Practice-Based Research in Painting: From Studio Practice to Knowledge Making
Keywords:
Artistic Research, Knowledge Production, Painting, Practice-Based Research, Reflective Practice, Studio PracticeAbstract
In this paper, the practice of painting as a method of practice-based research is analyzed retrospectively via the interpretation of four studio pieces related to themes of travel, movement, memory, mapping and everyday objects. Unlike painting considered just a final visual artifact, the study interprets studio practice as a process of observation, material transformation, reflection and communication of the lived experience. Four studio paintings done by the author in 2021 – Companion I, Companion II, Companion III and Navigation – are the main practice evidence in the research. The qualitative, practice-based and reflective case study methodology is applied for comparison of recurring motifs, material choices, cartographical elements and concepts' evolution in the sequence of paintings. It is shown that mobility, mapping, memory, everyday objects, relocation and material transformation are intertwined concepts and that the recurring motif of a bag evolves from the urban traveling object into the device for analyzing journey, relocation and navigation. In this context, an Experience-Studio-Knowledge (ESK) framework is proposed to explain the transition of lived experience through observation, selection and association, material encounter, artistic decision, visual transformation, reflection, and contextualisation into communicable visual knowledge.
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