Performance practices of music are becoming more and more intertwined with the context of artistic research. This issue of Ruukku examines the relations of artistic research with the performance and presentation of music: what kind of music performance practices does artistic research produce or enable?

 

In this context, performance practices point to a wide range of ways of making music heard, such as concert traditions and related experimental settings, communal music making, playing outside the performance context, as well as non-real-time performance through different media and sound installations. In addition, the theme of the issue examines the outreach of current music performance practices: what kind of audiences does artistic research in music attain? What kind of role does the audience take in this context? How does music affect different groups of people, or the environment, or society?

 

Artistic research as an experimental, avant-garde artform opens up a wide range of possibilities for music to be presented or heard. The traditional concert setting, where the roles of the musicians and the audience are predetermined, can take on new forms through, for example, shared agency and approaches that critically examine human-centeredness. Medial, social, spatial, environmental, or technological experiments also open up possibilities for performing music.

 

On the other hand, the scientific ethos of artistic research can cause friction with the essentially non-semantic nature of music, with the sharing, thinking, being and experiencing of music that takes place directly through sound. How does the academic dimension of artistic research manifest or articulate in the performance of music?

 

We invite actors in the field of music and sound art to present, examine and critically reflect on the current manifestations of music within the scope of artistic research. The purpose of the issue is to gather an overview of the diversity of artistic research in music at the current moment, as well as to form a critical discussion forum for actors in the field. We welcome Research Catalogue expositions that approach the topic through artistic practice and case studies, as well as contributions stemming from social and theoretical starting points.

 

For example, the expositions may cover the following topics:

 

• Discussing experimental performance practices of artistic research in music and the creative processes underlying them.

• Manifestations of the epistemic dimension of artistic research in music performance practices.

• Impact of artistic research in music: how and where does music-related artistic research have an impact (e.g. the social impact of music)?

• How do each artist-researchers consider the impact of their own research? And how is the impact seen from outside of specialised music communities?

• Music performer and audience: what kind of settings of musical agency does artistic research open up?

• To which audiences is artistic research of music presented, where, how? What kind of roles can the audience have? What about music without an audience?

 

 

Issue's editors are Anu Lampela, Otso Lähdeoja and Saijaleena Rantanen. 

 

We ask you to create your research exposition proposals in the Research Catalogue (RC) publishing platform at http://www.researchcatalogue.net.

 

Note! The use of RC requires a full user account (see ‘register' and choose ‘full account'). In addition to the theme and its discussion, the exposition must include the planned structure in the RC platform. Please submit your proposals (complete expositions) via RC (‘submit for review', and choose the portal ‘RUUKKU') by 15 June 2023.

 

You can discuss draft submissions with the editors until 15 May 2023. In this case, you must share the exposition with the editors using RC's link share function. From the exposition menu, choose ‘share', and select the last option (‘When enabled…'). Note that the actual share settings are not modified, and the exposition remains private. With the share link, you can present your exposition to others and continue working on it. Confirm the selection and send the link via e-mail to the address below.

 

For additional information about the issue, and discussing draft submissions, please contact Saijaleena Rantanen at saijaleena.rantanen@uniarts.fi.  

 

If you need assistance with the Research Catalogue, please contact Priska Falin at priska.falin@aalto.fi.

 

You can find detailed instructions for submitting expositions and drafts at http://ruukku-journal.fi/en/instructions.

 

Established in 2013, RUUKKU is a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal for artistic research. It is published on Research Catalogue (RC), an international publication platform and database that enables multimedia elements. RUUKKU is published and supported by the University of the Arts Helsinki, Aalto School of Arts, Design and Architecture, and the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland. The primary languages of publication are Finnish, Swedish, and English.