Content, structure and orientations of the practice-led exegesis

The emergent field of practice-led research is a unique research paradigm that situates creative practice as both a driver and outcome of the research process. The exegesis that accompanies the creative practice in higher research degrees remains open to experimentation and discussion around what content should be included, how it should be structured, and its orientations. This paper contributes to this discussion by reporting on a content analysis of a large, local sample of exegeses. We have observed a broad pattern in contents and structure within this sample. Besides the introduction and conclusion, it has three main parts: situating concepts (conceptual definitions and theories), practical contexts (precedents in related practices), and new creations (the creative process, the artifacts produced and their value as research). This model appears to combine earlier approaches to the exegesis, which oscillated between academic objectivity in providing a context for the practice and personal reflection or commentary upon the creative practice. We argue that this hybrid or connective model assumes both orientations and so allows the researcher to effectively frame the practice as a research contribution to a wider field while doing justice to its invested poetics.

Drama and the dreaming : framing the play West of West Wirrawong

This thesis consists of two parts, a stageplay "West of West Wirrawong" and an accompanying exegesis. The exegesis works as preface to the stageplay and interrogates via self-reflective analysis the various theoretical and practical notions that shaped the creative process. The exegesis has a special focus in ideas of indigenous myth and Nietzsche.

The educational affordances of generative media in arts education

Network Jamming systems provide real-time collaborative media performance experiences for novice or inexperienced users. In this paper we will outline the theoretical and developmental drivers for our Network Jamming software, called jam2jam. jam2jam employs generative algorithmic techniques with particular implications for accessibility and learning. We will describe how theories of engagement have directed the design and development of jam2jam and show how iterative testing cycles in numerous international sites have informed the evolution of the system and its educational potential. Generative media systems present an opportunity for users to leverage computational systems to make sense of complex media forms through interactive and collaborative experiences. Generative music and art are a relatively new phenomenon that use procedural invention as a creative technique to produce music and visual media. These kinds of systems present a range of affordances that can facilitate new kinds of relationships with music and media performance and production. Early systems have demonstrated the potential to provide access to collaborative ensemble experiences to users with little formal musical or artistic expertise.This presentation examines the educational affordances of these systems evidenced by field data drawn from the Network Jamming Project. These generative performance systems enable access to a unique kind of music/media’ ensemble performance with very little musical/ media knowledge or skill and they further offer the possibility of unique interactive relationships with artists and creative knowledge through collaborative performance. Through the process of observing, documenting and analysing young people interacting with the generative media software jam2jam a theory of meaningful engagement has emerged from the need to describe and codify how users experience creative engagement with music/media performance and the locations of meaning. In this research we observed that the musical metaphors and practices of ‘ensemble’ or collaborative performance and improvisation as a creative process for experienced musicians can be made available to novice users. The relational meanings of these musical practices afford access to high level personal, social and cultural experiences. Within the creative process of collaborative improvisation lie a series of modes of creative engagement that move from appreciation through exploration, selection, direction toward embodiment. The expressive sounds and visions made in real-time by improvisers collaborating are immediate and compelling. Generative media systems let novices access these experiences with simple interfaces that allow them to make highly professional and expressive sonic and visual content simply by using gestures and being attentive and perceptive to their collaborators. These kinds of experiences present the potential for highly complex expressive interactions with sound and media as a performance. Evidence that has emerged from this research suggest that collaborative performance with generative media is transformative and meaningful. In this presentation we draw out these ideas around an emerging theory of meaningful engagement that has evolved from the development of network jamming software. Primarily we focus on demonstrating how these experiences might lead to understandings that may be of educational and social benefit.

Singing the blues : developing a cabaret performance on depression

This paper will discuss the researcher’s practice-led study within the field of contemporary cabaret performance. The project is focussed on transforming personal stories of depression into cabaret with the aims of raising community awareness of the issue. In the process, the research aims to explore innovations within the field of cabaret. Interviews conducted with individuals who have suffered from depression are being used as ‘inspiration points’ for the development of the performance. This paper will provide a short contextual review for the project and introduce the researcher’s creative process. For the purposes of this research, cabaret has been defined as performances of songs and dialogue in direct-address with the audience. Cabaret performances merge ‘high’ and ‘low’ art forms (often including satirical comedy), and are generally performed in small-scale venues. The accessible, intimate and light-hearted nature of cabaret offers unique opportunities for the discussion of social issues.

