this experiment reveals typical culturally shaped preconceptions.
Taylor&Francis online World Art Journal, Volume 2, Issue 2, 2012
How culture-specific are the ways in which humans perceive them- selves and others? What is reali... more How culture-specific are the ways in which humans perceive them- selves and others? What is reality or fiction when we look at ourselves and others? To what extent do we project ourselves when we consider or represent our counterparts? As an artist I have been grappling with these questions for more than a decade by passing them unspoken on to those involved in my ‘Dialogical Portraits’, a series of ‘(self)- portrayals’, for which I have applied a ‘dialogical’ strategy by placing myself as the subject to be negotiated, studied and represented through interpretations by my fellow human beings. In this article I give an overview about this artistic research and describe the dialogical method which I developed to approach the responses to these questions as well as the works of art itself.
"Description of the art work StillePost which undergoes a process of copying in the Republic of I... more "Description of the art work StillePost which undergoes a process of copying in the Republic of Ivory Coast. Using the principle of ‘Chinese Whispers’ this led to a series of five portraits that, in their development, showed that the black African men incorporated their own features in the copied portrait of a white European woman.
"
Reflection on the production process of the 'Dialogical Portrait' IMAGINE ME that asks Yemenite m... more Reflection on the production process of the 'Dialogical Portrait' IMAGINE ME that asks Yemenite men and women a question: Whom do we see when we observe a veiled person? This query touches upon the various aspects of our self – recollection, reflection, recognition, dialogue, retelling and fiction.
Boeck, A. (2019). Portrait with Landscape. Humanities Bulletin, 2(2), 256-275. , 2019
Discussing the historical commonalities of portrait and landscape, this paper analyses how the cr... more Discussing the historical commonalities of portrait and landscape, this paper analyses how the cross-cultural and multi-sensory aspects, which W.J.T. Mitchell developed in his nine theses on landscape, applies to the portrait. Suggesting a stronger inclusion of different cultural practices/traditions and artistic positions in the discourse on landscape, I present my own practice-based research on portraiture as a possibility of how landscape could open up new perspectives in the light of other cultural practices and artistic expressions to deepen and expand Michell's intercultural and multisensory perspective on landscape. In particular, I argue that the combination of portrait and landscape through the positions of contemporary artists can make a significant contribution to the discourse on landscape. I therefore conclude my contribution by presenting the work of other contemporary artists (Jorma Puranen, Kathleen Petyarre) who have combined aspects of portrait and landscape in their work, providing opportunities for both reflection and social/political change.
Stillepost. Versuchsanordnungen in Kunst und Wissenschaft.Angelika Böck und Hans Himmelheber., 2004
The art installation STILLEPOST uses the principle of ‘Chinese Whispers’ for a series of five por... more The art installation STILLEPOST uses the principle of ‘Chinese Whispers’ for a series of five portraits that, in their development, showed that the sculptors, black African men, incorporated their own features in the copied portrait of a white European woman (Angelika Böck). STILLEPOST corresponds with the German art historian and anthropologist Hans Himmelheber’s report DAS PORTRÄT IN DER NEGERKUNST on a test series on self-image which he undertook in West Africa in 1970.
The art installation STILLEPOST uses the principle of ‘Chinese Whispers’ for a series of five por... more The art installation STILLEPOST uses the principle of ‘Chinese Whispers’ for a series of five portraits that, in their development, showed that the sculptors, black African men, incorporated their own features in the copied portrait of a white European woman (Angelika Böck). STILLEPOST corresponds with the German art historian and anthropologist Hans Himmelheber’s report DAS PORTRÄT IN DER NEGERKUNST on a test series on self-image which he undertook in West Africa in 1970.
ABSTRACT The presentation concerns the application of the human gaze as an instrument for drawing... more ABSTRACT The presentation concerns the application of the human gaze as an instrument for drawing in art. The presented art works are based on eye-tracking technology and have been carried out between the years 1996 and 2000. Much of my artistic work focuses on the representation of the individual. Thus, the presented body of work, for example, is interested in the unique eye-drawing patterns created by different people or how the beholders gaze is influenced by geometrical structures according to which a paintings has been constructed. Using a mobile eye-tracker (a novelty at that time) I gazed at repetitive movements (such as waves), experimented with intersecting views of a static and a moving space, sketched landscape as generations of artists had done before me, and recorded a literal eye contact between two people. For the latter, an interactive installation, two persons looked into the life-videoed image of the other persons eye which was presented to them as a reflection in a two-way mirror. Below the mirror a video camera (connected to the PC and eye-tracking program) recorded the viewers eye-movements. The resulting eye-drawings were time-coded as were the videos of the two peoples eyes. In the installation both videos are synchronized and overlap each other: The recorded tracks of each eye’s motion gradually cover the opposite eye like a sketched skein of black wool. When one of the exhibition’s visitors steps between the two monitors, the sketched lines disappear and the process begins anew. An infrared detector controls the setup. If a visitor steps between the monitors the video of the eye-drawing becomes transparent and only the video of eyes are visible. When the visitor leaves the space between the two monitors the eye drawings becomes visible again, starting at the very frame of the recording.
Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit einer Reihe von Arbeiten, die ich mit der Eye-Tracking Technologi... more Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit einer Reihe von Arbeiten, die ich mit der Eye-Tracking Technologie erstellt habe, insbesondere mit solchen, die sich mit der Herstellung und Wahrnehmung von Renaissance-Gemälden befassen.
‘Portrait as Dialogue’ is a practice-based study of forms of individual representation. It is bot... more ‘Portrait as Dialogue’ is a practice-based study of forms of individual representation. It is both, a series of art works and a collection of forms of human representation. The experiments draw attention to the fact that besides the Western tradition of ‘portrayal’ a rich potential of representational means exists – a potential which remains largely unperceived as such, and therefore unexplored. The art works propose a different view of ‘portrayal’ – in a very wide, as well as a very specific sense of the term – strategically by ‘looking’ at myself through the ‘eyes of the other.’ The role of the artist as the sole performer and the status of the researcher as an outside observer are overturned in this dialogue of representation. ‘Name Me,’ the detail described here, focuses on the designation and change of name among the Kelabit, an indigenous population in central Borneo. Their name system as well as the (formerly practiced) system of their neighbors, the Penan, is presented in this context.
Querelles. Jahrbuch für Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Jul 2014
Dieser Beitrag betrifft die künstlerische Arbeit Name Me, die im Rahmen von Porträt als Dialog, d... more Dieser Beitrag betrifft die künstlerische Arbeit Name Me, die im Rahmen von Porträt als Dialog, der Erforschung von Formen der individuellen Repräsentation, entstand. Porträt als Dialog provoziert in unterschiedlichen Konstellationen einen Darstellungsdialog, um zur Erweiterung der Kunstform Porträt beizutragen. Name Me richtet den Blick auf die Benennung und Namensänderung der Kelabit, einer indigenen Bevölkerungsgruppe im Hochland Zentral-Borneos. Vorgestellt wird deren Namensystem und das (ehemals praktizierte) ihrer Nachbarn, der Penan.
Diesseits der imperialen Geschlechterordnung (Post-)koloniale Reflexionen über den Westen, Dec 2013
Im Bereich der Kunst eröffnen sich Möglichkeiten, westliche Vorstellungen, Blickregime und Stereo... more Im Bereich der Kunst eröffnen sich Möglichkeiten, westliche Vorstellungen, Blickregime und Stereotypen zu thematisieren und kritisch zu hinterfragen. Angelika Böcks Beitrag Was bilden wir uns eigentlich ein? befragt Personen im Jemen wie auch in Deutschland zu ihren Assoziationen beim Anblick einer verschleierten Frau. Die Antworten machen unterschiedliche Blickregime erkennbar, welche jeweils durch geografisch und kulturell verortete Parameter determiniert scheinen. Während der jemenitische Blick den Schleier zu durchdringen vermag und zur Imagination eines weiblichen Lebensentwurf anregt, prallt der deutsche Blick daran ab. Der Schleier als Leinwand und Projektionsfläche wird hier zu einem Spiegel, der das Selbst des Gegenübers sowie seine Einbildungen lediglich rück-spiegelt. Böck selber exponiert sich in diesem Spiegel-Spiel, indem sie es nicht bei einer einseitigen Frage- Antwortrichtung belässt, sondern ihre Sichtweise in die Befragung mit hinein bringt. So entstehen ›dialogische Porträts‹, die der Frage nach Identität im Zwischenbereich von Realität und Fiktion nachgehen und das klassische westliche Porträtverständnis an der interkulturellen und (post-)kolonialen Grenze erweitert.
Critical Arts: South-North Cultural and Media Studies, 27:5, Nov 4, 2013
This practice-based research in and through art aims to develop a critical approach to representa... more This practice-based research in and through art aims to develop a critical approach to representation that is based on primary fieldwork. It addresses the question of how we can identify with the depictions/descriptions of our ‘selves’ that are created from ‘other’ cultural perspectives. The major focus of this research is to understand how specific forms of representation reveal differently authored perceptions of the individual. The overarching aim is to map contemporary practices of identity construction and expression through the study of specific non-Western and subcultural forms of ‘portraying’ that start from different social and cultural codes and modes of production. A central focus of the case studies is the strategic reversal of classical artistic and scientific perspectives. Both the artist/researcher and the practitioners of a particular form of cultural production are equally subject and object in this dialogue of interpretation and representation. The resulting artworks present distinct cultural practices of selection, interpretation and definition as new possible forms of ‘portrayal’.
