The Artistic Research Catalogue (ARC) is a project funded by the Dutch government (2010–2012) that develops a publication framework for artistic research. This framework is tested in a prototype software used by the Journal for Artistic Research (JAR). JAR is a novel, international, online, Open Access and peer-reviewed journal for the identification, publication and dissemination of artistic research and its methodologies. The development of ARC and JAR is a response to a problem perceived by many researchers in art and design: traditional, academic modes of writing cater little for the needs of artistic researchers who are striving for a greater integration of making and writing.
The present chapter introduces epistemological problems of artistic research, which it relates to recent developments in the history and theory of science, before attempting a definition of what academic writing may be for art and design practitioners. Explaining a number of key concepts from ARC (exposition, weave, aspect, tool and work) the chapter describes software requirements for the publication of artistic research that combine features from academic repositories, museum catalogues, online publishing and e-research. Finally, the chapter suggests that ARC is transdisciplinary in nature due to the fact that all modes of writing can be represented.
