by Gerrit Bester
Dr Carol K眉hn, lecturer in the Department of Fine and Studio Arts, Faculty of Arts and Design, Tshwane University of Technology (大象视频), earned a PhD from the University of Pretoria in September. In an interview, she says that the notion of postgraduate studies being intended only for those who wish to enter the academic domain should be dismantled, contending that pursuing a higher level of study within the Arts enables creatives to refine and continually evaluate the contextual and conceptual underpinnings driving their practice.
Dr Carol K眉hn, lecturer in the Department of Fine and Studio Arts, Faculty of Arts and Design, Tshwane University of Technology.
TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR CAREER SO FAR. My 34-year teaching career in the visual arts has been predominantly shaped by my interests in sculpture in an educational space.
The establishment of Universities of Technology in South Africa promoted technology in the sculpture classroom.
During the early 2000s, based at the Central University of Technology, I began to align a traditional studio-based sculpture curriculum with industry鈥檚 digital trends. Fortunately, institutional access to state-of-the-art digital fabrication technologies and industry-funded maker spaces allowed me to move forward with the integration of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and 3D printing into the sculpture curriculum.
At the time, a sculpture curriculum accommodating the postdigital (analogue-digital) shift in creative practice was unique to South African fine art programmes. Realising this turn-to-the-digital, enabled me and my students to acquire diverse digital skill sets, presenting the opportunity to push disciplinary boundaries, collaborate and delve into the unfamiliar terrain of sculpting for engineering and medical prototyping purposes.
In my own creative practice, it became apparent that the digital brought about a changed approach to making, recognising that a process-oriented systems approach had replaced the object-oriented autonomy of the artist.
Several years of grappling with this shift in sculpture practice inspired me to pursue my PhD study.
My career spans three institutions: Central University of Technology in 1991, the Vaal University of Technology in 2013 and the Tshwane University of Technology in 2015. In the wake of teaching, researching and engaging with community and industry for three decades, I value the importance of continually making/creating things. Acknowledging the holistic significance of this fundamental human condition is the principle shaping my teaching philosophy. After guiding generations of students in developing technical skills, critical thinking and creative problem-solving abilities, the most rewarding aspect is dealing with students who demonstrate discipline and perseverance, regardless of talent.
WHAT IS THE TITLE OF YOUR PHD DISSERTATION? Digital Re-mediation in Contemporary Sculpture Praxis: Human-Technology Co-Creation.
WHO WERE YOUR SUPERVISORS? Dr Ad茅le Adendorff and Prof Amanda du Preez.
JUST HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SUPERVISOR AND TO HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM/HER ON THIS JOURNEY? Choosing the correct supervisor is crucial to the successful completion of the study. Regular meetings and your timely submission of drafts and supervisor feedback are key. Therefore, from the start, it is important to know your role and responsibilities as a student and those of your supervisor.
SHORTLY EXPLAIN THE MAJOR FINDINGS/DISCOVERIES MADE AS PART OF YOUR STUDY AND HOW THEY CONTRIBUTE TO THE CURRENT BODY OF KNOWLEDGE IN THIS FIELD? The study uniquely combines postphenomenology and new materialism theoretical frameworks to show how the boundaries and praxis of contemporary sculpture have transformed. Emphasis is put on digital technology's active agency, establishing a reciprocal human-nonhuman relationship.
The findings argue that contemporary sculptors are fundamentally entangled with digital fabrication technologies, positioning these devices not as mere tools but as co-creators in an evolving artistic practice. Analysis of traditionally trained sculptors鈥� (Michael Rees, Keith Brown and Tony Cragg) digitally transformed praxes revealed that even similar digital devices produce distinctive aesthetic effects based on the sculptor鈥檚 intentions and proximity to the technology.
The core theoretical contribution is the concept of a neomaterial aesthetic and postdigital reassemblage arising from digital re-mediation and co-creation, which transforms sculpture鈥檚 spatial, temporal and material dimensions.
The findings advocate for acknowledging the agentic non-neutral mediating affect of digital technologies, asserting that sculptors are co-shaped by technological intentionality within a postdigital (analogue-digital) context that promotes new ways of understanding artistic production. The study maintains that the digital has reterritorialised contemporary sculpture into an open-ended metamodernist thinking space, shaping sculptors鈥� postdigital experiences.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR FELLOW STAFF MEMBERS WHO ARE BUSY WITH THEIR DOCTORAL STUDIES OR ARE STILL CONTEMPLATING THEM? It is important to develop a support system amongst your colleagues. You will require their support to shoulder an extra workload and return the collegial gesture when required.
WHAT ARE YOUR RESEARCH INTERESTS AND HOW IMPORTANT IS RESEARCH OUTPUT IN THE ARTS? I am interested in human-technology co-creation, exploring the implicit and explicit aesthetic effects of the digital in sculpture praxis. I question how contemporary sculptors operate in an enigmatic space between digital machines, humans and materials. This implies that digital fabrication technologies do not enable sculptors to merely represent the real; it is intricately entwined with the real.
With regards to arts-based research, the fundamental principle applies 鈥� theory informs practice and practice informs theory.
After many years of debate, the Department of Higher Education and Training now recognises creative research outputs. This subsidy-driven framework begins to positively dismantle the hierarchical notion of forms of research engagements.
HOW WILL YOU ENCOURAGE A CURRENT STUDENT TO PURSUE POSTGRADUATE STUDIES? We should dismantle the idea that Postgraduate studies are intended for those who wish to enter the academic domain only. Embarking on a higher level of study within the Arts allows creatives to refine and constantly evaluate the contextual and conceptual underpinnings driving their practice.
Being able to demonstrate an intellectually mature level of understanding regarding the how, what and why of your creative practice is the most valuable currency in an industry that is constantly evolving.
WHAT ARE YOUR AMBITIONS ACADEMICALLY AT THIS STAGE OF YOUR CAREER? I would like to implement some of my research findings into the 大象视频 sculpture curriculum, write articles and certainly make sculptures now that I will be spending less time behind my desk.