Prof. Dr. Mona Schieren

Kunst und Design

Transkulturelle Kunstwissenschaften

Vita

Mona Schieren studierte Kunstgeschichte und Philosophie an der Universität Hamburg und der Villa Arson, École nationale supérieure d'art, Nizza. Ihre Dissertation „Transkulturelle Übersetzung im Werk von Agnes Martin. Zur Konstruktion asianistischer Ästhetiken in der amerikanischen Kunst nach 1945" (2016) wurde jüngst mit dem International Publication Award der College Art Association ausgezeichnet und erscheint nun auch in englischer Sprache. Mona Schieren ist seit 2021 Professorin für Transkulturelle Kunstwissenschaften an der HfK, wo sie als wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin das europäische Forschungsprojekt Gama. Gateway to Archives of Media Art (bis 2009) konzipierte und leitete.Weitere Lehrtätigkeit unter anderem an der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, der Università IUAV Venedig, Guangxi Arts Institute, Nanning und der Universität Hamburg. 2011 erhielt sie den Terra Foundation Travel Grant für das Getty Research Institute Los Angeles. Seit 2019 ist sie Mitherausgeberin von FKW Zeitschrift für Geschlechterforschung und visuelle Kultur.

Sie ist Mitglied im DFG Forschungsnetzwerk Entangled Histories of Art and Migration: Forms, Visibilities, Agents und im SNF-Forschungsprojekt Materialisierte Erinnerungen (in) der Landschaft der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste.

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Current courses

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ART >>>>=×=÷+/–=˜> THERAPY
Can artistic production be a tool for mending ecological anxiety? In how far can artistic work be therapeutic? What is considered a “normal” behavior or state of being and what is characterized as “mentally ill” behavior? Possible relationships between art and therapy have often been downplayed by the artistic side. Especially the fields of art and art therapy, they are frequently considered separately. The term therapy refers to a variety of treatments aimed at helping individuals identify and change troubling emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. The seminar aims to connect sustainable modern and contemporary art practices to critical medical and health humanities, disability studies, critical race studies, gender and sexuality studies. The course will explore issues of agency and social justice through interactions with a variety of practice settings, including clinics, prisons, art schools, museums, and galleries. It focuses on often marginalized groups such as children, the incarcerated, female artists, therapists, and care workers, highlighting their contributions as well as perspectives. The seminar thus aims “not only to expand the category of masterworks that art historians deem meaningful but also to expose the limitations of dominant narratives about modernism” as Suzanne Hudson and Tanja Sheehan state in Modernism, Art, Therapy (2024). Despite the long-standing stereotypical linkage between artistic “genius” and “madness” of the 19th century being unpacked especially by feminist art histories, it persists to this day. The figure of the melancholic or even depressed artist is still a strong identification model. The seminar will explore the works e.g. of Henri Matisse, Bauhaus, László Moholy-Nagy, Ilya Kabakov, Anton Vidokle, and the Otolith Group. We will discuss Mohamed Bourouissa's film, which follows the work of Franz Fanon as a psychiatrist in the 1950s before he joined the Algerian resistance movement. It will consider Kader Attia's work, which addresses colonial trauma and debates 'therapeutic' approaches in different cultural contexts. Additionally, we will investigate Harlem art schools and the French antipsychiatry movement of Fernand Deligny. We will also examine the artistic work of Anna Halprin through Gestalt therapy, the work of Lygia Clark inspired by the Brazilian (anti)psychiatry movement, and the contributions of Félix Guattari. Furthermore, the seminar will explore somatic therapeutic practices and yoga therapies experimented for unlearning processes within artistic contexts. Integrating body-centered approaches and mindfulness into artmaking creates a space for self-awareness and empathy, promoting personal and societal change through art. Talks with philosopher Angela Donini, artist Cana Bilier-Meier and a martial arts workshop with Stephan Thierbach will debate working with body practices as artistic strategies. Visits of the exhibition Banu Çiçek Tülü Aural Flesh, at GAK Bremen are planned.