In this chapter, I will present the research methods of this project, and then review relevant literature on globalization, culture, hybridity and intercultural collaboration.
The research at hand is an artistic research that utilizes aspects of auto-ethnographic research methods. My aim in this research is to present, contemplate an analyze the artistic process of making the record together with Kifimbo from the perspective of an artist and a researcher, actively participating in the process of the subject of the research. The record Mwana Mkala is both a subject and a result of this research, as is my collaboration with Kifimbo as artistic and social activity.
ARTISTIC RESEARCH
OECD Glossary of Statistical Terms defines research and development as
”Any creative systematic activity undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this knowledge to devise new applications” (OECD, 2003).
Reading this definition, artistic research seems quite similar to scientific research, and arguably inseparable from it (Klein, 2010, p. 4). Henk Borgdorff writes about the relationship between artistic and scientific research in his essay Artistic research in the fields of science. Scientific research aims at constituting new knowledge, understanding, and perspectives. It starts with a research question, uses appropriate methods, and is bound to produce results that can be adequately presented, documented, and thus peer-reviewed. According to Borgdorff, artistic research resembles scientific research in these aspects but differs in it’s unpredictable, dynamic and multilayered nature. New knowledge is surely acquired through artistic research, but usually it is not the first and foremost goal of the activity as much as it is to
”...enhance what could be called the artistic universe; as we know, this involves producing new images, narratives, sounds or experiences...”.
Also, artistic research might not be as hypothesis-lead as scientific research, as the questions and ideas arise through the artistic process. The results of artistic research can be and should be documented and reviewed, but because of the active role of the artist-researcher and the importance of her or his artistic development in the process, it is bound, and supposed to be more subjective than is desirable in scientific research (2009, p. 3-4).
Nevertheless, a complete separation of the two fields is not plausible, for both artistic and scientific research are means of exploring the undiscovered territory, gaining understanding and ideas about the universe and life through active exploration (Varto, 2018, p. 28-29) As Klein writes:
”Art and science are not separate domains, but rather two dimensions in the common cultural space” (2010, p. 3).
The Finnish philosopher Juha Varto has written a thorough handbook of artistic research. Varto thinks that artistic research is well approachable, because it is profoundly sensory, as are human beings. In his words:
”... the tools, and results of research are sensory (visible, audible, tactile, etc.) They are more given that the concepts and arguments related to scientific experiences, which are abstract and require complex decoding skills, or religious experiences, which, verbalized, are distanced from the common basis of experience” (2018, p. 10).
Artist researchers engage their studies through their creativity, artistic skill, and practical knowledge, and because of this reason, the methods of artistic research are diverse and often actualized in the process. Varto calls for understanding these methods that are somewhat individually constituted through professional embodied artistic skill so that the research is comprehensible (p. 19-28, 33-45). Through artistic research, it is possible to shed light on the inside, the dynamic action-core of an artistic practice, whereas scientific research on art focuses on the artistic processes and it’s results from the outside. When studying the phenomenon that the researcher is an active part of, she or he comes also an object, a method, and a result of the research. Thus it is important to understand one’s artistic practice and rely on it, so it can become a research method in itself and the process can become a possibility to acquire new perspectives and artistic evolvement (p. 56-58). When it comes to reporting on artist research, Varto argues that the documentation should be done in a way understandable to all, not only experts of the subject. The documentation and writing need to convince the audience of the researcher’s professionalism and his or her justification for choices and actions made. The unexact nature of art and aesthetics taken into account, the choice of mediums for presenting needs to be chosen well, and an effort should be put on verbalization in writing (p. 68-78).
AUTOETHNOGRAPHY
Autoethnographic research methods combine the methods of autobiography and ethnography (Ellis, Adams, & Bochner, 2010). Autobiographers are writing from their perspective and trying to reconstruct and analyze the past important experiences that have lead to significant discoveries, discussions, crises, and understandings. Ethnographers are trying to analyze cultures using social science and their observation to create a better understanding of a culture to the insiders and/or outsiders of the culture. Auto-ethnographic research combines these methods in a way that analyzes the personal and interpersonal experience through not only reflection and compelling storytelling, but also social science conventions to produce knowledge and outcomes that give new insights and information about the culture. I'm going to quote Autoethnography: An Overview by Ellis, Adams and Bochner:
”Autoethnographers must not only use their methodological tools and research literature to analyze experience, but also must consider ways others may experience similar epiphanies; they must use personal experience to illustrate facets of cultural experience, and, in so doing, make characteristics of a culture familiar for insiders and outsiders. To accomplish this might require comparing and contrasting personal experience against existing research, interviewing cultural members, and/or examining relevant cultural artifacts” (2010).
Autoethnography’s strength lies in its relatability: research that is personal and story-driven can be intriguing to readers and audience and thus it could reach people better than some other research less personal (2010). Because of the same reason auto-ethnographic research has been criticized for being unobjective, which of course is a part of the method. On the other hand autoethnography aims for something more complex than clear objective results, which might be interesting and important. Also, it can be said, that all research done by humans is more or less subjective, and whereas methods of hard science are trying to minimize this, autoethnography takes the subject to be an important part of the research itself. Understanding the subjectivity is part of the ethics of autoethnographic research, as is dealing with the relations to the subject of study. Autoethnographers are asking themselves the questions: Why is my view on this subject important? What can be gained from my point of view on this subject? How can my experiences be relatable/unrelatable to others? What is my position? What kind of responsibility I have when I’m writing about other people and cultures?
MY RESEARCH
In my research, I believe I have discovered many things about musical collaboration, natural and facilitated fusion of cultures, intercultural skills, and so on, but the actual result of the research is the record Mwana Mkala, and the aesthetic and social experiences that occurred around it. The research took it's form in action, as artistic research usually does. When it comes to the questions of objectivity and credibility, I believe that it is quite clear already in this point that what you are reading is my subjective narrative, but supported, extended and put into dialogue with sources of relevant knowledge. I have consulted the literature on social sciences, globalization, ethnomusicology and African music to build a framework that positions my research in the field of culture and thought. My field notes, recordings, and interviews with my fellow participants in the project also work as source material, along with my recollection and thoughts.
To make this album and this research, I needed a wide set of skills, including tacit knowledge of playing the guitar and other instruments, interpersonal skills, intercultural skills, and almost intermediate skill of Swahili language. To study how this particular album turned out, I need to understand my own identity and artistic practice. I have presented information about my background in section 1.2, but my voice will narrate the whole presentation. In this exposition, I have tried to make the intercultural musical process, that included a lot of musical, social and cultural aspects challenging to describe and surely not familiar to all the readers, as understandable, compelling and interesting as possible with my writing, which is supported by audio, pictures and videos from the field.