Edith Doove
Transtechnology Research,
Room B312 Portland Square,
University of Plymouth,
Drake Circus,
Plymouth,
PL4 8AA.
email: edith.doove@plymouth.ac.uk
website: www.edprojects.be
Edith Doove is an art historian, curator and writer with a special interest in multi, cross and transdisciplinary collaborations and research. Her curatorial practice started in 1987 with making exhibitions in non-commercial spaces, public space and galleries in Belgium (until August 2010) and the UK (since August 2010).
Recent projects include Parallellepipeda – between art and science for Museum M in Leuven (2010), and wijheizij – on change, community, art and culture – for the Belgian ngo Vredeseilanden. She started the experimental curatorial and collaborative Platform P with co-curator and artist Ray White in Spring 2011.
Since September 2011 she is BA (Hons) Programme Leader Fine Art, Crticial and Curatorial Practices at Plymouth College of Art.
View CV for a complete overview.
Infra-mince, Laughter & Cybernetics – disruptive and constructive elements in the curatorial practice
This PhD is situated in the framework of the curatorial practice and the visual arts, stressing the creative aspect of curation. It will therefore look specifically at the role of the speculative and poetic, the personal and subjective within the curatorial practice that is situated in both an artistic and a scientific context.
The PhD-research takes Marcel Duchamp’s concept of the infra-mince, that he developed between 1934 and 1945, as its starting point and central concept. Rather than taking Duchamp’s influence for granted it looks at how his concept was situated in its time and suggests how it was informed by 19th century French society, specifically by the lesser-known artistic movement the Fumistes as well as the work of Alfred Jarry in which subversive humour, laughter and wordplay played an important role, finding its origin in the work and figure of Rabelais.
The research will unravel the dynamic of the infra-mince particularly through the aspects of laughter and friendship, which it acknowledges to form part of the process of the curatorial practice as both disruptive and constitutive elements. Leading the way to a reflection on everyday (dis)similarities and closeness, it will therefore amongst others look at Pask’s cybernetic conversation theory. The research will situate the speculative and poetic, the personal and subjective in the infra-mince because of their apparent contingent nature that is seen as subject to a self-regulating principle as described in second-order cybernetics (Von Foerster, Ashby).
The infra-mince is then linked via Duchamp’s interest in pataphysics and the Oulipo-movement, to second-order cybernetics with the aim to turn it into a tool that can be used as a decisive element in the process of the curatorial practice in a wider context, situated at the interface of mutually compatible but conflicting priorities or paradigms between curator, artists/scientists and audience but also scientific and/or artistic artefacts.
The PhD research will consist of a substantial theoretical literature review and discourse analysis in which a connection is sought between the concept of the infra-mince with specific ideas and research in art, philosophy and science from the French Renaissance into the long 20th century – (Duchamp, Grojnowski, Bakhtin, Bergson, Jarry, Warburg, Whitehead, Koestler, Perec, Von Foerster, Ashby, Pask, …). It will make use of methodologies such as actor network theory and conversation theory. It hopes thus to shed light on a relatively recent discovered concept and make it useful within a curatorial context.
* Recent publications:
review ‘Inside Jokes’ in Leonardo Reviews, August 2011
art. ‘Koen Vanmechelen – The chicken and its audience’. [plastik] [en ligne], Plastik #02 – In vivo, L’artiste en l’œuvre ?, 3 juin 2011. ISSN 2101-0323.
review ‘We Can Change The Weather’ in Leonardo Reviews, January 2011
review ‘Laughter-A Passion’ in Leonardo Reviews, December 2010
cat. Olga Boldyreff, Musée de Nantes, October 2010 – ‘En voyage/in-between – Ways of nomadic thinking in the work of Boldireva/Olga/ Boldyreff’
review Liverpool Biennial in Leonardo Reviews, October 2010
Parallellepipeda Boek – between art & science, Acco, Leuven, January 2010
*Recent exhibitions:
Platform P at the Duke, Duke of Cornwall Hotel, Plymouth, 4-6 November 2011
Spot ON, curatorial research project, Faculty of Arts, Scott Building, University of Plymouth, 2010-2011
wijheizijwei… Several venues in Flanders, June-October 2010
Curator for this project for the Belgian ngo Vredeseilanden; on the collaboration of artists and farmers to highlight the discussion on foreign aid and culture.
With Berlinde De Bruyckere (ongoing project in 2011), Johan Creten, Nathalie Hunter, Lucy & Jorge Orta, Koenraad Tinel, Koen Vanmechelen
Parallellepipeda – between art & science, Museum M, Leuven, exhibition 28 January untill 25 April 2010
Curator for this project on the collaboration between art and science for the City of Leuven in collaboration with K.U. Leuven with amongst others Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven, Ronny Delrue, Nick Ervinck, Koen Vanmechelen, professors Géry d’Ydewalle and Koen Van Laere
*Contributions to conferences, lectures:
Lecture on Wolfgang Tillmans, British Art Show 7 Associated Artists events, Peninsula Arts Gallery, 20 October 2011
Lecturer Fine Arts, BA students, Plymouth College of Art, UK, April-May 2011
The Comic Spirit in the Modern Age – 46th Annual Comparative Literature Conference, California State University, Long Beach, presentation ‘Curatorial Laughter’, 14 April 2011
Visiting lecturer for Sarah Bennett, MA students, University of Plymouth, UK, 2011
Visiting lecturer for prof. Stephanie Pratt on curatorial practice, University of Plymouth, UK, 2010
Conversation on curatorial practice – for MA Curatorial Practice students from University College Falmouth/Virginia Button, 2 November 2010, Plymouth Art Centre, Plymouth, UK
Debates on ‘Art & technology’ – two debates with a.o. Peter Beyls, Pieter-Paul Mortier, Angelo Vermeulen, 19-20 May 2010, Group T, Leuven, B
Arts Research: Publics and purposes – lecture ‘Exhibition Making as Research’, 19 February 2010, GradCAM, Dublin, IRE
PhDArts Conference ‘The Artist as Researcher – moderator of parallel sessions, member of the plenary panel discussion, 5-6 February 2010, Royal Academy of the Arts, The Hague, NL
* Conferences/lectures attended:
Land/Water Summer Symposium: No Man’s Land, Plymouth University, 23 June 2011
Curating Science, Wellcome Trust, London, 6 May 2011
NeuroArts Conference, Plymouth University, 10-11 February 2011