Phenomenology and Imagination Research Group (PIRG)
PIRG (Phenomenology and Imagination Research Group) was founded in 2013 by artist-researchers, mostly doctorate holders in fine art practice-led research, with the aim to continue to develop their artistic and academic practices. Since the beginning of 2015, the group has expanded to include PhD candidates and currently meets once a month at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton to hold lively discussions around phenomenology and imagination. All members of the group take turns to lead a discussion and a summary of this is published on the WSA Post-Graduate Research blog (http://blog.soton.ac.uk/wsapgr/), with extended comment here on our blog.
During the first year, reading and discussions were dedicated to the writings of French phenomenologist Gaston Bachelard, mostly The Poetics of Space (1994). Bachelard’s phenomenology of the poetic image forms an important part of his research of the human imagination. Our initial aim was to expand our own knowledge and understanding of imagination and phenomenology by creating a dialogue between Bachelard’s writings and our own practices and researches. This has since been extended to include other philosophers, experiential anthropologists and educationalists.
Click here for PIRG artist/researcher profiles.
During the first year, reading and discussions were dedicated to the writings of French phenomenologist Gaston Bachelard, mostly The Poetics of Space (1994). Bachelard’s phenomenology of the poetic image forms an important part of his research of the human imagination. Our initial aim was to expand our own knowledge and understanding of imagination and phenomenology by creating a dialogue between Bachelard’s writings and our own practices and researches. This has since been extended to include other philosophers, experiential anthropologists and educationalists.
Click here for PIRG artist/researcher profiles.