232 research outputs found
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‘1932-1935: Politiques du merveilleux’ / ‘The Politics of the Marvellous 1932-1935'
No full textThis is one of a wide range of essays by leading global specialists on the history and major themes of surrealism, in the catalogue of the major exhibition Surréalisme (Sept 2024 - Jan 2025) at the Centre Pompidou, Paris to mark surrealism’s centenary. My essay focuses on a significant period of the early 1930s for the French surrealist group, in which complex political engagements including the need to trace a radical activist path on the left independently of the Parti Communiste Française while developing critical models for creative practice and theory. The significance of two key lines of enquiry are traced, both of which navigate a path between creative freedom and political exigency: on the one hand, the rise of the theme of the object, explored through games and collective research that was explicitly launched as a way to move beyond the divisive ‘Aragon affair’ of 1931 (in which one of the group’s central members had defected to the PCF); and on the other the significance of documentary photography, a medium whose inherent flexibility meant it could be showcased in surrealist journals at the same time as appearing in socially-committed magazines or exhibitions. Key figures are highlighted such as Claude Cahun, both an innovative photographic practitioner and an incisive theorist, as are wider contexts such as the parallel conditions of the surrealist group in Belgrade, in this same period forced into disbanding (including imprisonment for some members) given the pressures of maintaining Marxist positions against a background of far-right state repression.
The catalogue is available in both French and English versions
Max Walter Svanberg and Henri Chopin: The 1955 Enquiry
No full textPoet and prime theorist of surrealism André Breton’s L’Art magique of 1957 was the last full-length book published in his lifetime, and is also the last of his major works to be translated into English. Written as part of a wider series of art history volumes, it is a wide-ranging study of traditions of magic, myth and imagination in global and trans-historical art practices, including the creative work of indigenous societies, folk art and outsider art, and counter-modernist aspects of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century avant-gardes, culminating with surrealism. At the book’s centre are the results of an extensive Enquiry on magic art sent to leading specialists in the fields of art, history, ethnography, sociology and philosophy. My work on this publication has been firstly as a joint translator, where specific skills and knowledge in a team of three specialists in the history and theory of surrealism was vital to rendering this often very technical and difficult set of texts into English. Secondly, I am joint author of the substantial translators’ introduction which explains and contextualises the book’s genesis and publishing history as well as its significance in relation to surrealist theory and broader art history. Finally, I am joint author of an appendix essay introducing two contributions to the Enquiry that were not published in 1957, located during archive research in France and Sweden.
Two extended de-luxe editions of this volume will be published in January / February 2025
Conversation: Designing for transitions and transformations: Resistance, recovery, reflection, and reimagination
No full textOur Conversation at DRS2024 involved around 130 participants in-person and online, exploring Design for Transitions and Transformations through the lenses of four themes aligned with the DRS2024 themes: Resistance, Recovery, Reflection,
and Reimagination. In this paper, we share some of what emerged from our group discussions, in terms of emergent questions and ideas. In considering Resistance, we examined how we (as designers, researchers, educators, and practitioners) can transition from design that reproduces unsustainability. In Recovery we looked at how we can transition from unsustainability, but also what has become lost, that we want to recover. Reflection prompted discussion of how design can be transformed to enable strategic thinking and practices towards regeneration and flourishing, while Reimagination gave us the chance to address what new practices and education might look like—and how we can support new forms of imagination. We end with some reflections on ways forward
WaterAid: Representing development through art and developing artists through representation
No full textWaterAid has fostered strong symbiotic relationships with artists for over ten years, gaining increased exposure to new audiences for the charity and artist alike. Focussing on WaterAid UK as a case study, this chapter explores various approaches for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and charities to collaborate with artists within developing countries and/or the diaspora to represent and communicate global development issues.
