The research group Thinking Tools focuses on the concept of the technological apparatus. Through this notion, we investigate how some specific characteristics of photography, the first technical apparatus used in the context of art production, seeped into the wider field of visual art. Through the organisation of several symposia, publications, residencies and individual research trajectories of photographers and visual artists, the impact of ‘the photographic’ on the visual arts is intellectually and artistically examined.

For the definition of what constitutes a technical device, the Thinking Tools research group leans heavily on the insights of the media philosopher Vilèm Flusser. Following his definition of the apparatus as a ‘black box’, we do not consider it as a simple transmission device that faithfully translates the maker’s intentions into a concrete artistic object, but as an autonomously operating partner that intervenes decisively in the production process. read more