A connective model for the practice-led research exegesis : an analysis of content and structure

Since the formal recognition of practice-led research in the 1990s, many higher research degree candidates in art, design and media have submitted creative works along with an accompanying written document or ‘exegesis’ for examination. Various models for the exegesis have been proposed in university guidelines and academic texts during the past decade, and students and supervisors have experimented with its contents and structure. With a substantial number of exegeses submitted and archived, it has now become possible to move beyond proposition to empirical analysis. In this article we present the findings of a content analysis of a large, local sample of submitted exegeses. We identify the emergence of a persistent pattern in the types of content included as well as overall structure. Besides an introduction and conclusion, this pattern includes three main parts, which can be summarized as situating concepts (conceptual definitions and theories); precedents of practice (traditions and exemplars in the field); and researcher’s creative practice (the creative process, the artifacts produced and their value as research). We argue that this model combines earlier approaches to the exegesis, which oscillated between academic objectivity, by providing a contextual framework for the practice, and personal reflexivity, by providing commentary on the creative practice. But this model is more than simply a hybrid: it provides a dual orientation, which allows the researcher to both situate their creative practice within a trajectory of research and do justice to its personally invested poetics. By performing the important function of connecting the practice and creative work to a wider emergent field, the model helps to support claims for a research contribution to the field. We call it a connective model of exegesis.

Animateur : participatory studio-based learning in computer graphics animation

The impact of digital technology within the creative industries has brought with it a range of new opportunities for collaborative, cross-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary practice. Along with these opportunities has come the need to re-evaluate how we as educators approach teaching within this new digital culture. Within the field of animation, there has been a radical shift in the expectations of students, industry and educators as animation has become central to a range of new moving image practices. This paper interrogates the effectiveness of adopting a studio-based collaborative production project as a method for educating students within this new moving-image culture. The project was undertaken, as part of the Creative Industries Transitions to New Professional Environments program at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane Australia. A number of students studying across the Creative Industries Faculty and the Faculty of Science and Technology were invited to participate in the development of a 3D animated short film. The project offered students the opportunity to become actively involved in all stages of the creative process, allowing them to experience informal learning through collaborative professional practice. It is proposed that theoretical principles often associated with andragogy and constructivism can be used to design and deliver programs that address the emerging issues surrounding the teaching of this new moving image culture.

48 Hour Game Making Challenge - In Progress [Four Episodes]

Statement: Jams, Jelly Beans and the Fruits of Passion Let us search, instead, for an epistemology of practice implicit in the artistic, intuitive processes which some practitioners do bring to situations of uncertainty, instability, uniqueness, and value conflict. (Schön 1983, p40) Game On was born out of the idea of creative community; finding, networking, supporting and inspiring the people behind the face of an industry, those in the mist of the machine and those intending to join. We understood this moment to be a pivotal opportunity to nurture a new emerging form of game making, in an era of change, where the old industry models were proving to be unsustainable. As soon as we started putting people into a room under pressure, to make something in 48hrs, a whole pile of evolutionary creative responses emerged. People refashioned their craft in a moment of intense creativity that demanded different ways of working, an adaptive approach to the craft of making games – small – fast – indie. An event like the 48hrs forces participants’ attention on the process as much as the outcome. As one game industry professional taking part in a challenge for the first time observed: there are three paths in the genesis from idea to finished work: the path that focuses on mechanics; the path that focuses on team structure and roles and the path that focuses on the idea, the spirit – and the more successful teams need to put the spirit of the work first and foremost. The spirit drives the adaptation, it becomes improvisation. As Schön says: “Improvisation consists on varying, combining and recombining a set of figures within the schema which bounds and gives coherence to the performance.” (1983, p55). This improvisational approach is all about those making the games: the people and the principles of their creative process. This documentation evidences the intensity of their passion, determination and the shit that they are prepared to put themselves through to achieve their goal – to win a cup full of jellybeans and make a working game in 48hrs. 48hr is a project where, on all levels, analogue meets digital. This concept was further explored through the documentation process. This set of four videos were created by Cameron Owen on the fly during the challenge using both the iphone video camera and editing software in order to be available with immediacy and allow the event audience to share the experience - and perhaps to give some insights into the creative process exposed by the 48 hour challenge. ____________________________ Schön, D. A. 1983, The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Basic Books, New York

