Ken has been generous to set and sponsor the 'Issues in drawing research'
contest. I appeal for other entries so that I'm not placed in the
embarrassing position of awarding myself Ken's prize by default as the only
entry!
Here's my offering:
Background: At the Drawing Research Network meeting of 22.2.02 in
Kingston it was proposed in discussion that drawing research output need not
necessarily include written articulation of that output. In some instances
written articulation may work against the capacity for drawing to transcend
the constraints of dominant modes of communication. I'm not here refering
to ALL drawing research activity, for example it may be that a PhD
submission or a journal paper correctly requires formal styles of written
communication. But some drawing research activities might prove
illuminating to the wider research community if they were allowed to explore
the way they determine and communicate their values (such as their
contribution to knowledge).
Therefore, I propose that a drawing research problem exists which I
will call 'communicating drawing research values via drawings'.
The problem is how do we as a drawing research community identify a)
the weakness of limiting ourselves to conventional modes of communication
(such as written reports) for dissemination of some types of drawing
research; b) the benefits for some research of using imagery as repositories
of research value which can be accessed by others. I'm sure various
research projects could be defined exploiting, for example, comparative
studies or expert witness accounts. The communication of this research
activity may itself exploit a combination of traditional written forms and
new graphic forms.
I hope this is what Ken had in mind. Even if it isn't, the flak
generated on this list could be considered success of a sort!
Happy drawing, Steve
|