Interweaving in hybrid methodologies

ABSTRACT

The paper will consider instances of the interweaving of theory and practice within drawing research, in order to suggest potential approaches to the development of hybrid methodologies in fine art practice-led research. The paper is written from the position of two current supervisors and creative research collaborators: Deborah Harty and Phil Sawdon (aka humhyphenhum from 2007), who historically were supervisee/supervisor. The paper will make reference to Harty's experience as a Ph.D. researcher undertaking practice-led research within a fine art context (completed 2010) and supervised by Sawdon. A discussion of Harty's hybrid methodology: action theoria, will provide an instance of the interweaving of theory and practice. Action theoria incorporates the cyclical and iterative process of action research – intention; action; review – with a process of theoria – the dialogue of both practice and theory's relationship to a given subject matter. Following this, the paper will discuss the interweaving of action theoria into humhyphenhum's collaborative research methodology: meaningful play. This interwoven methodology evolved during collaborative practice-led research projects from 2005 to the present. The paper will make reference to several of humhyphenhum's projects as a means to identify the interweaving of theory and practice within collaborative research. As current supervisors (2015), the paper will conclude with a discussion of how reflection on these experiences has informed our position as supervisors. We will consider, for example, how this has impacted on our ability, as individual supervisors, to offer insights into the interweaving of theory and practice, without defaulting to the position of compelling our supervisees to adopt our methodology.

KEYWORDS:

• Practice methodology
• hybrid methodology
• collaboration
• drawing research
• meaningful play

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Deborah Harty is a practitioner-researcher whose research interests centre around the use of drawing practice and theory to research aspects of phenomenology, perception and experience. Her current practice-led research is investigating the premise that drawing is phenomenology. She holds a 0.5 post at Loughborough University and a 0.5 at Nottingham Trent University. Deborah is a director TRACEY drawing and visualisation research. She is also one half of humhyphenhum – a creative research collaboration with Phil Sawdon. The hums are primarily concerned with processes of drawing, including moving image, within the context of contemporary fine art; employing drawing as a means to generate understanding and further knowledge in response to a given theme.

Phil Sawdon is an Honorary Fellow of the School where he spent over 20 years as a Senior Lecturer. He was a director of TRACEY drawing and visualisation research until 2015. With Marsha Meskimmon he is the co-editor of the Literature/Creative Text section of the on-line arts magazine Stimulus → Respond and, with Russell Marshall and Marsha Meskimmon, a general editor of the academic drawing series Drawing In (I.B. Tauris). He publishes widely and in many varied formats including edited books on contemporary drawing with I.B. Tauris and Intellect. The titles include Drawing: The Purpose (Intellect, 2008), Drawing Now: Between the Lines of Contemporary Art (I.B. Tauris, 2007) and Hyperdrawing (I.B. Tauris, 2012), Drawing Ambiguity: Beside the Lines of Contemporary Art (I.B. Tauris with Russell Marshall, 2015) and Drawing Difference: Connections Between Gender and Drawing (I.B. Tauris with Marsha Meskimmon, 2016).

Notes

1. The name was adopted following observations of various features of the hums’ conversations. It is an onomatopoeic use of words. That is, hum – hum.

2. Pivot was Harty and Sawdon's contribution to Triptych: a drawing research collaboration between Dublin Institute of Technology, Loughborough University and Kingston University which explored practice and theory in order to contribute to knowledge of the act of drawing: https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/handle/2134/3491.

3. Harty became an academic following the completion of her doctoral studies and Sawdon became an Honorary Fellow.

4. A phenomenological approach was not identified as a quality of action theoria at the time. However, it is arguable in hindsight, as a consequence of a greater understanding of phenomenology, that it was evident as an approach within Harty's research. ‘The Taste of Tree?' (2012) was phenomenological in its approach, due to a decision to align the various research strands of Harty and Sawdon as individuals. Phenomenological we take to mean to capture lived experience as it appears to consciousness.