Collaborative destination branding : planning for tourism development through design in the Waterfall Way, NSW, Australia

This thesis develops, applies and analyses a collaborative design methodology for branding a tourism destination. The area between the Northern Tablelands and the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, was used as a case study for this research. The study applies theoretical concepts of systems thinking and complexity to the real world, and tests the use of design as a social tool to engage multiple stakeholders in planning. In this research I acknowledge that places (and destinations) are socially constructed through people's interactions with their physical and social environments. This study explores a methodology that is explicit about the uncertainties of the destination’s system, and that helps to elicit knowledge and system trends. The collective design process used the creation of brand concepts, elements and strategies as instruments to directly engage stakeholders in the process of reflecting about their places and the issues related to tourism activity in the region. The methods applied included individual conversations and collaborative design sessions to elicit knowledge from local stakeholders. Concept maps were used to register and interpret information released throughout the process. An important aspect of the methodology was to bring together different stakeholder groups and translate the information into a common language that was understandable by all participants. This work helped release significant information as to what kind of tourism activity local stakeholders are prepared to receive and support. It also helped the emergence of a more unified regional identity. The outcomes delivered by the project (brand, communication material and strategies) were of high quality and in line with the desires and expectation of the local hosts. The process also reinforced local sense of pride, belonging and conservation. Furthermore, interaction between participants from different parts of the region triggered some self organising activity around the brand they created together. A major contribution of the present work is the articulation of an inclusive methodology to facilitate the involvement of locals into the decision-making process related to tourism planning. Of particular significance is the focus on the social construction of meaning in and through design, showing that design exercises can have significant social impact – not only on the final product, but also on the realities of the people involved in the creative process.

Development sites in the empty city : from picture book to performance

Picturebooks invite performance every time they are read. What happens to them when they’re adapted for live performance? This ongoing practice led research project (2008-) regenerates and transforms picturebook The Empty City (Hachette/Livre 2007) by David Megarrity and Jonathon Oxlade into a live experience. In this rebuilding, interanimation of text and illustration on the picturebook page suddenly open up into a new and complex structure incorporating composition of music, animation, live action, projected image and performing objects. The presenter is the creator of both the source text and writer/composer of the adaptation, providing a unique vantage point that draws on sources from both within and without the creative process up to and including audience reception. From the foundations up, this paper’s focus is on deep, muddy sites of development in the adaptation process, unearthed treasures, and how perceptions of fear and safety push, sway and stress the building of a new performance work for children in content, form and process.

Choreographic approaches to music composition for a new musical interface : the eMic

Gesture in performance is widely acknowledged in the literature as an important element in making a performance expressive and meaningful. The body has been shown to play an important role in the production and perception of vocal performance in particular. This paper is interested in the role of gesture in creative works that seek to extend vocal performance via technology. A creative work for vocal performer, laptop computer and a Human Computer Interface called the eMic (Extended Microphone Stand Interface controller) is presented as a case study, to explore the relationships between movement, voice production, and musical expression. The eMic is an interface for live vocal performance that allows the singers’ gestures and interactions with a sensor based microphone stand to be captured and mapped to musical parameters. The creative work discussed in this paper presents a new compositional approach for the eMic by working with movement as a starting point for the composition and thus using choreographed gesture as the basis for musical structures. By foregrounding the body and movement in the creative process, the aim is to create a more visually engaging performance where the performer is able to more effectively use the body to express their musical objectives.

