Research ANd Development

In 1948, the RAND Corporation (RAND being a
portmanteau of Research ANd Development) split off
from the US military's Project RAND to form an
"independent" research and development group,
adding a third descriptor to what became known as
the military-industrial-academic complex. RAND's
chief strategist Herman Kahn (the model for Dr.
Strangelove in Kubrick's 1964 film), in his book
On Thermonuclear War (1960, Princeton University
Press), introduced the concept of a "Doomsday
Machine"- a fully automated system that would
launch nuclear weapons in response to an enemy
attack- reinforcing the doctrine of Mutually
Assured Destruction (MAD) that triggered the arms
race between the US and Soviet Union.

Research and Development hasn't always been
employed to such nihilistic ends: Leonardo's
anatomical studies of cadavers, Joseph Nicéphore
Niépce's chemical fixture of the first
photographic image, Piet Mondrian's designation of
his painting studio a "laboratory", and the
research-driven work of conceptual artists like
Hans Haacke, Robert Barry, and Christine Koslov
exemplify artists employing the tools of Research
and Development. Contemporary research and
development-driven practices such as those of
Renee Green, Hito Steyerl, Olafur Eliasson, Anicka
Yi, and Pierre Huyghe employ the advanced research
techniques and production processes of scientific
research and technoscientific development.

Research ANd Development offers participants an
introduction to a wide array of research and
development tools and approaches and concentrated
time to engage in advanced research and creative
and technical practices. Past guests have included
research-based artists and curators, archivists, a
private detective, and a researcher for the
television show Jeopardy. Participants in the
course discuss and present concepts, processes,
technologies, and critical issues related to the
continuing development of their practices and
individual bodies of work. Research ANd
Development is required of all MFA-2 Art and
Technology students, is open to other MFAs, and to
undergraduates by permission of the instructor.