Contextsa fourth problem in doctoral research is the fact that most artists begin their
research projects by producing artworks or performances. They start with creation
and exploration, since that is what they know how to do, and become more aware of
methodological and theoretical questions only when they start reflecting upon their
work and writing reports. Then the artworks turn into data and the situation resembles
qualitative research in which one collects material and then formulates questions
prompted by that material, etc. This is a possible method for artistic research, of
course, but why then assess the artworks or performances as part of the dissertation?
Consequently, if performances or artistic parts are used as data, they should not be
examined as research outcomes and if they are evaluated as research outcomes, they
should not take place at the start of the research process.
These and similar problems are dealt with in different ways by different artists and
institutions, and also depending on the traditions of presentation within various art
forms. in my experience it is important to focus on the artworks or artistic practices,
and try to keep them and their needs in mind when planning procedures and creating
research environments, since they are the ones bringing new challenges to (humanistic)
academic customs. if not, artistic work will take place in the margins, off side, almost as
‘illegal pleasures’ compared to the serious part, the ‘real work’ in research seminars. and
this would be rather absurd, if we really want to develop art- based or artistic research.
Problems and possibilitiesso what are the core problems for the further development of artistic research in visual
and performing arts?^7 much depends on what type of research is in question, what the
role of the artwork or the artistic practice is within the research project, and what the
role of research is in the artistic practice in the field in question. a central concern is to
decide for whom the research is for; who is supposed to benefit from the results of the
research, and what is the context for the research. perhaps the core problem of art- based
research or artistic research is to understand what art means in various contexts and
how art (artworks, artists, the art world) is supposed to transform and change thanks to
various forms of research.
another problem could develop if research is the only form of further education
available in arts, since there is a great need among artists to improve their skills, their
status, their thinking and their capacities to engage in society. inevitably artistic
research as a means of career development or artistic development will have other
aims than artistic research as knowledge production. Combining them is possible, but
often complicates matters.
a third problem is almost the opposite, namely, how to incorporate interesting
experimental work that is created outside academia into research The traditional
recipe for this has been the collaboration between prominent experimental artists and
scholars. in that way some level of excellence and expertise is maintained on all levels.
however, this can be counter- productive since it keeps the dichotomies intact, and
could lead to extremely conservative outlooks, even a kind of apartheid. To put it in
another way: it is important that research is developed by artists themselves, otherwise
colonization by traditional ‘scientific’ approaches will continue. and what is more
important, the potential for creating (truly) new questions is overlooked. To put it