Investigative Aesthetics addresses various practices at the intersection of contemporary art and investigative journalism. Based on the tenets of the independent research agency Forensic Architecture based at Goldsmiths University of London the course will seek to move beyond contouring or critiquing histories from a distance and aim to come up with strategies that intervene and produce evidence that result in new kinds of information and knowledge. Forensic Architecture consists of a multidisciplinary team that employ counter forensics that turn the forensic gaze onto investigations of state agencies and dominant narratives. Their evidence is presented in political and legal forums, truth commissions, courts, and human rights reports, and we will focus on using this model as a means to investigate issues that are usually discussed in contemporary art practice, but rarely addressed with this intensity or rigor. Collectively we will seek to find working methodologies for engaging and addressing the complexities of local and international crisis related to human rights and ecocide and will focus on how to intervene and take a stake in historical outcomes that are being sorted out in the present. The class will also consider how the evidence gathered in this investigative practice can have a hybridized function as art objects by finding new contexts and ways in which they can be considered. The architecture of memory will be of specific importance and the collection and dissemination of oral histories, first-hand witness testimony, and material witness analysis will help to provide starting points for further investigation in student-initiated investigations. Some practices we will consider are individuals that are redefining what research-based art could entail and who are working through direct engagement with their subjects such as: Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Susan Schuppli, Hiwa K, Gala Porras Kim, Jill Magid, Sidsel Meineche Hansen, Shadi Habib Allah, Renee Green, Taryn Simon, Pierre Huyghe, and Sean Raspet.
Research through field work and investigatory studio practice will proceed after initial critiques to assess and address issues interwoven into student work. Discussions will be tailored to efforts that give an overview of organizations, funding, media partnerships, and other meaningful connections that will be crucial in carrying out research and implementation on a case basis. The final will consist of a presentation that could be the exhibition of research, evidence, art works, performances, or a combination thereof, but could also consist of off-site works or collaborations whether with other students in the class, local or international organizations, or individuals yet to be identified.
Highly recommended for Upper Term students.