Public defence in Art Education, MA Nina Laaksonen

Title of the thesis: Elävä suhde väriin. Värin uudelleenajattelua posthumanismin viitekehyksessä ja taidepedagogiikassa (A Living Relation to Color. Rethinking Color in Posthumanism’s Frame and Art Pedagogy in English)

Thesis defender: Nina Laaksonen
Opponent: Professor Pauliina Rautio, University of Oulu, Finland
Custos: Professor Paula Hohti,Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture

The thesis challenges us to rethink color as a process-like thing that creates relationships with natural elements, our own perceptions of color and also with technology. The research is a theoretical and experimental re-opening of color. It aims to broaden the debate on color as a multifaceted subject that moves beyond the traditional discourse on color. 

Laaksonen has developed her color research based on her experiences of working with color in art therapy. The research has found a discussion partner in this era in the posthumanist research literature. 

The central research question of the thesis is how the ontology of color changes when color is considered within the framework of posthumanism. This posthumanist research approaches color as an entanglement and intertwining with the world in which the object can no longer be clearly distinguished from human. 

The key finding is that as the ontology of color changes, the place of the human at the centre of everything is undermined and the study of color is shifted into a variety of configurations, influenced by all actors together. The research generates a notion of color as a living assemblage, where color acts as an active and performative agent, constantly creating new relationships with multiple human and non-human others. 

The study is also an intervention in art pedagogy, asking whether current knowledge about color is sufficient or whether global ecological threats challenge the rethinking of colour in the current era of Anthropocene. What and how should color be taught in the future? As the known hierarchies of color dissolve, new interdisciplinary interfaces for the study of color will emerge. 

Rethinking color in a posthumanist framework will provide information on color for use by teachers, art educators, artists, art and art pedagogy researchers and others interested in color. The knowledge that emerges can increase the willingness to tackle ecological challenges, such as biodiversity, and to see different worldviews.

Keywords: color, posthumanism, process ontology, nomadic subject, art pedagogy

Thesis available for public display 10 days prior to the defence at Aaltodoc. 

Contact information: 

www.linkedin.com/in/nina-laaksonen-6a80bb3a
nina.laaksonen@aalto.fi