The Material Life of Visual-Textual Pairs

Authors

• Marzieh Mosavarzadeh, University of VictoriaFollow
• Ken Morimoto, Tokyo Gakugei UniversityFollow
• Rita L. Irwin, The University of British ColumbiaFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9569-9242

Abstract

This visual essay follows the material lives of visual-textual pairs within a collaborative a/r/tographic  inquiry, attending to how their changing forms invite relations we could not anticipate. Beginning as a  digital exchange of photographs and texts between two collaborators, the inquiry expanded to include a third collaborator and later took the form of hinged, foldable cards shared at a conference round-table. Through gestures of lifting, revealing, passing, and (re)arranging, the pairs became participants in a collective inquiry, opening possibilities beyond their creators’ intentions. We wonder what becomes of inquiry when the gestures through which we share the work begin to alter the work itself. Thinking with (re)texturing, we explore how pairing loosens from fixed correspondence into provisional gatherings of images, words, materials, and people. The essay considers the pedagogical possibilities of attending to what these encounters set in motion, allowing both the pairs and the inquiry to remain open to being otherwise composed.

Author Biography

Marzieh Mosavarzadeh is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Art education at the University of Victoria. With a PhD in Curriculum Studies, she brings together a/r/tography, arts-based research, and place-based pedagogy through experiential and collaborative practices. Her work traces how we make, inhabit, and (re)turn to places in connection with others. Ken Morimoto is a Research Fellow at Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan. With a PhD in Curriculum Studies from The University of British Columbia, Canada, his research interests include a/r/ tography, arts-based research, and philosophy of education. Rita L. Irwin is a Distinguished University Scholar and Professor Emerita of Art Education at The University of British Columbia, Canada. She is best known for employing a/r/tography in a range of contexts

Recommended Citation

Mosavarzadeh, Marzieh; Morimoto, Ken; and Irwin, Rita L. (2026) "The Material Life of Visual-Textual Pairs," Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal: Vol. 11: Iss. 1, Article 9.
Available at: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/atj/vol11/iss1/9