Vergangenheit begreifen – Realismus und künstlerische Forschung

The endeavour to network different disciplines and make them fruitful for each other through the exchange of knowledge provided the occasion for Anna Artaker's lecture "Understanding the Past - Realism and Artistic Research". Anna Artaker, the first protagonist of artistic research within the ÖAW, regards her work as an artist as a "continuation of philosophy by other means". Abstract philosophical concepts are to be experienced visually in her works. The preoccupation with the simultaneity of the present and the past is a recurring motif. As an example, Artaker mentions a trace in the sand that only becomes visible when the author is absent, thus referring to Walter Benjamin's concept of the "dialectical image". Artaker also explores the reality-creating function of images and their role in our perception of the world. In addition to found-footage materials, she makes use of various imaging techniques used in other scientific disciplines. She also revives old and partly forgotten photographic and printing techniques and thus takes a look at the common origin of art and science.