UMA
|
|
|
Practitioners of Art within an Evolving Technological Landscape
|
UMA will begin our Research process in Venice in May - where we will speak about how Wilderness came about.
Context: To be summarised McLuhan et al
The Situationists articulated a central problem of a forthcoming age: The Spectacularisation of Daily Life
Current Scenario - The Society of the Spectacle which has arrived in full flow with unintended consequences - distress at being the centre of attention if that doesn't work for you
FURTHER ASSOCIATED RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Under this research question many associated research questions can be formulated - with the UK Arts Council finally accepting the Digital Arts as a key portfolio area of finding in Ferburary 2026 alongside the plastic arts, dance, opera and so on - the Digital Arts are highly attended and visited by the public and some of the many research question can be situated with regard to how the audience interacts with and respinds to art forms that relate to developing technology. Having that our earliest forms of art that ised any kind of tool - something to make a mark on a cave wall such as a handful of earth pigments spat out of the mouth at the hand on the wall - is a kind of technology - in modern academic parlance that is called technicity,.the theoretical exploration of how we create tooldsto make our habitation in the world opre easy, using those tools, then recognising in that exchange thast those tools change not only the world, but the human psyche. Its important to note that this is based upon an unfounded proposal that oiften goes unchalled positied by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) who wrote that life is "nasty, brutish, and short" in his influential 1651 work Leviathan. He used this phrase to describe what life would be like in a "state of nature" without a strong government or social order, arguing that it would be a constant, chaotic struggle for survival. But of course that has allowed nasty brutish and short lived givernments to take up the power over the last 400 years - is ofetn repeated as a truth and rarely challenged as toi the authentivitu and reality of the claim - for instance it can now be argued that with the advent of farming we have lost most of our liesure time - but of course liesure itself has a changeable definition which flows into the p[roposedf research question:
How should the idea of art be formulated at this time in history - and who should create that formulation?
Further Context:
Until now theorists around art, and those that gate-keep institutions where art and culture are displayed, due to the power relationships between those that want to be included in that display because it increases their cultural capital and those that can enable artists to come into those institutions - has been unbalanced for a series of reasons.
How to rectify
Associated Research Questions
Proposals of Hypothetical Theories that may answer the questions
Articulation of Practice as Research (PARP)
Practice as Research proposes that new knowledge can be gleaned via creating research artefacts to investigate creative subject areas and involves the following procedure:
A ‘Practice As Research Portfolio’ (PARP) utilises the above procedure and is a grouping of research artefacts or outputs around a specific theme or question to reveal new insights in the subject area.
Proposals of Theoretical Practical Research Projects that tests hypothesis using PARP
Proposal of a set of Worldwide Networked exhibitions
Take place around the world at the same time - a networked exhibition - that then tests the response of a set of different audiences responses and creates semi-conclusion that further require testing with further exhibitions
What this means in practice is that UMA organises a set of small exhibitions in ALL of our localities roughly at the same time around the globe - we can either approach galleries a year ahead - or as a for instance of a different behaviour, there's an Artists run gallery in central Bristol which works best on the weekend (even primary galleries exept the really big ones struggle for attendance during the week). If all UMA artists organised there own exhibitions for research, this gallery can be hired for 500 dollars per week (Wednesday to Wednesday which allows simple installs to open for Friday 11am then preview Friday night all day Saturday including evening and 2nd preview - all day Sunday then cut on Monday)... Plus I have a few connections in places like Oaxaca and Istanbul etc where I could ask friends to create these - or go there myself to do this). But the exhibitions could be around UMA's work and audience experience. So each local exhiobition has the files on computer for display on projector - or mount a small version of something like the Wilderness (without the frame so that the video displays are directly on the wall) - and each local exhibition has Zoom visits in a public session by UMA artists from around the world then we can have representation wherever we are, call it a networked worldwide exhibition in space and time - obtain research via questionnaire (if you want to attend you have to full in the questionnaire) then we have comparable research that no one else has.
Context: To be summarised McLuhan et al
The Situationists articulated a central problem of a forthcoming age: The Spectacularisation of Daily Life
Current Scenario - The Society of the Spectacle which has arrived in full flow with unintended consequences - distress at being the centre of attention if that doesn't work for you
FURTHER ASSOCIATED RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Under this research question many associated research questions can be formulated - with the UK Arts Council finally accepting the Digital Arts as a key portfolio area of finding in Ferburary 2026 alongside the plastic arts, dance, opera and so on - the Digital Arts are highly attended and visited by the public and some of the many research question can be situated with regard to how the audience interacts with and respinds to art forms that relate to developing technology. Having that our earliest forms of art that ised any kind of tool - something to make a mark on a cave wall such as a handful of earth pigments spat out of the mouth at the hand on the wall - is a kind of technology - in modern academic parlance that is called technicity,.the theoretical exploration of how we create tooldsto make our habitation in the world opre easy, using those tools, then recognising in that exchange thast those tools change not only the world, but the human psyche. Its important to note that this is based upon an unfounded proposal that oiften goes unchalled positied by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) who wrote that life is "nasty, brutish, and short" in his influential 1651 work Leviathan. He used this phrase to describe what life would be like in a "state of nature" without a strong government or social order, arguing that it would be a constant, chaotic struggle for survival. But of course that has allowed nasty brutish and short lived givernments to take up the power over the last 400 years - is ofetn repeated as a truth and rarely challenged as toi the authentivitu and reality of the claim - for instance it can now be argued that with the advent of farming we have lost most of our liesure time - but of course liesure itself has a changeable definition which flows into the p[roposedf research question:
How should the idea of art be formulated at this time in history - and who should create that formulation?
