Critical work is an important force and one that contemporary art generally lends itself to. But it is also an outside force, that is, the work of an external view of a specific field. Departing from those principles and from their historical contingency - in articulation with knowledge, social reform and progress-, the talk will reflect on the implications of art as research (coalescing theory and practice) to suggest that anti-dualistic systems of thought, such as Actor-Network-Theory and Pragmatism, can offer alternative tools and be resourceful in the process of unlocking the work of art.

Can we comprehend and disturb, i.e. be critical, from the inside? Can we bridge the distance between knowing and acting and is there any political gain in this shift of paradigms? Does it change anything in terms of art production? These are some of the questions that will be raised and subsequently used to instigate open discussion.