Anna Moreno
Anna Moreno
Master Artistic Research, The Hague
The work of the Spanish artist Anna Moreno (1984) is based on how ideology shapes our behaviour. Her recent work includes projects on the aesthetics of radicalism and alternativity in the arts. Moreno is currently in the first year of the Master Artistic Research (MAR) in The Hague. Here she found a context in which to debate her work and relate it to the work of others.
Why do the MAR at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK)? ‘I was quite convinced. Of course I sent applications to some other institutions, but an MAR was always my first option. My goal is to do a PhD in Art in the future, but I felt that it was necessary for my artistic practice to have time to reflect and produce work without being completely detached from academic life. I thought a master’s would be a good path to take. Last year I worked as a collaborator for an artistic research group from the University of Barcelona and helped them develop an international network. I introduced them to EARN (European Artistic Research Network) and later on to the Society of Artistic Research. The SAR was giving a symposium at the KABK last March, so we decided to go. There I met Lucy Cotter, the director of the master’s programme, and other interesting people, and they told me about this particular master. And then I applied!’
I hear MFAs can be more scholastic than BFAs. What is your experience? ‘I took my bachelor’s in Barcelona, and there the programme is quite traditional and has to be in consonance with the university of which it is a part. So it has to conform to the university’s system of credits, subjects and evaluation. The schedule is therefore quite tight, but at the same time students are given freedom of movement. In my opinion, it all comes down to your own desire to take something positive out of all the years you invest in your education. Art is a subject that you can always subvert as a student! When you choose a master’s programme, you supposedly are clearer about the reasons for making your choice and the ways you want to benefit from it. At the MAR there is no border between theory and practice, so it is the artist who can decide what the final outcome looks like. This freedom can also mean more studio work.’
What do you like about the MAR? ‘One of the good things about the MAR is that all of us – tutors, students, etc. – have an equal say in choosing the guest lecturers. We have also been given the possibility to work in specific research groups that have been created following the interests stated in our research proposals. Somehow, it feels like we are a bunch of artists deciding things and working together and, of course, some of the tutors act as guides for us. We don’t feel like students in that sense. I feel a strong and productive intellectual connection with one of the tutors, Sher Doruff, and the individual sessions with her are extremely interesting. Another one of our tutors, Frank Mandersloot, participated as a guest in one of my recent projects, Radical Colophon, which took place at W139 during the ASCA symposium Event in Political and Artistic Practice held in March.’
Who would you recommend this master’s programme to?
‘The MAR is appropriate for artists who take a very reflective (but not necessarily strictly theoretical) approach to their practice. I would advise taking a Master’s in Artistic Research to people who are thinking of doing a PhD, but aren’t quite sure, or want to question their practice more before taking that step.’
