Contextsthe role of research in artistic practiceResearch is a normal part of artistic work in many areas of contemporary art (as
exploration, investigation, trial and error) though only rarely developed as formal
inquiry. We could even consider artistic research as the latest trend in contemporary
art. There is a demand for research ‘from the inside’ arts practices, but various art
forms need time to formulate key issues and develop their own methods. Research
methods could preferably be developed from the working methods existing within a
field and not imposed from the outside (Chapter 5). and this is true for performing
arts as well. many artists are ambitious and artistic research in performing arts can
provide a place for challenging experiments, which are impossible within ordinary show
business. For those critically inclined research can offer a site to question some of the
assumptions of the art world. For those conservatively minded, research can provide a
means to articulate and document the tacit knowledge in the field. For those who want
to focus on the reliability and validity of artistic research as knowledge production, on
equal terms with other research discourses, one way is to try to fulfil all the various
expectations listed by Borgdorff.
art practice – both the art object and the creative process – embodies
situated, tacit knowledge that can be revealed and articulated by means of
experimentation and interpretation. [...] art practice qualifies as research
when its purpose is to broaden our knowledge and understanding through
an original investigation. it begins with questions that are pertinent to the
research context and the art world, and employs methods that are appropriate
to the study. The process and outcomes of the research are appropriately
documented and disseminated to the research community and the wider
public.
(Borgdorff 2006: 16)art as inquiry is more common within fine art, whereas technical and interpretative
skills are in focus within classical music and dance. The task of producing an original
contribution to knowledge and understanding, sounds probably more familiar to
contemporary visual artists, while articulating tacit knowledge from within an existing
practice would seem more familiar to practitioners of performing arts (though, these
kinds of generalizations are doing injustice to the huge variety of approaches).
The terms practice- based research or performance as research are sometimes
preferred in performing arts, rather than art- based or artistic research, as can be seen
in the name of the iFTR (international Federation for Theatre Research) working
group ‘performance as Research’,^4 and in two recent publications Mapping Landscapes
for Performance as Research (Riley and hunter 2009) and Practice- as- research in
Performance and Screen (allegue et al. 2009). This is partly due to a different conception
of art. in performing arts (music, theatre, film, etc.) ‘art’ often describes a sub- genre
or is used as a term of quality (like art films), not for the field as a whole. Research
involving articulation and theorizing of an ongoing practice of acquired (and thus
partly unconscious) skills has an altogether different emphasis than artistic or art- based
research that strives to develop and reflect on an original artwork or design product