Curriculum Vitae
Barb Macek, born in Bruck/Mur, Austria, studied psychology with focus on psychopoetology, and Art & Science at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, receiving the degree Master of Arts in 2018. As a fellow (DOC) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, she completed the scientific doctoral programme at the Institute of Fine Arts and Media Arts / University of Applied Arts Vienna, receiving the degree Doctor of Philosophy (December 2023). As an author and photographer her texts, poems, and photo collages are printed in journals, magazines, and anthologies. She also published two monographs, „sehen & nicht sehen“ (publisher Czernin), and „Lykanthropus erythematosus“ (published by the University of Applied Arts Vienna). She received several state grants for her art projects, most recently a scholarship for literature in 2021. As an artistic researcher she gave talks on International Conferences (Weimar 2022, Vienna 2021, Zurich and Linz 2019, Berlin 2017) on the subject of art / poetry based research in the fields of medicine (pain medicine and rheumatology) and philosophy (philosophical anthropology); she held workshops (Vienna 2023) and also presented her works in form of lecture performances (Kunsthaus Mürz 2021, 2023). From October 2017 to July 2018 she worked as a tutor at the Medical University of Vienna within a transdisciplinary project to develop new ways of medical anamnesis. Her installations based on her artistic research projects were shown within the exhibitions „[dis]placement“ (2016), and „Essence 2017“ as well as „Essence 2019“ (University of Applied Arts Vienna). In September 2018 her Art & Science-project on pain: „Between Agony and Ecstasy – Investigations into the Meaning of Pain“ was published in the peer-reviewed Journal for Artistic Research (JAR 16). In December 2019 the publication of an article on artistic research on the margins of medicine and mythology in the peer-reviewed Journal RUUKKU – Studies in Artistic research followed. In November 2018 she received the Award of Excellence of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research for her academic achievement. In March 2019 the Prize for Excellent Research Catalogue Exposition 2018 was awarded to her in the scope of the 10th SAR International Conference on Artistic Research at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste for her artistic research project on pain. In November 2019 her book „Lykanthropus erythematosus“ was published by the University of Applied Arts Vienna and presented within the event series third place. In August 2021 she received a two-year DOC Fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) for her doctoral project: “Autoimmunity and Anthropological Difference”. With this artistic research project at the intersection of medicine, biology, philosophy and poetry she explored the existential meaning of autoimmunity. It ended in December 2023 with the finalisation of her dissertation. Her new project is based on the research results of “Autoimmunity and Anthropological Difference” and continues the search for the meaning of autoimmunity on various levels and disciplines, aiming at a new theory of autoimmunity. List of Publications (Selection): Macek, B. (2024, in preparation). Blending worlds with mending words: How to create the patient as a poem. In SAR (ed.), Mend – Blend – Attend. Contributions from the 13th SAR Conference – International Conference on Artistic Research 2022. Macek, B. (2023). Exercises in Existential Eccentricity. Reposition. Journal of reflective Positions in Art & Research (peer-reviewed), 1, 57-72. doi:10.22501/repos.1840999. Macek, B. (2023). Polymutation. Typografic Interpretations of Autoimmunity. Poems by Barb Macek. In Collaboration with Lucy Roberts and Stefanie Schwarz. Stuttgart: Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart. Macek, B. (2022). der weg des hasen. sfd& tiere – zeitschrift der schule für dichtung wien, 4, 58-60. Macek, B. (2020). Poetologische Anamnese. Die Rampe – Hefte für Literatur, 4/20, 86-87. Macek B. (2020, June 15). UN/MASK/ING POETRY. Hufak E-Zine, 1, 21. Macek, B. (2019, December 31). Lycanthropus erythematosus. Artistic Research on the Margins of Medicine and Mythology. Ruukku Journal (peer-reviewed) / Studies in Artistic Research, 12 [online], doi:10.22501/ruu.607127. Macek, B. (2019). Lykanthropus erythematosus. Reisebericht / Prosagedicht / Lyrikserie / Fallstudie. Wien: Verlag der Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien. Macek, B. (22. Mai 2019). Schmerz als Zeitphänomen. Image tableau. In D. Griesser, Expeditionen in den Schmerz und andere unerforschte Gefilde. Der Standard, Forschung spezial, S. 27. Macek, B. (2018, September 28). Between Agony and Ecstasy: Investigations into the Meaning of Pain. Journal of Artistic Research (peer reviewed), 16 [online], doi:10.22501/jar.308804 Macek, B. (2017). Pain Cut Bone Blood. Experiments in research-creation: a multi-voiced, multi-perspective approach to pain. In B. Kräftner (Hrsg.), Caring – Enactments of Heterogeneous Relationships (S. 34- 45). Vienna: University for Applied Arts Vienna. Macek, B. (2016). Crows Death Talks. Lyrik. Wien: Eigenverlag. Macek, B. (2014). Autoimmune Transformationen. Projektvorstellung. In Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien (Hrsg.), out of the box. (Lecture-)Performances zu undisiziplinierter Wissensproduktion (S. 27). Wien: Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien. Macek, B. (2009). Insomnia. In Literaturhaus Zürich (Hrsg.), Texte des Monats (S. 35-43). Zürich: ropress. Macek, B. (2009). Danke, nichts. In S. Treudl (Hrsg.), Schöne Versager (S. 104-106). Wien: Edition Aramo. Macek, B. (2007). von fünf zu einem stern – reise zwischen zwei welten in 80 minuten. In M. Stiller & S. Treudl (Hrsg.), Hotels (S. 179-188). Wien: Edition Aramo. Macek, B. (2007). Bewegte Zeiten. In W. Kühn, M. Stiller & S. Treudl (Hrsg.), In vollen Zügen … vom Warten und Reisen (S. 49-53). Wien: Edition Aramo. Macek, B. (2007). neue sonne, Macondo, 18, 11-12. Macek, B. (2006). sehen & nicht sehen. Roman. Wien: Czernin Verlag.
