Metode vol. 2: Being, Bathing and Beyond
ROM for kunst og arkitektur are proud to announce the publishing of the second volume of Metode, Being, Bathing and Beyond edited by architectural historian and filmmaker Anna Ulrikke Andersen (Associate Professor in art history at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology).
The online journal platform Metode was launched spring 2022, and the first open call for experimental essays was announced. The first volume Deep Surface was published in January 2023.
Metode is a gathering place for work- and text-based thinking in art and architecture where the path is more important than the ultimate goal. The publishing plattform works with open, in-depth peer review method. Metode aims to offer theorists and practitioners a discursive platform for generating original and compelling critical thinking on art, architecture, design, and aesthetics that challenges conventional academic publication formats and disseminations.
The open call for Metode Volume 2 began with the film On Being and Bathing (2021), made by Abi Palmer and Anna Ulrikke Andersen. Looking at Abi’s bathroom and her inflatable bathtub, the film asks how she navigates the spaces she inhabits, uncovering what it might mean to want to become more fluid—or more like water.
Watch the film, the open call asked, and then go beyond: pick up on an idea, a theme, a feeling, or a sensation to delve into in your own unique way.
Titled Being, Bathing and Beyond, the seven contributing authors, scholars and/or artists look at the film and make their move in different directions. The six essays by Júlia Ayerbe, Jeremy Sharma, Pauline Shongov, Jakub Węgrzynowicz, Emma Nilsson and Lutz Koepnick are texts-based essays with and without visual elements. David Turner developed a sound work. Aiming to make the volume accessible to as many people as possible, illustrations have alternative text, and the sound work is accompanied by both a written script and a written description of the audio.
The word “method”—or in Norwegian, metode—comes from Ancient Greek and means “the way to follow.” In the field of art and architecture, the term refers to the work process behind the work, while in a research context the term refers to the work process behind the research result. Although the term is often associated with precision, planning, and positioning, the term also implies challenges, unpredictability, and a notion of the unknown.
Metode is run by ROM for kunst og arkitektur: Editor-in-Chief Ingrid Halland, editorial assistant Solveig Tjetland and director Gjertrud Steinsvåg. The editorial board for Volume 2 consists of Victoria Bugge Øye, Wolfgang Hottner, Gustav Jørgen Pedersen, and Gunhild Mathea Olaussen.
Metode is generously supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
