[-empyre-] Tactical Media - university research - knowledge production

[Sarah Cook]

I suppose this comment from Marc is exactly what I was trying to get  
at by using myself as a case study in my earlier post. I see my role  
as engaged in redefining the edges of the research I am undertaking,  
through my own practice. I am aware that other students and  
researchers look at the methods I've used, and the 'outcomes', to  
structure their own investigations in the field. That implies some  
kind of responsibility, which I'd like to think all creative  
practitioners within universities share. In the UK, our latest  
Research Assessment Exercise (RAE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 
Research_Assessment_Exercise) called on our work to be evaluated  
according to Originality, Rigour, and Significance. All vague and  
wishy-washy terms, but what's coming sounds even harder to evaluate  
-- Impact: on society, on economy, on policy, even on quality of  
life. How big are the knots we are going to have to tie ourselves  
into to claim that our art projects have impact? This discussion list  
would serve as evidence in the case of bang lab's work. I'm going to  
have to befriend many more journalists, and make my outcomes more  
marketable. Urgh.
I digress, but self-awareness of how artistic production is valued  
within the university research machine is indeed something to learn  
and share our individual experiences of.
As Beatriz wrote:
"The "problem" that arises is that suddenly all the work has to be  
presented as "research" and once something is called "research" the  
outside expectations as to what that is, what function it should  
fulfill and within which boundaries it should operate really change."
So are there tactics for managing expectations?
from a muggy morning in Ottawa,
sarah





On 2 May 2010, at 02:28, Marc Böhlen wrote:

> I think the discussion is hitting terminology walls again.  
> ‘Knowledge production’ can mean so much. And I would argue that the  
> arts can (but don’t have to) produce knowledge. There is ample  
> evidence that artists have contributed to knowledge in interface  
> design, for example. Also, ‘production’ does not mean exclusively  
> ‘making’, but also reflecting on, criticizing, contextualizing.
>
> The advantage of casting art practices as a form of research is  
> that the reason for being at a research university is self- 
> evident.  The comparatively large amount of time one has for free  
> experimentation is still without equal in industry. Also, it gives  
> students more time to engage in their own work and to receive  
> funding (to some degree at least). These are clear advantages that  
> applied schools do not have.
>
> What lies ahead, I think, is the exploration of new venues of  
> interfacing to the research university machinery

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