Arabischer Frühling? Alte und neue Geschlechterpolitiken in einer Region im Umbruch., May 2013
‘Unter hundert Frauen erkenne ich meine Schwester!’ rief Mohammed, unser Fahrer, plötzlich als wi... more ‘Unter hundert Frauen erkenne ich meine Schwester!’ rief Mohammed, unser Fahrer, plötzlich als wir eine Gruppe verschleierter Frauen passierten. Seine Fähigkeit eine einzelne Frau aus einer Menge von unter schwarzen Ganzkörperhüllen verborgenen Gestallten, die für mich identisch aussahen, zu erkennen, faszinierte mich. Es rührte nämlich an ein Thema mit dem ich mich schon seit einigen Jahren herumschlug – wie wir uns selbst und andere wahrnehmen. Mohammeds Kommentar löste für mich eine Reihe von „Forschungsfragen“ für ein neues Kunstprojekt aus, z.B.: Wen sehen wir wenn wir eine verschleierte Person betrachten? Können wir (besonders wenn wir in einer verschleiernden Kultur aufgewachsen sind) einer verhüllten Person ein spezifisches Aussehen oder gar Charaktereigenschaften zuschreiben? Zwei Jahre später stellte ich diese Fragen 31 jemenitischen Männern und Frauen in Sana’a, der Hauptstadt des Jemen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Umfrage sind Grundlage des Kunstprojektes ‚Imagine Me’. Neben dessen Beschreibung von der Durchführung bis zur fertigen Arbeit gehe ich auf die dialogische Methode ein, mit deren ich die Antworten der Projektbeteiligten provozierte, sowie auf die Strategie die ich entwickelte um das‚Porträts’ in unterschiedlichen Lebensbereichen und Kulturen zu erforschen. Betrachtet man den Schleier hat man automatisch das Bild im Blick. Neben einer kurzen Übersicht hierüber beschließe ich meinen Artikel mit einer vergleichenden Studie, die ich im Anschluss an die Realisierung von ‚Imagine Me’ in meiner Heimatstadt München durchführte. Vergleicht man die Reaktionen, die der verschleierte menschliche Körper bei beiden Gruppen von Befragten hervorrief, werden typische kulturell geformte Vorurteile deutlich.
Journal of International Women's Studies, Oct 2012
In this article I discuss the dialogical method which is used to study the idea of perception amo... more In this article I discuss the dialogical method which is used to study the idea of perception among individuals, especially to understand the question of perception toward the veil in Yemen in 2007. Furthermore I elaborate on my exploration of “portrayal” as an art form which lies at the basis of my approach. To be occupied with matters of the veil means to deal with questions of image and gaze. Therefore I also try to give a basic overview on this topic. The article ends with a short description of a corresponding experiment I carried out in Germany one year later. By comparing the Western and Eastern responses to the veiled female body, this experiment reveals typical culturally shaped preconceptions.
Taylor&Francis online World Art Journal, Volume 2, Issue 2, 2012
How culture-specific are the ways in which humans perceive them- selves and others? What is reali... more How culture-specific are the ways in which humans perceive them- selves and others? What is reality or fiction when we look at ourselves and others? To what extent do we project ourselves when we consider or represent our counterparts? As an artist I have been grappling with these questions for more than a decade by passing them unspoken on to those involved in my ‘Dialogical Portraits’, a series of ‘(self)- portrayals’, for which I have applied a ‘dialogical’ strategy by placing myself as the subject to be negotiated, studied and represented through interpretations by my fellow human beings. In this article I give an overview about this artistic research and describe the dialogical method which I developed to approach the responses to these questions as well as the works of art itself.
"Description of the art work StillePost which undergoes a process of copying in the Republic of I... more "Description of the art work StillePost which undergoes a process of copying in the Republic of Ivory Coast. Using the principle of ‘Chinese Whispers’ this led to a series of five portraits that, in their development, showed that the black African men incorporated their own features in the copied portrait of a white European woman.
"
Reflection on the production process of the 'Dialogical Portrait' IMAGINE ME that asks Yemenite m... more Reflection on the production process of the 'Dialogical Portrait' IMAGINE ME that asks Yemenite men and women a question: Whom do we see when we observe a veiled person? This query touches upon the various aspects of our self – recollection, reflection, recognition, dialogue, retelling and fiction.
