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Submission Number: 177
Submission ID: 229
Submission UUID: 96294932-525f-4016-9b00-aff89560bdec
Submission URI: /form/submit-contribution
Created: Thu, 26 Feb 2026 - 10:45
Completed: Sat, 28 Feb 2026 - 16:37
Changed: Wed, 13 May 2026 - 08:14
Remote IP address: 173.249.255.191
Submitted by: Ivar Roban Križić
Language: English
Is draft: No
Current page: webform_confirmation
| Given name | Ivar |
|---|---|
| Surname | Roban Križić |
| krizic@mdw.ac.at | |
| I understand that by submitting this form, I consent to the use of my data for the purposes of the 2026 Forum on Artistic Research'. | Yes |
| I agree to the terms of service. | Yes |
| Title | Performing Reflection: Orality, Artificial Memory, and Improvised Thought |
| Format | Project presentation |
| Main language | English |
| Abstract | This contribution presents a new development of Performing Reflection, an artistic research practice that stages musical improvisation and improvised speech within a shared performative structure. Initially conceived as a way of making reflection-in-action audible during free improvisation, the practice has gradually shifted toward memory as a compositional and epistemic problem. Drawing on oral traditions and the classical art of memory, it reconsiders forms of discourse structured without external writing. In both cases, extended forms are organized through cultivated mnemonic architectures—internal spatial or relational frameworks that enable recall and recomposition. Composition does not depend on fixed inscription but on structured internal navigation. Developed within the research framework Spirits in Complexity, this work approaches memory not as storage but as relational encounter. Improvised recall does not retrieve intact content; it establishes contact with traces that persist within speech and sound, exposing how material is reshaped through its reactivation. Verbal and musical improvisation thus reveal distinct yet interconnected modes of mnemonic organization. The presentation examines how such internal mnemonic systems can be reactivated within contemporary artistic research. In a cultural landscape shaped by optimization, narrative standardization, and externalized storage, artificial memory can be understood as an endangered conceptual practice. It proposes embodied mnemonic composition as a situated and resilient mode of organizing knowledge that foregrounds memory as structured encounter rather than archive. |
| Link to the Exposition | https://www.researchcatalogue.net/shared/a196b76ae57186dfe026522b4f6ddbf5 |
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| Short biographies of the presenter(s) |
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| Previous presentations or iterations of the research | The broader Performing Reflection practice was developed as part of a doctoral artistic research project (2021–2024) and presented in various artistic and academic contexts. The specific exploration of artificial memory as a structuring method for verbal-musical improvisation represents a new iteration that has not yet been formally presented in this form. |
| Additional information | The contribution can be presented as a lecture-performance combining spoken contextualization with short performative demonstrations. The format alternates between conceptual framing and improvised activation of mnemonic structures, allowing the audience to experience how artificial memory operates in real time. The presentation can also be adapted to a standard project presentation format if required. |
| Spatial and technical requirements | If presented as a lecture-performance and a double bass is available on site, the contribution can take place in an intimate setting without amplification. In a larger room, a headset microphone for the voice and a standard PA system would be appropriate. |
| Potential risks or ethical concerns | No specific ethical risks are anticipated. |
| Create a user account for SAR 2026 | Yes |
| Create new user | Ivar Roban Križić |