observe (v.)
late 14c., observen, “to hold to (a manner of life or course of conduct), carry out the dictates of, attend to in practice, to keep, follow,” from Old French observer, osserver “to observe, watch over, follow” (10c.), from Latin observare “watch over, note, heed, look to, attend to, guard, regard, comply with,” from ob “in front of, before” (see ob-) + servare “to watch, keep safe,” from PIE root *ser- (1) “to protect.” Sense of “watch, perceive, notice” is from 1560s, via the notion of “see and note omens.” Meaning “to say by way of remark” is from c. 1600. Related: Observed; observing.
the observatory is an artist-academic open platform which has been formed by frida robles, thomas crowley and ujjwal kanishka utkarsh. The reason we are calling it a platform is because the intention is to have a space which different people traverse through. The constitution of the group and the projects we undertake is not really fiXed thereby. Some of us or all of us can and do take up projects and works which might still be under the umbrella of the observatory. It is also not that we work together exclusively. We find what each of us bring to the table and to each other’s practice as fruitful and enriching in our own journeys.
frida a conceptual performance artist also works as a curator and an academic.
thomas a political geographer is an academic and is very interested in teXt based practices.
ujjwal makes films and works with moving image arts. He is also very interested in artistic research practices.
Through their intersecting paths they are collaborating to make different projects and different aspects of projects together. Right now they are focusing on an artistic research project ‘Commemorating a Revolution yet to come’. The project is revolving around the small town Mahad in Maharashtra, India. And hence,
the observatory at mahad : mahad.theobservatory.at
Somewhere these engagements and intersections between the three formally started with ujjwal’s practice based PhD project which resulted in a film revolving around a 10 day anti caste protest rally titled ‘Chalo Una’ (Come! Let’s march to Una). And hence,
the observatory at una: una.theobservatory.at
the observatory is officially registered as a kulturverein, (a cultural association) in vienna, austria.
Founded by Frida Robles & ujjwal kanishka utkarsh, we want to remain observant. For us that means to be attentive to, to listen to, to be open to the univers