Happy to be invited once again to lecture a course at the university of the arts Berlin:
Dr. Nica Junker
Irritation as an impulse
Block workshop, German/English, 2 SWS, 2 ECTS
Irritation in artistic actions can invite participants out of their equilibrium and into reflection on the exchange on the topics. This is also where a kind of tipping point can be found in the
perception of the participants, because something does not match the familiar overall picture. These irritations can trigger a closer look from an aesthetic point of view, they can invite social
discourse, they can emotionalize, they can also make you laugh, smile, exchange ideas with strangers, and ultimately trigger a reaction. Particularly in cultural education projects within
participatory photography, such confusion can be an impulse for discourse and motivate a group to participate in shaping a shared experience. In the workshop, we first want to explore the concept
of confusion aesthetically, using the example of aesthetic-visual confusion in the photographic image. This can be visually apparent, as in Rinko Kawauchi's work through asynchronies in the
image, thematically in the form of parody as in Joan Fontcuberta's work, in terms of content as in documentary photographs, as in Myriam Boulos' work, or in artistic research photographic
projects such as Laia Abril's work on mass hysteria, which she examines from a feminist perspective. Irritation can also play a subtle role in the curation and mediation program of an exhibition.
The projects presented aim to show points of contact with one's own artistic or scientific practice. In a second part, we want to develop photographic photo films on the topic of irritation (1-5
min) in the form of a workshop and evaluate them together in a final event. Students are invited to develop their own perspectives on irritation from their own artistic practice with the help of
AI or without AI.