1.0 Creative Practice as Research: Theory and Methodology
The role that creative activity plays within academic institutions is contested,1 and there is much debate on whether artistic acts may be considered research at all. The skepticism towards research-creation2 comes from some academics and artists who believe that creative practice cannot meaningfully contribute to, and is stifled by, academic modes of inquiry. This chapter discusses the literature on research-creation by answering two fundamental questions: (1) “how is creative practice research?” and (2) “what methods are appropriate for carrying out creative practice as research?”
To answer the first question, I address the topic of research-creation in general, beginning by summarizing common arguments against creative practice as research and then, centring on the work of Henk Borgdorff and Sandeep Bhagwati, I discuss research-creation as a form of knowledge generation that can exist in parallel with conventional modes of scholarship. Following this, I examine various categories of music research set out by both Borgdorff and Lyle Skains. I subsequently illustrate these categories on a music research “compass” and discuss how it can be used to facilitate the understanding of, and comparison between, various academic projects that incorporate creative practice. To answer the second question, I examine the research-creation methodologies of Bhagwati and Skains, and combine them to construct my “problem-practice-exegesis” approach. I conclude the chapter by describing how my research is carried out using this methodology.