I N F R A
Closing Event, May 31st 2014, 17:00–20:00
Westminster Reference Library
35 St Martin's St, London,
London Chinatown WC2H 7HP
I N F R A
(Fatos Ustek, Anna Gritz, Karin Kihlberg & Reuben Henry, Aura Satz
and Ian Whittlesea) invites you to the closing event of a two year
research project, with lectures by Yoga teacher Graham Hyman,
cognitive neuroscientist Lennart Verhagen and video game theorist
Rob Gallagher followed by the launch of the I N F R A publication.
I N F R A
is an artistic research project devised by Anna Gritz & Fatos Ustek,
inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s observations on the infra-mince.
Following Duchamp, the group composed of Karin Kihlberg & Reuben
Henry, Aura Satz and Ian Whittlesea approach the I N F R A as
something that cannot be captured through definition, but solely
through examples.
I N F R A
sets out to allow apparently unrelated subjects to rub shoulders in order
to evaluate how, if at all, subjects foreign to one’s habitual research
interests can be informative and inspiring. The project questions how
much knowledge one can glean about a foreign discipline from an
occasional sit-in, and what overarching patterns can be recognized
between the various fields and methodologies encountered throughout
the course of the project.
I N F R A
is structured around a series of encounters that make use of the surplus
produced by the current academic and educational landscape, by
arranging an occasional and self-organised syllabus. These encounters
can take on a plethora of forms such as a lecture on statistics
and astrophysics, a meeting with mystics, learning how to dance
5Rhythms or how to play GO. Through sitting in on existing courses
at Universities, Colleges and other formats of experience and
knowledge-genesis, the group aims to study the I N F R A through a
selective focus.
I N F R A
appropriated the format of the sit-in as a strategy that functions as a
stumbling stone, a disruption in the flow of a given scenario, through
claiming space and access to otherwise exclusive environments. It
proposes a form of access that generates an interdisciplinary exchange
and that slows down the accelerated mode of learning prevalent
today, to allow for investigations on the margins of the beaten academic
track, as well as to promote an integral approach to research and
browsing that opens wide the possibility of discovery, chance and
encountering the unexpected.
I N F R A
has settled comfortably in the folds of the academy, nourished by
the crumbs and leftovers of its efficiency-driven overproduction.
Through diverting some of its efforts to our benefit, the project hopes
to generate an inspiring climate that expands the reference points
available to artists and researchers.
Further information on Lecturers:
Graham Hyman wanted to become a yoga teacher because of his
deep love and belief in the life enhancing qualities that a regular
yoga practice, combined with dedicated study with his Guruji, helped
him to create. He studied with The Radiant Hand Academy of Yoga
and after qualifying and demonstrating suitable skill and competency,
Graham took a leap of faith and started teaching yoga full time.
Working in the Netherlands as a biologist in cognitive neuroscience
Lennart Verhagen has been captivated by how we transform
our thoughts into actions: how do mind and body meet, but also,
how do two minds meet? Through communication we can flexibly
convey concepts and meaning solely by using concrete actions
and symbols, a feat unparalleled by any other animal. Recently,
Lennart started at Oxford University as a Marie Curie fellow to
further investigate these uniquely human cognitive abilities.
Dr. Rob Gallagher is a writer and researcher currently based
in Montreal, Quebec. His has written on videogames, digital culture
and gender for publications like Games and Culture, Nyx, The
Observer and The New Inquiry. He also makes gifs as part of Oratorio
Tangram. Rob will be introduced by Liz Haines, an artist and current
PhD candidate in Royal Holloway’s Geography department.
Set of 58 cards
ISBN 978-91-980725-3-2
For contact and further inquiries:
Anna Gritz & Fatos Ustek
infra.visionforum@gmail.com
