Abstract | Uloga tjelesne percepcije u doživljavanju djela u kiparstvu tema je ovog umjetničkog istraživanja utemeljenog na praksi, u kojem autorica prepoznaje tjelesnu interakciju kao važan segment vlastitog stvaralaštva te istražuje radove drugih umjetnika koji pokazuju izrazito bogat i inventivan raspon tjelesnog iskustva u doživljaju umjetničkih radova. Tjelesna uključenost posjetiteljima omogućuje bolje povezivanje i cjelovitiji doživljaj, što potvrđuju rezultati dvaju kvalitativnih istraživanja provedenih metodom fokusnih grupa s posjetiteljima izložbi „Introverti“ i „Sam/a sa sobom“. Rezultati pokazuju da tjelesna interakcija mijenja i širi doživljaj, stvara osjećaj sudjelovanja i sukreiranja rada te omogućuje bolje razumijevanje djela. Navedene spoznaje potkrijepljene su Gardnerovom teorijom višestrukih inteligencija te teorijom o stilovima učenja Neila Fleminga (VARK model). Obje teorije iz područja psihologije edukacije tjelesnu percepciju ravnopravno uključuju u razmatranja o našim sposobnostima i o načinima na koje primamo, obrađujemo i iskazujemo znanje. Pokazuju na koje su načine naše tjelesne sposobnosti uključene u stvaranje i doživljavanje umjetničkih djela te kako je kinestetički modalitet (razmišljanje kroz djelovanje) važan u kreativnom procesu i u komunikaciji s publikom. Razumijevanje uloge tjelesne percepcije u doživljaju kiparskih djela prošireno je tijekom istraživanja od direktne tjelesne interakcije prema svijesti o vlastitom tijelu (propriocepciji), zapamćenom tjelesnom iskustvu (kinestetičkoj i taktilnoj memoriji) te doživljaju u tijelu (tjelesnoj empatiji). U praktičnom dijelu istraživanja autorica stvara procesom tipičnim za kinestetički modalitet, oslanjajući se na iskustvo i „razgovor“ s materijalom, uzimajući pritom u obzir rezultate istraživanja fokusnim grupama. Završno djelo poziva na interakciju i omogućuje slojevito tjelesno iskustvo afirmirajući tjelesnu percepciju koja je nedovoljno prepoznata u kontekstu stvaranja, doživljavanja i izlaganja kiparskih djela. |
Abstract (english) | This practice-based artistic research focuses on the role of bodily perception in experiencing sculpture. The topic stemmed from an analysis of the author’s previous artistic work, in which the active role of visitors exposed to artworks was recognized as an important segment in experiencing the works. As sculptures are usually experienced only visually, this segment of experience has raised many questions about the possibilities and significance of touch and bodily perception in sculpting. The research into the work of artists who focus on bodily perception has shown that this approach is a rich source of inspiration and possibilities, thus the thesis presents artworks that entail active physical participation on the part of the viewer in order to be fully experienced. This includes artworks that require completion through participation and imagination of visitors (Morris, Walther), artworks that use materials and objects as catalysts for interaction between visitors (Clark), artworks that instruct visitors to establish active relationships with exhibited items and objects (Wurm, Žanić), artworks based on constructions and installations (Gormley, Höller, Neto, Oiticica, Soto), and artworks that stimulate the viewers with their visual properties (Kapoor) or offer them an enhanced perceptual experience and a total immersion into the ambience of the exhibition (Eliasson). Physical involvement allows visitors to connect with a work more intensely and gain a more profound experience, which is confirmed by the results of two qualitative studies conducted using the focus group method, with visitors of the artist's exhibitions “Introverts” and “Encounter with Ourselves”. The results show that physical interaction enhances the interest of visitors, broadens and changes the experience, gives a sense of participation in the creation of the work, and enables a better understanding of the work. These findings are supported by Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and Neil Fleming's theory of learning styles (VARK model). Both theories include bodily perception in considerations about the ways in which we gain, process and express knowledge. They show how our bodily aptitudes are involved in creating and experiencing the works of art, and how kinesthetic modality (one of the four VARK modalities, associated with physics and reality, focusing on practical research and our own experience) is important in the creative process and communication with the audience.
In an analysis of ways in which bodily perception is present in experiencing the work of art, this research has demonstrated that bodily perception plays an important role both in artworks that allow direct physical contact, and in artworks that we experience only by looking. Beside haptic touch and physical interactivity, the author has shown that many artworks and traditional expressive means rely on bodily perception through memorized bodily experience (body memory) and awareness of one's own body (proprioception). This includes tactility, expressiveness of materials, the size of the work, the placement of the work in space, and the representation of position and movement (stability and instability) in figurative and abstract forms. Gardner also mentions the internal mimics as an important segment of physical intelligence in experiencing the works of art. Freedberg and Gallese describe it as bodily empathy, an internal bodily simulation that we experience thanks to a system of mirror neurons and related empathic feelings. We feel bodily empathy when we look at real or depicted movements and actions, but also when we look at traces of actions shaping the surface of sculptures and supporting the visual characteristics of the artworks, indirectly including bodily perception. In the practical part of the research, the author creates a process typical of kinesthetic modality, conducting a “conversation” with the material, relying on her bodily experience and inner bodily sensation, as well as on the results of the research based on the focus group method. The resulting work promotes interaction and offers a layered physical experience through haptic perception, proprioception and bodily empathy. In this manner, it affirms bodily perception which has so far been insufficiently acknowledged in the context of creating, experiencing and exhibiting sculpture. |