I was working on the draft for my next Fish Plant blog posting when this arrived in my mailbox. I thought it would be interesting to digress from the usual format of showing a few images and waxing poetic on process to post this article as it addresses issues around interdisciplinary research projects like the CURRA; of which I am a participant. I have tried to embed the article on this post, if you don’t see it below, please go here.
The article articulates a dynamic discussion on how research is done. In my view, we have moved away from observing the world and given data and statistical analysis a primary role in understanding the phenomena and relationships that frame our view of the world in most, if not all, aspects of study. This is neither a positive or a negative, every tool we can assemble to try and understand our role in our socio-ecosystems should be used in unison.
But I do feel that we don’t lift our heads above our spreadsheets and deliverables long enough to actually smell and look at the roses. I like to think that this is where cultural producers and philosophers can contribute actively to accumulating and synthesizing a type of data that can bring observation back into the equation in a dynamic and original way. An aesthetic centred research practice does not necessarily exclude scientific investigation; it may well complicate things since it is not quantitative and its qualitative aspect can sometimes require a bit of work on the part of, for lack of a better word, stakeholders. These are examples of work where artists were given the latitude and freedom to explore, investigate and present findings in a manner that challenges and augments the assembling of data.