'The production of knowledge in artistic research by Henk Borgdorff' 1 Notes by Magda Wegrzyn
The text written by Henk Borgdorff examines the term artistic research as a form of knowledge from various perspectives. The author highlights the fact that the term artistic research connects two domains: art and academia. He underlines the specific border violation which as a process can be good for both of them. He introduces the term artistic development and claims that artistic research conduce to development of the art. Borgdoff is taking into account that in a debate, the distinction between art practice on itself and art practice as a research is a matter of discussion. In the first section he introduces us to the problem how we can understand artistic research through art practice. He distinguishes four specific aspects of artistic research: subject, method, context and outcome. He notices differences between research on the arts, for the arts and research in the arts. In this section he gives us also conjectural definition of an artistic research which is: 'artistic research embedded in artistic and academic contexts - is the articulation of the unreflective, non conceptual content enclosed in aesthetic experiences, enacted in creative practices and embodied in artistic products.' In the second section he is trying to explain a similarities and differences between artistic research and other academics disciplines in which the research are made such us: humanities, aesthetics, social science, and science and technology. The third part deals with the questions if artistic research can be regarded as academic research. He is marking out the terms such us: 1. Intent. 2. Knowledge and understanding, 3. Questions, issues problems and method, 5. Context, 6. Documentation and dissemination. When it comes to discussing the last part we can notice dealing which such terms us non – conceptualism where 'part of the significance and singularity of artistic research seems to lie in its appraisal and articulation of this pre – reflective knowledge as embodied in art practices and products' I consider this statement especially useful when we start talking about a painting. When he writes about realism I am also thinking about painting as a medium. Medium which - when looking on it seems to me to be a real and an unreal in the same time. Painting as both fiction and reality. This is also connected with the third emphasized by Borgdoff term: contingency on which painting as a medium must be prepared for. In conclusion, after reading the text we can notice that it is not easy task to deal with the term artistic research and thereby with the question what do we mean by it. Although Henk Borgdorff is considering the artistic research in the context of an academia I think that artistic research does not need an institutional framework of academy and it can be legitimized in a different way. I think that the academia is one possible option and the artistic research can be made within different kind of institution, systems, structures. An academia as a place - depending on artist's needs can stimulates his idea, give a place for discussion and collaboration. I think that is also worth to keep in mind that an artist is a part of reality, society it is part of the world' s here and now and depending on the place where he/she lives/works, it is a part of where. It is part of the structure. The artist is no more a sole genius working alone according to the romantic tradition but as part of institutionalized world must to learn how to collaborate or maybe I should use the word deal with this fact. An academia as a system, as a structure can be such place for collaboration. I also think that an academia as an institution should 1 Borgdorff, Henk, The Production of Knowledge in Artistic Research. In: Michael Biggs and Henrik Karlsson (eds.) The Routledge Companion to Research in the Arts, London and New York: Routledge, 2010, pp. 44-63.
learn/ should be able to know how to deal with another non academic researchers.