Further Context:
Until now theorists around art, and those that gate-keep institutions where art and culture are displayed, due to the power relationships between those that want to be included in that display because it increases their cultural capital and those that can enable artists to come into those institutions - has been unbalanced for a series of reasons.
How to rectify
Associated Research Questions
Proposals of Hypothetical Theories that may answer the questions
Articulation of Practice as Research (PARP)
Practice as Research proposes that new knowledge can be gleaned via creating research artefacts to investigate creative subject areas and involves the following procedure:
- Investigate theoretical and practical context of subject area
- Construct research question from perceived gaps in that knowledge
- Reflect and then respond with research hypothesis
- Encode research hypothesis within artefact
- Exhibit artefact, collect data and evaluate the efficacy of the research Artefact via audience response
- Critically reflect on the research process up to this point in traditional academic forms (peer-reviewed articles)
- Present conclusions to Conference and indicate further research
A ‘Practice As Research Portfolio’ (PARP) utilises the above procedure and is a grouping of research artefacts or outputs around a specific theme or question to reveal new insights in the subject area.
Proposals of Theoretical Practical Research Projects that tests hypothesis using PARP
Proposal of a set of Worldwide Networked exhibitions
Take place around the world at the same time - a networked exhibition - that then tests the response of a set of different audiences responses and creates semi-conclusion that further require testing with further exhibitions
What this means in practice is that UMA organises a set of small exhibitions in ALL of our localities roughly at the same time around the globe - we can either approach galleries a year ahead - or as a for instance of a different behaviour, there's an Artists run gallery in central Bristol which works best on the weekend (even primary galleries exept the really big ones struggle for attendance during the week). If all UMA artists organised there own exhibitions for research, this gallery can be hired for 500 dollars per week (Wednesday to Wednesday which allows simple installs to open for Friday 11am then preview Friday night all day Saturday including evening and 2nd preview - all day Sunday then cut on Monday)... Plus I have a few connections in places like Oaxaca and Istanbul etc where I could ask friends to create these - or go there myself to do this). But the exhibitions could be around UMA's work and audience experience. So each local exhiobition has the files on computer for display on projector - or mount a small version of something like the Wilderness (without the frame so that the video displays are directly on the wall) - and each local exhibition has Zoom visits in a public session by UMA artists from around the world then we can have representation wherever we are, call it a networked worldwide exhibition in space and time - obtain research via questionnaire (if you want to attend you have to full in the questionnaire) then we have comparable research that no one else has.
Introduction: practice as research as an investigative tool and methodology
Practice as Research proposes that new knowledge can be gleaned via creating research artefacts to investigate creative subject areas and involves the following procedure:
A ‘Practice As Research Portfolio’ (PARP) utilises the above procedure and is a grouping of research artefacts or outputs around a specific theme or question to reveal new insights in the subject area. This commentary will identify relevant connected research patterns through the following schema of PARPs:
Practice as Research proposes that new knowledge can be gleaned via creating research artefacts to investigate creative subject areas and involves the following procedure:
- Investigate theoretical and practical context of subject area
- Construct research question from perceived gaps in that knowledge
- Reflect and then respond with research hypothesis
- Encode research hypothesis within artefact
- Exhibit artefact, collect data and evaluate the efficacy of the research Artefact via audience response
- Critically reflect on the research process up to this point in traditional academic forms (peer-reviewed articles)
- Present conclusions to Conference and indicate further research
A ‘Practice As Research Portfolio’ (PARP) utilises the above procedure and is a grouping of research artefacts or outputs around a specific theme or question to reveal new insights in the subject area. This commentary will identify relevant connected research patterns through the following schema of PARPs:
ABOUT UMA
United Media Artists are a founding group of artists who bridged the analog-to-digital transition — a passage that shapes a singular creative perspective. We began our creative works in the analogue era and have carried on throughout the digital era, maintaining successful practices throughout these transitions. We have fought to retain our creative explorations in a new technology driven environment.
As UMA evolves, it welcomes new generations of digital-native artists into this ongoing dialogue. Like us, emerging artists will maintain a grasp of constructing their art through a series of transformations in our core media. Changes in techniques may come and go, just as value comes and goes in the markets, but we will continue to make sure that our work will remain consistently compelling, impactful, committed and dedicated to the cause of art.
In our future creations we shall honour our diversity in a unified way to forge new directions, utilising our multiformity and global locations as a force that supports, challenges, and invigorates UMA, whilst celebrating our individual creativities to effect the development of art in the 21st century.
United Media Artists are a founding group of artists who bridged the analog-to-digital transition — a passage that shapes a singular creative perspective. We began our creative works in the analogue era and have carried on throughout the digital era, maintaining successful practices throughout these transitions. We have fought to retain our creative explorations in a new technology driven environment.
As UMA evolves, it welcomes new generations of digital-native artists into this ongoing dialogue. Like us, emerging artists will maintain a grasp of constructing their art through a series of transformations in our core media. Changes in techniques may come and go, just as value comes and goes in the markets, but we will continue to make sure that our work will remain consistently compelling, impactful, committed and dedicated to the cause of art.
In our future creations we shall honour our diversity in a unified way to forge new directions, utilising our multiformity and global locations as a force that supports, challenges, and invigorates UMA, whilst celebrating our individual creativities to effect the development of art in the 21st century.