Artistic research suggests alternative methods for producing various kinds of knowledge, whether within or without the confines of academe. These methods may involve either the production of investigative artworks or the writing by the artist of a doctoral dissertation about his or her own work. For cultural researchers, the methods employed by artists engaged in these processes are both familiar and challenging, as conventional ethnography is mixed with more unpredictable experiments. This article presents several contemporary artworks, including sculpture, film, dance, installation and performance that explore various aspects of reality. What can be learnt from these works? And what could be achieved by an open exchange between artists and academic researchers? Four methodological approaches are highlighted as being of particular interest. The first relates to artists’ tendency to live experimentally, using themselves both as actors and as research objects. The second arises from the very tangible ways in which contemporary artworks approach the theme of materiality. The third relates to the emotional nature of much of contemporary art – even when it is categorised as conceptual – in its creation, forms of presentation, and influence on the spectator. Finally, many artists are gifted with the ability to find and communicate surprising meanings in ordinary life. How do they do this? Part of the answer seems to be that although artists are open to the implementation of “wild whims”, they exploit their spontaneity in a highly professional manner.
Two old houses by the sea have made me an enthusiastic do-it-yourself man, performing manual work of different kinds. Switching between writing and manual DIY can be experienced as moving between separate realities, where body and mind are employed in different ways. Using autoethnography as a starting point I observe myself performing manual tasks, using various tools. Being an acting subject as well as an observed object I then try to capture complex events in written words. In this process the differences as well as the similarities between building and writing become clearer. For example, the questions of involvement, troubleshooting and aesthetics are crucial in both activities. You have to be mentally present, think hard and be concerned about the look of your result. The reality of manual work is linguistically organized. It is symbolically constructed, learned and communicated. Accomplishing DIY-projects you also need to acquire a tacit knowledge residing in your body. This tension or cooperation between hands, tools and brain seems to be more evident in manual work than in writing. Another difference is that in DIY there are ready-made answers. While building, for example a wood shed, mostly is a linear process where you pretty well in advance know the result, writing can take you almost anywhere. But in the end, switching between these activities, using different tools and senses, has integrated them with each other in everyday life as repeated struggles to create something valid.
The Averted Woman – Subjectivity in Interpretations of Pictures
Having collected seventy-six photographs and paintings of women seen from behind the author is reflecting on the meaning of this motive. Why have the photographers and the painters, mostly men from four centuries, chosen to represent the women by their backs? Are the women just (secretly) observed from behind, or are they actively turning away from the gaze of the onlooker? The author decides for the second interpretation and makes a connection to experiences of averted women in his own childhood and marriages. The conclusive question is: How subjective may a cultural researcher be doing reflexive interpretations?
Autoethnography is a method for cultural research where you are using your own experiences, as a starting point or as examples of more general conditions. You are both the subject and the object of observation. Recently I tried this method in a Do-It-Yourself project, writing field-notes while working as a home fixer with hammer, screw driver and other tools. I found it to be rather tricky to describe manual work with regard to both body and mind. I also reflected on some differences and similarities between writing and DIY. The purpose of self-narrative experiments like this is to improve fieldwork and cultural analysis. By practicing autoethnography you may learn more about the research process and become more conscious of what is going on when you are doing observations and interpreting them.
Between Contemporary Art and Cultural Analysis Artistic research is an alternative way of producing different kinds of knowledge, inside or outside of the Academy. This is accomplished either by producing investigative artworks or by writing a doctoral dissertation about your own work. For cultural researchers the artistic methods utilized in these processes are both familiar and challenging. Ordinary ethnography is mixed with more unpredictable experiments. This article presents several contemporary artworks, such as sculptures, films, dances, installations and performances that explore various aspects of reality. One question asks what is to be learnt from these works. Another question is what an open exchange between artists and academic researchers could attain. Especially four methodological devices are pointed out as interesting subjects for discussion. The first one is that a lot of artists are living experimentally; they make use of themselves both as actors and as research objects. Second, contemporary artworks are approaching the theme of materiality in very tangible ways. Third, much of contemporary art is emotional – even when it is called conceptual – when it comes to the creation, the forms of presentation, and the influence on the spectator. When the artists systematically implement wild whims they exploit their spontaneity professionally. Finally, many artists have the gift to find and show surprising meanings in ordinary life. How do they accomplish that?
Problemlösare och avslöjare – om kulturanalytikerns dubbla uppdrag
Utbildning i praktisk kulturanalys syftar bland annat till att studenterna ska kunna översätta vetenskapligt grundad kulturkunskap till praktiskt användbara insikter i en värld präglad av motsättningar, inte minst kring kön, klass, ålder och etnicitet. Men kulturanalysens värde är inte främst att ge enkla förklaringar till varför folk beter sig som de gör eller snabbt verkande recept mot sociala problem av olika slag, utan i att utveckla förmågan att förstå och reda ut komplicerade sammanhang i människors möten med varandra. I denna text diskuteras vilka svårigheter kulturanalytikerns dubbla uppdrag som problemlösare och avslöjare skapar, men också hur denna lojalitetsparadox kan användas för att förstå det kulturellas betydelse som en både konserverande och förnyande kraft.
What happens when cultural analysis enters the world of applied research and academics become consultants working with corporations and public institutions? The divide between academic research and commercial ethnography has often hampered communication and critical exchanges between these two worlds. In this paper we look at the experiences of consultants, drawing on Danish and Swedish examples. What can we learn from them when it comes to organizing research under time pressure, communicating results and making people understand the potentials of cultural analysis? And how could consultants “out there” benefit from a continuing dialogue with their colleagues in Academia?