Renée van Oploo
Fine artist & researcher
info@reneevanoploo.nl
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BIO
I am a visual artist, lecturer and researcher. I teach in the Art & Research programme (since 2021) and Photography, Film & the Digital (since 2023) at St. Joost School of Art & Design, and conduct research at the Centre of Applied Research for Art, Design and Technology (CARADT). I am also a member of the art collective YAFF and the art alliance The Long Tail of Art.
My artistic practice centres on the relationship between art, shared experience and ethical reflection. Through installations, essays, workshops and collaborative projects, I develop situations in which artistic practice creates space for collective inquiry into current dilemmas in art, education and society, and the assumptions and reflexes that shape them. I hold a background in Fine Arts (cum laude, St. Joost School of Art & Design) and Applied Ethics (MA, Utrecht University).
Research
A Head Massage Tool or a Crowbar?
Toolbox for the Evaluation of Art in Public Spaces
Keywords:
public space, art, ambition, impact, agonism, participation
ABSTRACT
In this
research project, I present an open and accessible approach to analysing art in
public space. It introduces a toolbox for evaluating both the artist’s ambition
and the artwork’s impact. I use this research to pose a central question: can
such a toolbox serve as a valuable resource for assessing the ambitions and
effects of artworks in public space? Art often engages with overwhelmingly
complex issues such as world peace, climate change, and inclusivity, making it
essential to understand how ideology translates into tangible impact. To
address this, I’ve filled the toolbox with various tools and utilities, whose
applicability I test through case studies that explore the artworks’ ambition
and impact: does the artwork function as a crowbar, a head massage tool, a
noticeboard, or a workbench? In doing so, I try to find a constructive way to
navigate dilemmas surrounding public art, including the roles of commissioning,
disengagement, and participation.
This research is published @ http://ruukku-journal.fi/en
Read this research here