On 18–21 March 2021, the editorial team of Open Music Review participated in The European Platform for Artistic Research in Music (EPARM), an international conference devoted to the notion of artistic research in music. The overview of the even was prepared by editors of the website – Malwina Marciniak and Marcin Tarnawski.
Marcin Tarnawski: The AEC European Platform for Artistic Research in Music 2021 (EPARM) was a great opportunity to get acquainted with the notion of artistic research, both as regards its theory and practice. The notion, still rather obscure in Poland, is associated with the dynamically developing research activity of artistic higher education institutions throughout the world. For me, the motivation to participate in the EPARM conference was the need to become familiar with the language, terminology and themes tackled in the discussion on artistic research. I expected to see examples of the research projects carried out, the range of issues, disciplines and methodologies. The presentations did in fact provide numerous inspiring examples.
Malwina Marciniak: The three-day event in the virtual space of a state-of-the-art conference platform was jam-packed with lectures, concerts and presentations, as well as less formal encounters, against the backdrop of a seaside terrace or a dimly lit cafe on a wallpaper. It was there that, during charming and extremely inspiring conversations, we were able to discover how much Dublin and Bydgoszcz have in common (not merely as regards artistic research!). It was also there that, on numerous occasions, we had the opportunity to establish contacts with researchers and artists representing various European centres of music. Simultaneously, the conference was a time of intense comparisons of academic activities and the exchange of artistic experiences.
MT: Let us start at the beginning, though. In the opening lecture of the conference, Sandeep Bhagwati (Concordia University Montréal) presented the notion of artistic research in the context of academic and artistic activity. Furthermore, he indicated the potential of using artistic research as a tool to produce knowledge. Thus, the tasks of a researcher/creator were presented as reaching beyond the hermetic sphere of art. Sandeep Bhagwati’s lecture also raised issues related to the methodology of artistic research. These considerations allowed him to compare and contrast scientific research (within the fields of science and the humanities) and artistic research. An important quality of both these types of research is the opportunity to benefit from iterations. One of the differences, however, lies in the fact that artistic research may begin at various stages of the research process designed. Other differences include the methods of lending credibility to the research results. The procedures operating in science and the humanities prove insufficient in the case of artistic research. It is necessary, rather, to refer to phenomena associated with the reception of art among professionals and viewers (critics, spectators, etc.).
Additionally, Sandeep Bhagwati gave the answer to the question of why not every kind of musical activity constitutes artistic research. For the speaker, the crucial element is the artist’s attitude towards tradition. A creator operating within the existing, established models, implementing traditional principles, reproducing stale practices is no researcher. Meanwhile, developing new models, new phenomena that may in the future become traditional, as well as creating artistic potential are at the core of artistic research. In that sense, the avant-garde composers of yore, developing new tonal and aesthetic systems, were in fact researchers. However, the mere performance of their works does not fall within the field of artistic research. The lecture delivered by Sandeep Bhagwati in a straightforward manner outlined the opportunities stemming from introducing the category of artistic research into the repertoire of creative activities.
MM: During the three days of the conference, we heard more than thirty papers, artistic presentations and panel discussions. The range and themes of the research fields demonstrated by the participants were astonishing in their sheer scope, as well as inventiveness, creativity and perspicacity. The presentations featured deconstructive analyses of Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 27, the compositions of Bach, as well as popular jazz standards. The idea of improvisation and related creative activities, also as regards cooperation in an ensemble, often recurred.
MT: An interesting instance of artistic research was a footage prepared by Luca Chiantore from Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC). The pianist presented the said Sonata quasi una Fantasia Op. 27 No. 2 by L. van Beethoven in the version based on the composer’s extant drafts. These drafts include some fragments in variations that never made it to the published form of the work. What is more, the pianist joined the movements of the sonata with quasi-improvised interludes. These sections serve as transitions and result in a change of mood between the parts of the sonata cycle. Such a performance had been inspired by historical performance practices. The presentation of artistic research in the form of video footage comprises a complete rendition of the sonata, with a simultaneous commentary provided on screen that explained the assumptions and methods of the research. The artist’s project is a part of the programme titled In-version[1].
Among the presentations delivered during the conference, I also paid particular attention to the presentation by James Slimings (The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), titled ‘Owning the Choral Sound: Utilising Real-Time Spectrographic Data to Improve Choral Blend[2].
The speaker presented tools for obtaining spectrographic data and methods of reading the results of measurements. He further indicated the desirable consequences and methods of working with the ensemble, which enable one to obtain a blended sound. In the case of the presented technique, particularly interesting is the opportunity to harness the sense of sight to work on the intonation and timbre of the vocal ensemble. The observation of a real-time spectrogram enables one to establish precisely what corrections are to be made in the emission. The concept of using measuring instruments appears to be also applicable for instrumental ensembles. Unfortunately, because of time constraints, it was not possible to ask the speaker whether he performed any experiments in that regard.
MM: What particularly stuck in my memory, is the structural and hermeneutic analysis of a piano Ballad of John Ireland with an exquisite performance of that extremely technical composition by the author of the presentation, Julian Hellaby, from Coventry University. It was a perfect example of a combination of theoretical and performative activities, which enabled us to fully appreciate a piece by a representative of twentieth-century British Modernism – starting from the analysis of the work’s structure, through an attempt at the exegesis of its senses and meanings, crowned by the performance of the piece (and all that performed by a single artist/researcher!). The presentation demonstrated how musical analysis can lead to a true and profound understanding of a work’s content, and to developing a mature and insightful interpretation thereof. It was also a great display of how to combine the two perspectives – the theoretical and the practical.
