Maria Bussmann

Sharpening Pencils and Thoughts: Text XX to Drawing

14–26 August 2023

Hegel (philosophical trees), pencil on paper, 20,5 x 28 cm, 2022. Photo: Leni Deinhardstein.

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Media
Drawing, Theory/praxis

Location
Fortress Hohensalzburg

Teaching language
English

What to bring
Pencils, drawing block or sketch book, sharpener, eraser

Requirements
None

Maximum number of participants
20

Co-teacher
Taylan Akarca

Participation fee
€ 640,– (reduced € 480,–)

In this course, we will practise art — primarily the art of drawing — and intertwine it with reading and discussing philosophical texts by Hélène Cixous, Judith Butler and others (previous knowledge of the writers is not required).

Since philosophy has been a "men-only" business for centuries, our focus will be on female authors, feminists, and writers who express an acute gender awareness. This focus on the (queer-)feminist side of philosophy and literature is the gist of XX in the subtitle of the course: the chromosomes that identify the biological female sex. But it also stands for an extension of the usual idea of working with pencil on paper.

Drawing is the archetypal form of artistic expression – the graphic imprint of an artist’s thoughts. It is not for nothing that there are linguistic parallels between thinking and drawing. We sketch ideas, develop lines of argument, and draw conclusions. The intent behind connecting drawing to philosophy is to take these parallels a step further, to open up a stimulating, unobstructed view of this basic creative technique and enable new approaches to using it.

The class will experiment with working in groups, among other approaches. However, quiet work and individual instruction are essential components of the course, along with joint excursions into Salzburg’s natural surroundings and urban environment. Participants will be encouraged to pursue their ideas and imagine new projects.

Maria Bussmann is both an artist and a trained philosopher (PhD). Her works represent an insistent attempt to fathom the epistemological quality of her medium of drawing. Her subjects grow out of her trust in the generative force of philosophy and literature, as well as out of personal references such as temporary places of residence or current political discussions.
Since 2000, she has been a lecturer at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna, at the Institute of Art Theory, and a lecturer in Gender Studies. She also is experienced as curator.

Solo Exhibitions
2021 From Times to Times (with Othmar Eder), Gallery Basement, Vienna. Ungeheuerliche/ outrageous, Gallery Frewein, Vienna. 2019 Stilles Vergnügen/ quiet pleasures, Nordico Museum, Linz (AT). 2018 A Cappuccino for Herrn Adorno, Kunstverein Frankfurt/Oder (DE). 2016 either way, Gallery Frosch & Portmann, New York, NY (US). 2010 Long Beach, Graphic Cabinett, Secession, Vienna

Group exhibitions
2022 Nähe, Distanz und Ausweichchancen/ Closeness, distance and chance to escape, riesa-efau, Kulturform Dresden, Motorenhalle, Dresden (DE). 2021 50 Years Hilger, Gallery Ernst Hilger, Vienna. 2020 Fragile Schöpfung, Dom Museum, Vienna. 2018 Abenteuer Freihandzeichung /Adventure of Drawing, Vereinigung bildenden Künstler, Leipzig (DE). 2004 Museum of Modern Art, Cabinet des Dessins No1, St. Etienne (FR)

Publications
David Carrier, Philosophical Skepticism as the Subject of Art: Maria Bussmann’s Drawings, Bloomsbury Publishing House, London 2022
Maria Bussmann/ Sven Jürgensen, Liebe: Sophie, Briefe aus dem Lockdown über Schellings Freiheitsabhandlung, Passagen Verlag, Vienna 2021
Bilder für Hannah- ein Entstehungsprozess, in Sozialwissenschaftliche Rundschau AT: Hannah Arendt- interdisziplinäre Perspektiven, Heft 2/2021, Jg.61, Vienna 2021.
Maria Bussmann: Allerdings, Zeichnungen und Skulpturen, artist book, Passagen Verlag, Vienna, 2018
Maria Bussmann: Long Beach, NY, artist book, Secession, Revolver Publishing, Berlin, 2010

Education including teaching experience
1987–93 Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg (DE) and Vienna
1999 Ph.D. in philosophy, University of Vienna and Univ. of Applied Arts, Vienna
2002–04 Visiting Scholar (Erwin-Schrödinger- Stipend, FWF) at the State University of New York, NY (US). SUNY at Stony Brook, member of the techno-science-research-group

www.mariabussmann.org