Dead Reckoning (n.)
1. A method of calculating one’s position, especially at sea, by estimating the direction and distance traveled from a previous point rather than by using landmarks, astronomical observations or electronic navigation.
2. Predictive calculation based on inference; guesswork.
3. A darn good theme for an issue of Art Lies.
Much writing about contemporary artistic practice utilizes knowledge-acquisition verbs to describe how artists work: artists do not simply “produce,” they “explore,” “examine,” “investigate” or “map.” Perhaps such terms are simply trendy or, more likely, reflect the perceived academization of artistic practice, which frames the studio as a sort of laboratory of cultural production. In reality, however, are such verbs just metaphorical devices or can an artist actually produce knowledge in a manner akin to—albeit soft—science? The knowledge-acquisition impulse is not inherently hermetic; it does have a counterpart in post-studio practice as well. (Think about Hal Foster’s “The Artist as Ethnographer?” or, even further back in time to Walter Benjamin’s seminal text “The Author as Producer,” upon which Foster frames his arguments.)
This issue of Art Lies considers artistic practices that foreground the acquisition and production of knowledge as their subjects. These processes can occur for both the artist and the viewer; subsequently, the dissemination and the reception of information are equally at play. By looking at artistic or theoretical practices that self-reflexively concern acquisition-production and the structuring of knowledge—journeys, experiments, storytelling, cartography, taxonomy, drawing, lectures, exhibitions—perhaps we can reveal something about the relationship between art and knowledge. Or, more generally, an idea about the construction of knowledge—visual or otherwise.
But can artists actually contribute knowledge, not just in their own, insular realm but to other disciplines as well? And does this potential knowledge extend beyond the mere understanding of the appearance of things, or do such efforts amount to epistemological relativism? A major disadvantage of dead reckoning is that since new positions are calculated from previous positions, errors are cumulative. Nor does the system account for wind (pardon!) or currents. Similarly, does contemporary art only challenge existing claims or ways of viewing the world, or can it produce its own—for lack of a better word—truth? And how do we navigate toward it? When lost at sea, it is best to sail in the direction of the sun. At the very least, you can bank on where it sets.
Anjali Gupta, Editor & Kurt Mueller, Guest Editorial Contributor