Modulations of different kind: An Australian study of artists in academia

Abstract

Drawing on research conducted in Australia between 2006 and 2009, this paper highlights ways in which artist academics utilise innovative research approaches to generate new forms of knowledge within both the traditional and creative research paradigms. Despite this, continued debate about the legitimacy of creative research has impeded the development of a framework within which it can gain systemic recognition. This creates specific difficulties for artist academics who need to rethink the complex relationships and interactions between their academic and creative identities. The paper presents an overview of a study that revealed three distinct views of arts practice as research and suggests that the Australian university system cannot, at this point in time, accommodate the complexities of the relationship between the artist, research and epistemological formation. The results expose the need to further investigate issues of process, originality, terminology, and the existing and potential audiences for traditionally notated research.