Drawing on critical theory we explore the potential benefits and pitfalls of this relationship providing a model for other organisations and artists who want their work to impact on social causes. We examine ways that artists have challenged three main existing paradigms - poverty porn (or shock-effect), deliberate positivism and post-humanitarian communication - by incorporating approaches as diverse as dystopian fairy-tale landscapes and Afrofuturism. Maybe through artists’ collaborations we are witnessing the emergence of a fourth paradigm of humanitarian communication ‘art for development communication’ which seeks to minimise and counter the criticisms of previous campaigns
The Research Studio Episode 1 Amanda Geitner
No full textInterview with Amanda Geitner about her research on the work and teaching of British artist Roger Ackling. Includes discussion of research methods, the nature of practice based research, and the curating of the touring exhibition 'Sunlight'
Editorial: Designing (for) transitions and transformations: Imagination, climate futures, and everyday lives
No full textThe theme track ‘Designing (for) Transitions and Transformations: Imagination, Climate Futures, and Everyday Lives’ at DRS 2024 includes 21 papers covering a wide range of approaches to design’s role in transformative change in the pursuit of sustainable, just and resilient futures. In this editorial, we present a variety of perspectives from conveners of this track in which we highlight what we each found interesting or noteworthy about the papers we read and how these affected our position towards the design, transitions and transformations field, but also the wider
trends and calls for further work or different directions. Moreover, we reflect on our own perspectives on this emerging landscape, questioning how each of us uses design/transition methodologies in our own work, why we find these useful and which topics or themes we focus on
The disPHISHinformation Game: Creating a Serious Game to Fight Phishing Using Blended Design Approaches
No full textIn 2022, 39% of all UK businesses reported identifying a cyber security attack against their own organisation, 83% of which were phishing attempts. A large body of research in cyber security focuses on technical solutions, however humans remain one of the most exploitable endpoints in an organisation. Traditional security training within organisations commonly includes point-and-click exercises and simple video media that employees are required to complete. These training exercises are often seen as unengaging and tedious, and employees are commonly pushed to complete training rather than encouraged to learn and self-educate. Simulations and games are increasingly being deployed for training purposes in organisations, however often either (a) simply raise cyber security awareness rather than deliver key security policy and content, or (b) lack accessibility with complex game pieces and rules not easily understandable by those not accustomed to playing games. We introduce the disPHISHinformation game: a customisable serious game to deliver phishing training specific to the threats businesses face on a day-to-day basis. Drawing on existing taxonomies, the game delivers content on email, voice, and SMS social engineering attacks, in a format that educates players in key social engineering features. In collaboration with a large service organisation, we have also developed a customised edition of disPHISHinformation game which reflects the targeted attacks faced by their staff. By creating an analog serious game to deliver key phishing training, we can stimulate higher employee engagement and deliver a more memorable experience
Planning the perfect heist: An adversarial cyber game
No full textThis paper introduces "Heist: An Adversarial Cyber Security Board Game", designed to enhance cyber security knowledge through interactive gameplay. Players engage in asymmetrical team-based play, simulating a 'cyber heist' on a sci-fi hotel. The unique setup integrates technical, social, and organisational strategies, enabling diverse cyber security approaches using a deck-building mechanic.Heist development emphasised CyBOK knowledge areas, resulting in core mechanics focused on deck building, promoting critical thinking and collaboration. Players deploy specialists to attack or defend, with attackers aiming to tarnish the hotel's reputation while the defender seeks to identify them through digital evidence. The game strikes a balance between strategy and learning, broadening participation in cyber security and deepening players' understanding of tactics.Playtesting sessions informed refinements, enhancing educational impact and entertainment value. Heist exemplifies an innovative approach to cyber security education, merging theory and practical application in an immersive board game format. It showcases the potential of educational games for complex subjects like cyber security
BiJa sounds you can see through
No full textAnna Reckin and Nicola Simpson - Norwich : European Poetry Festival 2024
European Poetry Festival : Norwich - July 4th 2024
at The Forum Auditorium in partnership with National Centre for Writing :
https://www.europeanpoetryfestival.co...
The 2024 European Poetry Festival visited Norwich, in partnership with the National Centre for Writing to present an evening celebrating poetry, performance and the potentials of collaboration to a bustling audience in the heart of the city. Pairing some of the finest poets of the thriving Norwich poetry scene alongside writers visiting from across Europe, over a dozen poets presented new works made for the night, spanning languages, literatures and the European continent.
Featuring Thor Magnus Tangerås and George Szirtes / Helen Ivory and Agnieszka Studzinka / Ane Thon Knutsen and Sam Jordison / Ondřej Macl and Cat Woodward / Philip Terry and Doug Jones / Tim Postovit and Matt Sokulsky / Ko Ko Thett and Adrian Tissier / Anna Reckin and Nicola Simpson / Matthew Gregory et a
Dom Sylvester Houédard: Exhibiting Spiritual ‘architypestractures’ and cosmic dust
No full textThis chapter explores the work of Dom Sylvester Houédard (dsh) (1924-1992), a Benedictine monk, artist and poet from Prinknash Abbey, best known for the typestracts and concrete poems he made on his Olivetti Lettera 22 typewriter in the 1960s and 1970s. This essay engages with the exhibition Dom Sylvester Houédard: tantric poetries, which the author curated for the Lisson London Gallery in the spring 2020 and that foreground Houédard’s knowledge and practice of Tantric Buddhist and Hindu spiritual methods. Houédard engaged with the Tantric method practices of mantra, mudra, yantra and mandala to produce a body of work that can be seen as pivotal in the emerging narrative of a transhistorical avant-garde and its engagement with Tantric Hindu and Buddhist practice.
The chapter proposes the interdependent relationship between pattern and chaos through a discussion of the presentation of Houédard’s work in this exhibition and the interplay between two separate physical spaces: the geometric patterns of his spiritual architypestractures in one room and the chance, even chaotic representation of the impermanent flux of life in the other room, environmentpoem