26 research outputs found
Situating creative artefacts in art and design research
This paper aims at discussing the positions of art and design artefacts and their making in a practice-led research process. Three creative productions and exhibitions featuring my textile artefacts inclusively carried out for tackling specific research problems are examined as case studies. The first two cases include the production of two series of artworks and exhibitions namely Seeing Paper and Paper World created as part of completed doctoral research entitled Paperness: Expressive Material from an Artistʼs Viewpoint. The study examines the relationship between a physical material and artistic expression in textile art and design. The third case includes the production of a series of luminous objects called The White Light. These objects are expected to generate a discussion on boundaries between functional and aesthetic objects and those between art, craft and design disciplines. Both cases exemplify the roles of creative productions and artefacts situated in the process of inquiry. Throughout a practice-led research process, art and design artefacts can serve as inputs into knowledge production and as outputs for knowledge communication. As inputs, both art productions and artefacts can be the starting point of a research project from which the research questions are formulated. They can also provide data for analysis from which knowledge are constructed. As outputs, artefacts can indicate whether the research problem requires reformulation, demonstrate the experiential knowledge of the creative process, and strengthen findings articulated in the written output. Creative practice in a research context can contribute to generating or enhancing knowledge, which is embedded in the practice and embodied in and by the practitioner. This knowledge can be obtained in the artist creating the artefact, the artefact created, the process of making it, and the culture in which it is produced and viewed or used, all taking place at a different stage of a research process
Material inspiration: the practice-led research of a craft artist
A tangible material is a primary element in the everyday
creative practice of any craft artist. Although craft artists
implicitly understand the expressive aspects of the tangible
material they use to create their artworks, they rarely discuss
or give a written account of them. In this paper, I present a
way in which my practice-led research on the expressivity
and materiality of a fiber material can shape the total artistic
process as well as the resulting artworks and their meanings.
The research generates the conception of materialness in
fiber art, which can assist fiber artists and other craft artists in
creating aesthetic and meaningful artworks
Reflection and documentation in practice-led design research
In the past, design support programmes for
companies with little or no design experience have
focused on match-making between designers and
SMEs. In addition, it has been recognised that
design support should be about the business and
leadership role of design and about promoting
design tools as well as design management
methods. However, a sustainable introduction of
new design knowledge involves a process of
organisational learning on the side of the SME.
How exactly companies absorb new design
knowledge has been underinvestigated. There is
also a lack of a tool to analyse or guide such a
learning process. Based on the Absorptive
Capacity and the Dynamic Capability constructs,
this paper proposes a Design Management
Absorption Model to measure the progression of
new design knowledge absorption. This model,
which connects the three streams of innovation,
strategic management and design studies, makes a
contribution to practitioners from national design
support programmes, to the design practice working with SMEs as well as to companies
themselves. It represents a blueprint and an
instrument for the analysis of a learning journey to
introduce design management capabilities in
companies with little or no design experience
The role of documentation in practice-led research
Practice-led research in the field of art and design usually involves a study
of the interplay between a researcher-practitioner and her artistic work in
process. This article seeks to illustrate that documentation of art practice
can be a means to record that interplay and it can be used as relevant
material in practice-led research. The article will present an account of
documentation in practice-led research highlighting two principal aspects:
phases of documentation and the role of documentation within the overall
research process. The account will capture reflections of the author’s own
practice-led research in fiber art, which investigates the relationship
between materials and artistic expression, in the context of contemporary
art
Hands-on intellect: integrating craft practice into design research
Over the last two decades, craft practice has played a considerable role in practice-led design research, especially as the subject and the vehicle for theoretical inquiry. This article aims to reveal how craft as a way of thinking through material can be incorporated into practice-led design research. The author’s completed dissertation exploring the expressivity of materials in textiles is used to exemplify how craft can drive a practice-led research process and how research can enhance craft practice. The dissertation exemplifies how the author employed her own craft practice as the main method for design research. The method was utilized in relation to Merleau-Ponty’s and Heidegger’s phenomenology and the method of questioning viewers during two exhibitions featuring artifacts resulting from the author’s craft practice. Positioning craft practice in a research context can facilitate the reflection and articulation of knowledge generated from within the researcher-practitioner’s artistic experience, so that the knowledge becomes explicit as a written text or as a means of visual representation. Research can not only transform ways of designing or making artifacts, but also theoretically inform practice so that the practice can develop the practitioner’s aesthetic intelligence, the results of which are craft objects that can be understood more easily by viewers
Problems of practice-based Doctorates in Art and Design: a viewpoint from Finland
Although the development of practice-based art and design research in Finland can be clearly recognised in an
