Research Centre
Art and Design Research Centre

A long-term research engagement exploring the philosophical agency of live art and articulating shared concerns regarding the use of the body by philosophers and live artists

This body of research consists of live performance, performance to camera, conference papers, and published texts. It is part of a long-term research engagement exploring the philosophical agency of live art and articulating shared concerns regarding the use of the body by philosophers and live artists. The research was undertaken through two primary methodologies: Reeve’s live art practice and her application of Bohmian Dialogue techniques in a performance culture and community.

Reeve introduced the territory through the presentation of the paper, ‘The B in Philosophy’, at the inaugural conference of ‘What is Performance Philosophy?’ at the University of Surrey. This developed her earlier paper, ‘Head-Hunting Art: The Artist-Philosopher and the Value of Incorporating Philosophy within the Education of Practising Artists’, published in 2008. To inform this research, Reeve has initiated and reflected on an ongoing series of interviews with artists about the role of philosophy in their practice. Three such dialogues with the artist Pavel Büchler have been published, one in Büchler's exhibition catalogue Labor in Vain (ed. Anděl, J. Prague: DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, 2010).

Her dialogic research methods were extended to consider the potential for Bohm’s Dialogue and its blend of live performance and Socratic philosophical methodology. Reeve’s paper, ‘No Agenda,’ outlined the radical aspects of ‘Dialogue’ that set it apart from other discussion-based methodologies. In August 2011, New Work Network invited Reeve to talk about 'Dialogue' and run an introductory session at ‘Adhocracy’. Reeve led three further 'Dialogue' events around the country for NWN, and was also invited to convene a 'Dialogue' for Lux artist residency programme, give a talk at Crossing Borders, Siobhan Davies Dance Studios, and become an associate of Prison Dialogue.

In 2011, the Ashden Directory commissioned the performance, Come into my House, which sought to identify the value of philosophy outside the academy. A further performance, Plato's Apology, 2013, was curated by The Yorkshire Sculpture Park for Bob & Roberta Smith's Art Party Conference.

Researchers involved

Hester Reeve - Senior Lecturer in Fine Art

Related projects

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