1b . Aesthetics of control

I’ve decided to re-start a technique I was taught in my MA programme about how to do artistic research - different, more efficient, perhaps more superficial from the academic research I was familiar with - by googling terms, scanning sources and writing small summaries of what I learn/find in that process.

Recently I have been revisiting and re-writing my statements on my work in general, as part of a small re-branding, or maybe a brand-solidification. Opportunities to show work have helped clarify what I am proud of in what I make, what I want to improve and build on, and what I need to change. Statements have been given a forever-home in the “what to change“ category so far, and I’m experimenting with language that might be more long-lasting.

One of these is the phrase “aesthetics of control,“ which seemed like a good enough place to start, but actually had only a few direct hits, as many results focused on the control OVER aesthetics in various situations. Not uninteresting, but not the preposition I was looking for. However, one academic duo (David Murakami Wood & Kiyoshi Abe) working in Tokyo had published a piece in Urban Studies journal that reviewed just that. Starting with the introduction, I keyed into their own focus on surveillance, while their architectural study was focused on the work of Taro Igarashi.

It ended up to be difficult to find much scholarship from Igarashi, be it due to searching language, perceived demand, or whatever else I don’t know. There were a few paywalls, which is one of my main frustrations with trying to learn post-academia - you’re trained to find information one way, then released into a world that requires membership or really insane amounts of money to access information the same way. But I digress. Igarashi luckily has worked frequently in the arts, by virtue of his curating the Japanese Pavilion in Venice Architecture and as the director for the Aichi Triennial I do have some access to some of his work and writing.

For this week I will finish the Wood/Abe article and look into Igarashi’s exhibition “Windowology,“ which, from what I understand, posits windows as a form of cultural expression.

Both windows and surveillance, besides being connected themselves, are relevant to different pieces that I have been working on, therefore are well-situated as starting-points for building a stronger theoretical background for my work and figuring out how it situates in the wider area of Urban Studies.

featured image from the 11th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, work by Junya Ishigami