Abstract
From Far to Close (and Back). Material Resistance and Changing Perspectives in Visual Art Practice
By Riikka Mäkikoskela, Aalto University, Finland
I study the experience of three-dimensional visual art practice through the methodology of artistic research. From my perspective, art practice involves the body, materiality and continuous movement. This I demonstrate via empirical research data, and I portray my art-making process through a narrative framework. In addition, I analyze my artistic processes through a multidisciplinary theoretical analysis, which combines the philosophy of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and the perspectives of new materialism and localization in feminist thinking. In my art-making experience, the chiasmatic relationship between the artist and the work of art reveals the resistance of material making, which opens the possibility for the artist to change working perspectives. My objective is to demonstrate the variation of complementary perspectives in art practice and research. At the same time, my article serves as an example of how the method of artistic research challenges research paradigms, their presentation, writing and reporting.
Author keywords
three-dimensional visual art practice, embodiment, movement, chiasm, new materialism, localization