MT: My attention was also drawn to a presentation by Susanne Abed-Navandi (Music and Arts Private University of Vienna), which demonstrated a form of discussion combining rhetorical and artistic performances, based on historical practices. The ‘Method of Vienna’ was inspired by a rhetorical competition (titled Accademia di dame), held on 15 November 1697 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Competition participants were five women who debated the question of whether it was a better practice to follow reason or strive for happiness. Between the addresses by the respective speakers, there were musical performances. Susanne Abed-Navandi presented the method of shaping such a discussion, and then – using the said method – show-cased the manner of conducting it. She used as speakers, puppets representing various characters, such as a general, a student, an old lady, etc. The question was: Would you use the Method of Vienna to solve a problem in your environment? The artistic event was limited to a triangle strike between the respective discourses. After the presentation, listeners asked many questions about organisational issues, for instance, whether the speakers should at the time be the performers in the artistic part (during the Accademia di dame that was actually the case, but over-solutions are also acceptable), as well as who delivers the verdict at the end of the debate (the answer: it depends on the environment in which the debate is carried out, the verdict may be provided by a single person or by a vote).
The Method of Vienna was presented by Susanne Abed-Navandi in an original manner and that attracted the listeners’ attention. A lively discussion, once she finished her presentation, proved that conference participants recognised the abundance of possibilities of applying the method in teaching and social activities. They emphasised the great potential of the method for organising public discussions on important and often difficult social issues.
MM: As I have already mentioned, the programme of the conference also included less official events. During one of these (Information Gallery), we presented a video material on the Open Music Review website and the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. It was received with much interest by the conference participants – we were asked a series of questions about our activity, kind words were spoken, friendly suggestions and nice remarks were made. That conference panel ended in an hour or so of a discussion with its most tenacious participants that we were engaged in until the end. The position taken by an Italian pianist constituted only one of its many motifs, underscoring the professionalism, competences and involvement of our interlocutors:
When I switch to a contemporary instrument, having spent three hours playing a historical piano, I am able to obtain the kind of sound that seems to me to be appropriate for Chopin’s music. Obviously, I have both instruments in my home studio…[3]
MT: I would point out one more aspect. What speakers and panellists said suggests that many academic institutions in various countries separate research from strictly performative activity. Against such a backdrop, the image of academic activity in the higher artistic education institutions in Poland seems rather uniform. The notion of artistic research is yet to find a place in the official terminology. Only the Faculty of Management of Visual Culture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw has opened a course titled ‘Artistic Research‘[4]. Meanwhile, Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław held a conference Czy badania artystyczne?[5] [Artistic Research?], which took place on 22–23 October 2020. The notion of artistic research does recur in various syllabi of courses related to the methodology of research at such universities as Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts in Kalisz)[6] and the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław (Digital Printing and Experimental Techniques Studio at the Faculty of Graphic Arts and Media Art)[7]. I was able to discover the oldest mention of the term ‘artistic research’ on the website of the Open System of Archives. It was featured in the programme of Kongres Upowszechniania Kultury Plastycznej Człowiek wśród ludzi [Congress for the Popularisation of Artistic Culture Men among People] of 1980, during which an aesthetic and theoretical seminar was held. On 14 May 1980, at 8 pm, within the framework of the said seminar, an event was held referred to as Methodology of Artistic Research. However, there is no information about the nature of the event, the speakers or issues discussed.
The notion of artistic design is not widespread in the field of music in Poland. This may be one of the reasons behind the difficulty in determining what artistic research is and how it may prove useful for us. In his opening speech, Sandeep Bhagwati observed that the notion of artistic research may refer to a phenomenon that has been around for several decades now. However, naming it does not merely mean providing a new label for old practices. It also constitutes an opportunity to revise the established activities and inspire them anew. Personally, I believe that in the case of Polish higher musical education institutions, artistic research is a new and thus far relatively unexplored field. Therefore, it is all the more worth to engage in activity therein. Thanks to combining artistic work with other areas of social life, we may be able to demonstrate clearly that art is more than just a decoration and luxury. Unfortunately, the situation of culture (particularly high culture) in Poland indicates that truth needs to still be disseminated.
MM: To summarise the AEC European Platform for Artistic Research in Music 2021 and our post-conference account thereof, I think that the interdisciplinary nature of the event, the creative dimension of the issues discussed and the sheer number of ideas and perspectives presented constitute the features of the conference I will remember for a long time. Additionally, exceptionally valuable was the opportunity to establish international contacts which, using various forms of communication, we have continued to maintain ever since.
MT: The participation in the EPARM conference enabled me to acknowledge the scope of the field of artistic research. One of the distinctive features of that activity appears to be the interdisciplinary nature of the undertaken research projects. Another significant trait is the opportunity it provides of plotting one’s own creative path, unrelated with the main, commercialised, so to speak, stream of cultural life.
[1] https://www.in-versions.com/ [online 14.04.2021].
[2] Owning the Choral Sound: Utilising Real Time Spectrographic Data to Improve Choral Blend.
[3] Luca Chiantore, during Information Gallery EPARM, 19.03.2021.
[4] https://wzkw.asp.waw.pl/2020/03/06/rekrutacja-studia-i-i-ii-stopnia-na-kierunek-badania-artystyczne/ [online 14.04.2021].
[5] http://czybadaniaartystyczne.pl/ [online 14.04.2021].
[6] https://usosweb.amu.edu.pl/kontroler.php?_action=katalog2/przedmioty/pokazPrzedmiot&kod=13-MBA-23 [online 14.04.2021].
[7] https://www.asp.wroc.pl/?module=Common&controller=Get&file=81623 [online 14.04.2021].