outstanding number of edited books, the number of completed doctorates and researchers who utilise this
approach seems to gradually diminish and the approach itself is not well accepted within academic research
communities. This paper aims to identify problems that hinder the progress of practice-based doctorates in art
and design, by examining the forms of practice-based doctoral dissertations accepted in five Finnish art
universities. A major problem of practice-based doctorates in art and design is the unconvincing argument that
practice as such is a form of research inquiry without need for further validation and explanation. This ought to
be solved in order to establish practice-based doctorates in art and design in a larger academic context
Situating creative artifacts in art and design research
This article aims to discuss the position of art and design artifacts, and their creation, in a practice-led research process. Two creative productions and exhibitions featuring my textile artifacts were intentionally carried out in order to tackle a specific research problem, and these will be examined here as case studies. These cases cover the production and exhibition of two sets of artworks, named Seeing Paper and Paper World, that were created as part of my completed doctoral research entitled Paperness: Expressive Material inTextile Art from an Artist’s Viewpoint. The study examined the relationship between a physical material and artistic expression in textile art and design. Both cases exemplify the roles of creative productions and artifacts situated in the process of inquiry. Throughout a practice-led research process, art and design artifacts can serve as inputs into knowledge production and as outputs for knowledge communication. As inputs, both art productions and artifacts can be the starting point of a research project from which the research question is formulated. They can also provide data for analysis from which knowledge is constructed. Asoutputs, artifacts can indicate whether the research problem requires reformulation, demonstrate the experiential knowledge of the creative process, and strengthen the findings articulated in the written output. Creative practice in a research context can contribute to generating or enhancing the knowledge which is embedded in the practice and embodied by the practitioner. This knowledge or insight can be obtained from the artist creating the artifact, the artifact created, the process of making it, and the culture in which it is produced and viewed or used, all taking place at different stages of a research process
Creation of artifacts as a vehicle for design research
Although material artifacts, with their forms and
meanings, have manifested the significance of craft
design practice, their role and the role of their
creative productions in design research have rarely
been discussed. This paper aims to uncover how
the creation of artifacts can serve as a vehicle of
design research. My doctoral research, which
explores the relationship between a physical
material and artistic expression in the creation of
textile art and design, is given as the example. The
research emphasizes the utilization of the
researcher’s design artifacts and their productions
as a vehicle of theoretical inquiry. The study offers
the conception of materialness, which is the
potential of a physical material to express
meanings through its physicality to the designer
and audience
Voice of material in transforming meaning of artefacts
When practitioners adopt craft as the major diligence of their creative practice, they naturally create work for not only the design context but also the art one. The nature of craft that involves direct experience, personal vision and mastery of a medium retains ‘material-based’ fields of practice, such as ceramics and textiles, for which practitioners tend to create both functional and aesthetic artefacts. Textile practitioners recognise the importance of material as the fundamental element for constructing visual, physical artefacts. However, the written accounts of the meaning of material in shaping the artistic process is barely contemplated and reflected. This paper looks at craft as a personal experiential process for creating textiles and unfolds how a material can construct the tangibility of artefacts and simultaneously generate particular meanings to them. It is based on my published PhD thesis that examines the relationship between material and artistic expression in the creation of textiles. My textile practice was included in the research process to examine this relationship. In this paper, specific productions and exhibitions are scrutinised in order to exemplify how a material can transform the meaning of artefacts. The main finding of this research is a concept called ‘materialness’. The concept shows that a material can lead not only a craft making process, but also the process of viewing completed artefacts. Materialness is the totality of the textile creation rooted in a material that includes the elements of form, content, context and time for the artefact. This concept is experiential knowledge that is made explicit because of the practice-led research approach and careful documentation. The inclusion of practice in the research process facilitates the communication of the tacit part of experiential knowledge, so that the meaning of material in textile creation can be articulated
Material inspiration: from practice-led research to craft art education
Craft art discourse has centred on the use of physical materials. In Finland, craft art students
are trained to understand various techniques and the materiality of their chosen medium.
However, the materiality is often taught in terms of physical properties (e.g. tensile,
elasticity, etc.). Conceptual or expressive properties (e.g. feel, impression, etc.) are hardly
discussed and it is left to students to experiment with these properties in their studio practice.
The conceptual issues of craft art practice concerning the use of materials thus remain
personal and implicit. This article illuminates how the conception of ‘materialness’ generated
from within practice-led research in textile art can stimulate students’ creativity in relation to
physical materials and enable them to design the meaning and aesthetic of their work more
intentionally. The consideration of materialness can thus serve as a useful means for textile
artists and other craft artists in creating meaningful artworks with any chosen materials