Kunst als onderzoek? De onderzoekende kunstenaar

Abstract

Art as research into mediated perception. In his seminal 1936 essay, The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction, Walter Benjamin revolutionized the way we look at the social function of art. With changing material circumstances the ways of existence of human collectives change, especially the modes of perception. Perceptions are always mediated by language, art and technology. Artists are among the firsts to explore the perceptions engendered by unprecedented technologies. They create adequate images and meanings for them. Depending on new instruments of mass-communication and transport, artistic enquiry into new cultural modes of perception takes many forms today. Examples of mainly Dutch artworks and artists will highlight the indispensable role of art as research into mediated perception.