Networked performance as a space for collective creation and student engagement

I begin by discussing the necessity for an explicit aesthetic investigation into distributed performance, some of its particular problematics and stakes, and seek to show how this practice provides an opportunity to reassess and reevaluate some of the traditional questions of aesthetics. But the scope of networked performance extends beyond a reflection confined to the sphere of musical practice. Indeed, questioning the nature of the phenomena that occur in a virtual acoustic space calls for a rethinking of certain assumptions in the light of the philosophy of mind. I explore in detail the implications for both thought and practice of the accentuation of musical space, a notion that in recent practice gains an unprecedented autonomy. I also consider how the knowledge gained through these contemplations can lead us to rethink the notion of the work of art as well as that of the musical object, and possibly the technical object – that is to say, the question of the modes of existence of works as well as of technical objects. All these elements culminate in the question of the work considered natively as an object that expresses itself online, in a plural way, namely as a collective creation that renews student commitment. I end by taking up again the notion of space, now understood as the public space of both music-making and philosophical discussion, and consider the potential for an 'ethics of discussion' seen through the lens of technological artefacts.