'In diesem Beitrag soll versucht werden, über die herkömmliche Präsentation eines Kunstprojekts d... more 'In diesem Beitrag soll versucht werden, über die herkömmliche Präsentation eines Kunstprojekts durch die KünstlerIn, nämlich Ausstellung und Dokumentation, hinauszugehen und eine Arbeit ausgehend von Fragestellung und Konzept, Beschreibung der Realisation, anhand eigener Beobachtungen sowie wahrgenommener und reflektierter Reaktionen anderer darzustellen. Wen 'sehen' wir, wenn wir eine (verschleierte) Person betrachten? Kann Mann/ Frau (vor allem wenn er/ sie in einer verdeckenden Kultur aufgewachsen ist) einem menschlichen Körper anhand von Form, Haltung und Bewegung bestimmte Wesenszüge und Eigenschaften zuschreiben? Die Arbeit Imagine Me stellt jemenitischen Männern und Frauen diese Fragen und berührt dabei die verschiedenen Aspekte unseres Selbst - Erinnern, Spiegeln, Erkennen, Dialog, Erzählen und Fiktion.'
Die Präsentation des Projekts "IMAGINE ME. Ein dialogisches Portrait" der Künstlerin Angelika Böc... more Die Präsentation des Projekts "IMAGINE ME. Ein dialogisches Portrait" der Künstlerin Angelika Böck beschließt den Band. Sie eröffnet neue Sichtweisen auf ein gegenwärtig gesellschaftspolitisch brisantes Thema: Wen sehen wir, wenn wir eine verschleierte Person betrachten? Ist es möglich, einem verhüllten Körper ein äußeres Erscheinungsbild und innere Eigenschaften einzuschreiben? Böck stellte diese Fragen jemenitischen Männern und Frauen und gestaltete das dazu Geäußerte - Imagination, Spiegelung, Projektion - in einer Installation, die im Deutschen Haus in Sana'a, Jemen, gezeigt wurde. Alle Beteiligten, auch die Künstlerin selbst, sind in diesem Projekt gleichzeitig Subjekt und Objekt, Gestaltete und Gestaltende, und machen die Verwobenheit von Vorstellung und Wahrnehmung deutlich.
Drawing on my art practice-based research, I present two works on the subject of portraiture that... more Drawing on my art practice-based research, I present two works on the subject of portraiture that have one thing in common: the “Africanisation” of the European sitter. I describe two experiments, one artistically and the other scientifically mo‐ tivated, which were created within 28 years in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, as well as the first official portrait of a European monarch made by an African artist (Mohamud 2019). My project, StillePost (1999), corresponds with an experiment conducted by the German anthropologist Hans Himmelheber (1908–2003). Instead of adopting the historical perspective, with white Europeans depicting African subjects, this gaze is reversed in both works. Here, the Europeans are either the rep‐ resentational subject of African artists (Himmelheber), or both subject and object of representation (Boeck) contributing to the endeavour of reverse anthropology. The dominant direction of the gaze is similarly challenged in an earlier work, the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II commissioned by the colonial government from the Nigerian artist Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu (1917–1994) to commemorate the monarch’s visit in 1956 to Nigeria, which was then preparing for independence in 1960. This event coincides with the beginning of decolonisation theories, as Bea Gassmann de Sousa (2018) notes. Although created with different intentions and under other conditions, both works question the traditional po‐ sitions of artists/researchers/interpreters concerning intercultural confrontation, inspiring decolonising endeavours. By highlighting the commonalities between these works in my subsequent discussion, I show differently evidenced and viable possibilities from the artist’s perspective. I argue that our interpretation always depends on the time and perspective from which we view work.
This art practice-based thesis addresses the ocularcentric approach inherent in Western represent... more This art practice-based thesis addresses the ocularcentric approach inherent in Western representations of ‘otherness’ with a view to expanding notions of the ‘portrait’ as a culturally specific practice. Drawing on a selection of projects conducted over two decades across diverse cultural contexts, together with written publications, the thesis explores possible ways to identify and theorise alternative methodological and analytical frameworks through which the Other can be represented. Turning the gaze upon the artist/researcher in performative acts of mutual representation as a dialogical method, cross-cultural projects addressed in the thesis include the indigenous Sámi’s yoik, the Aboriginal Australian’s track reading and female veiling in Yemen. The thesis comprises Parts I and II, together with an introduction and conclusion, in addition to four appendices. Adopting a feminist research approach and attention to indigenous methodologies as points of departure, Part I provides a critical overview of relevant and intersecting literature on theories of othering and the Western notion of the portrait; it outlines the foundation on which the studied cultural practices were interpreted as practices of relating and attributing. While acknowledging the central role of the photograph as a critical tool of Western visual representation, focus is directed to multi-sensory cultural practices prevalent in non-Western and indigenous cultures. The primary concern of Part II is the role of the mediation of the artworks in postproduction, which draws on material collated during intersubjective field encounters, exhibited across contested sites of representation. Referencing both historically situated and contemporary art and anthropological research practices, alongside their modes of dissemination, Part II critically reflects on contested questions surrounding exhibition and curation, allied to the decolonisation of the anthropological museum. https://arrow.dit.ie/appadoc/96/
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