It is not the glue that makes the collage” (Max Ernst): training in educational research as an artistic process

This paper is underpinned by the assumption – made explicit by Graeme Sullivan – that the contemporary world demands an alternative mode of research, one that conserves the complexity of reality, thereby following the logic of a transformative practice: “[I realize] that in an uncertain world there is a need to develop more widespread means of exploring human comprehension and that visual arts can play a key role” (Sullivan, 2010). At the same time, if we examine the specific practice of a range of artists from different historical eras we find that artistic action has always been research-driven, never remaining static but always striving towards new and different solutions, in terms of materials, styles and artists’ relationships with their audiences. Thus, in the current paper we emphasize the connection between research and artistic practice, not viewing the latter as an optional accessory but as a mode of research in its own right: one that advances our understanding of the object under enquiry by providing a novel and metaphoric language with which to give shape to thoughts and ideas. Therefore, within the context of a broader on-going research programme that combines art-based methods (Knowles & Cole, 2008; Butler-Kisber, 2010) with biographical methods (Demetrio, 1997; Linden & Merril, 2009) with the aim of studying the formative process of educational researchers as an artistic process, we here present the artistic process as a form of biographical research that uses an artistic technique – specifically collage – as a gateway to accessing and exploring the world both inside and outside of oneself. We develop our argument in two stages. First, we reflect on the biographical history of a selection of artists whom we view as particularly significant because of their writings and artistic training histories, paying particular attention to how they worked with materials in implementing the collage technique. Second, with a view to comparing artistic training with training in research, we present a training workshop on the use of collage in qualitative research (Joennsu, Finland, 2014 ) conducted with PhD students as part of a Summer School on research methodologies in the human sciences. Via these two steps we hope to show that collage is an artistic training technique with the potential to enhance the enquiry into educational and training experience in multiple ways.