PROGRAMME Module 1 DISCOURSE PRODUCTION Unit 1: Cultural Studies The first unit is devoted to Cultural Studies. Primary subjects are Visual Culture, Aesthetic Experience, Intervisuality, Rhetorics and Communication, The Era of Information, Performativity, Brand & Styling, Globalization, Identity, Models of Critical Awareness. During 10 weeks seminars will take place where major topical literature will be discussed. The student is expected to study the assigned literature in such a way that he or she is able to thoroughly contribute to the discussion. This unit will be concluded in the form of a paper (1,000 words), where the student should demonstrate a critical assessment of the literature studied, if possible in the context of one's own work. Unit 2: Concept Development The second unit, Concept Development, will take place within the student's own discipline. The primary questions posed are: What is a concept? How is a concept developed in the topical practice of visual art? How does an artistic concept differ from a non-artistic concept? Which concepts (e.g. intuition, poetics) determine today the discussion within the field? And what is a visual grammar? Furthermore, a survey of the history of philosophy of art based on a number of concepts (subject, object, space, and time) will be part of the course. The course will be in the form of a participatory seminar. Students will independently prepare parts of the lecture and discuss these in the form of critical reports. The unit will be concluded by a paper (1,000 words) where a work-related concept should be formulated. Unit 3: Cross-Cultural Studies The third unit, Cross-Cultural Studies, is a collective part of the program. The central questions are: What is artistic research? What is an artistic methodology? How does this method relate to other methodologies (various artistic disciplines, various scientific disciplines, philosophy)? The most important developments in philosophy of science and in the debates on artistic research will be discussed first in a seminar. Next, in encounters and dialogues with students from other MA programs, the student will be forced to critically reflect on the boundaries of his or her own professional field. The student should be able to take a stand in discussions with regard to other forms of research and, moreover, also spot constructive possibilities for cross-overs. The unit will be concluded in the form of a paper (1000 words) in which the student should formulate a possible set-up of an artistic methodology. Module 2 TRANSMEDIAL RESEARCH Unit 1: Presentation Although the concept of image in our current visual culture is frequently employed, many questions concerning the image remain unanswered. In fact, we still do not know what an image as such is, what the relation is between word and image, and how the image affects the world today. In order to investigate the image, in particular the artistic image, this module departs from the most primary form of visualization and representation, i.e. drawing. Drawing seems to function more or less as pre-image, as what precedes the image. After all, there is not any object, plan, or idea that has not been drawn first or begun as a drawing. Drawing seems to represent transparent presentation: it gives insight through visibility. The conceptual meaning of this primary form of visualization for the domain of the arts - as well as for domains such as science and technology and their interaction - is in Unit 1 (presentation)the starting point for investigating the position and meaning of the (artistic) image in our current visual culture. Unit 2: Representation Another extreme of visualization is the photographic image. In the artistic process (for example producing a portfolio or catalogue), the photograph often serves as final piece, recording, moment of distribution, and documentation (the post-image). The current visual culture seems to contribute a high degree of truthfulness to the photograph. Unit 2 (representation) poses the following questions: What does the photographic paradigm mean for the topical, artistic practice? Could one speak of a reduction from a global image? Or could a theoretical/textual addition perhaps redynamize the process of artistic meaning? Both units will take place in the form of intensive seminars. The student will study in advance the assigned image and text materials. In Units 1 and 2, the student will give a presentation in the form of a (visual) essay, whereby, if possible, a connection is made with one's own artistic practice. Halfway through the module, thus after Units 1 and 2, the first assessment and self-assessment takes place. The student will complete a module evaluation and hand this in before the assessment takes place. Unit 3: Communication Unit 3 focuses on the process of artistic communication. From the methodological perspective developed in Units 1 and 2, the following basic concepts will be addressed: the position of the studio, the artistic attitude, the effect of painterly thought in current visual culture, filmic imagination, (theatrical) performativity, intermediality, transmedial communication, and the role of the artist's text. This unit will be taught by guest lecturers because of the required professional specificity. Unit 4: Context Following the investigation of the process of artistic communication, Unit 4 will focus on the question of contextualization: an inquiry into how the artistic image should be presented. In order to investigate various exhibition models, a collaboration with both the postgraduate curatorial training program of De Appel Foundation in Amsterdam and BAK (Basis for Topical Art) in Utrecht will offer a platform for practical research. In this unit, the role and position of art in public space will also be investigated. Module 3 INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH Module 3 is characterized as a stage of production. It is the module where the student in his or her studio modifies and realizes independently the project proposal presented at the start of the course. Every week, individual research activities and visual results will be evaluated in group discussions. For that, every two weeks, relevant visiting professors, i.e. lecturers familiar with the student's research, are invited to participate in the group discussion in the morning, do tutorials in the afternoon, and partake in a concluding evaluative discussion at the end of the day. During the group discussion, the students report on the progress of their research in the form of a research presentation. In critical discussions, the methodological premises and the project proposal will be evaluated and, if necessary, adjusted. The student should document these presentations in a well thought-out essay (about 2.000 words). The essay can be considered an impetus for the thesis. In weekly conferences between student and lecturer, the progress of the research is monitored. The student should be able (in writing and in image) to communicate the premises of his or her research and be able to adjust the premises based on various try-outs and critical discussions. In addition, the student will render an account of the meaning of the chosen context for situating his or her image and concept. The reflexive investigation should continuously demonstrate a dynamic interaction between theoretical concepts and artistic practice. Module 4 PRESENTATION During Module 4, the student is involved in completing the research. The written work will be completed in a final thesis (10,000 - 12,000 words). In the thesis, the research trajectory, the chosen methodological plan and the critical position within the process of artistic communication are all theoretically founded. In addition, the student is involved in a presentation concept (exhibition and parallel publication) for his or her work. For this, the MA Fine Art program has, among other things, made arrangements with BAK, a leading centre for topical visual art in Utrecht, to realize an experimental, research exhibition in a professional space. The presentation and the public defence of the thesis form the completion of the program.

Programme All Fine Art Names Intro More Karien Assendelft Nancy Bleck Ellamarthe Debeij Chantal Ehrhardt Joris Lindhout Eva Roovers Zelia Simoes Rinze Vegelien Filipa Vieira Santos