Jams, jelly beans and the fruits of passion - art book (26 Pages)

Statement: Jams, Jelly Beans and the Fruits of Passion Let us search, instead, for an epistemology of practice implicit in the artistic, intuitive processes which some practitioners do bring to situations of uncertainty, instability, uniqueness, and value conflict. (Schön 1983, p40) Game On was born out of the idea of creative community; finding, networking, supporting and inspiring the people behind the face of an industry, those in the mist of the machine and those intending to join. We understood this moment to be a pivotal opportunity to nurture a new emerging form of game making, in an era of change, where the old industry models were proving to be unsustainable. As soon as we started putting people into a room under pressure, to make something in 48hrs, a whole pile of evolutionary creative responses emerged. People refashioned their craft in a moment of intense creativity that demanded different ways of working, an adaptive approach to the craft of making games – small – fast – indie. An event like the 48hrs forces participants’ attention onto the process as much as the outcome. As one game industry professional taking part in a challenge for the first time observed: there are three paths in the genesis from idea to finished work: the path that focuses on mechanics; the path that focuses on team structure and roles, and the path that focuses on the idea, the spirit – and the more successful teams put the spirit of the work first and foremost. The spirit drives the adaptation, it becomes improvisation. As Schön says: “Improvisation consists on varying, combining and recombining a set of figures within the schema which bounds and gives coherence to the performance.” (1983, p55). This improvisational approach is all about those making the games: the people and the principles of their creative process. This documentation evidences the intensity of their passion, determination and the shit that they are prepared to put themselves through to achieve their goal – to win a cup full of jellybeans and make a working game in 48hrs. 48hr is a project where, on all levels, analogue meets digital. This concept was further explored through the documentation process. All of these pictures were taken with a 1945 Leica III camera. The use of this classic, film-based camera, gives the images a granularity and depth, this older slower technology exposes the very human moments of digital creativity. ____________________________ Schön, D. A. 1983, The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Basic Books, New York

Journeys with friends

Journeys with Friends Truna aka J. Turner, Giselle Rosman and Matt Ditton Panel Session description: We are no longer an industry (alone) we are a sector. Where the model once consisted of industry making games, we now see the rise of a cultural sector playing in the game space – industry, indies (for whatever that distinction implies) artists (another odd distinction), individuals and well … everyone and their mums. This evolution has an affect – on audiences and who they are, what they expect and want, and how they understand the purpose and language of these “digital game forms’; how we talk about our worlds and the kinds of issues that are raised; on what we create and how we create it and on our communities and who we are. This evolution has an affect on how these works are understood within the wider social context and how we present this understanding to the next generation of makers and players. We can see the potential of this evolution from industry to sector in the rise of the Australian indie. We can see the potential fractures created by this evolution in the new voices that ask questions about diversity and social justice. And yet, we still see a ‘solution’ type reaction to the current changing state of our sector which announces the monolithic, Fordist model as desirable (albeit in smaller form) – with the subsequent ramifications for ‘training’ and production of local talent. Experts talk about a mismatch of graduate skills and industry needs, insufficient linkages between industry and education providers and the need to explore opportunity for the now passing model in new spaces such as adver-games and serious games. Head counts of Australian industry don’t recognise trans media producers as being part of their purview or opportunity, they don’t count the rise of the cultural playful game inspired creative works as one of thier team. Such perspectives are indeed relevant to the Australian Games Industry, but what about the emerging Australian Games Sector? How do we enable a future in such a space? This emerging sector is perhaps best represented by Melbourne’s Freeplay audience: a heady mix of indie developers, players, artists, critical thinkers and industry. Such audiences are no longer content with an ‘industry’ alone; they are the community who already see themselves as an important, vibrant cultural sector. Part of the discussion presented here seeks to identify and understand the resources, primarily in the context of community and educational opportunities, available to the evolving sector now relying more on the creative processes. This creative process and community building is already visibly growing within the context of smaller development studios, often involving more multiskilling production methodologies where the definition of ‘game’ clearly evolves beyond the traditional one.

Meaningful engagement with music composition

Musical value cannot be experienced without direct knowledge of music, and engagement with the interactive elements of materials, expressive character and structure. Through these channels something is communicated, something is transmitted, some residue of ‘meaning’ is left with us. When a work of art stirs us it is more than simply sensory stimulation or some kind of emotional indulgence. We are gaining knowledge and expanding our experience... contributing to knowledge of ourselves and of the world.

Abduction : the writing of a historical novel

This is a practice-led project consisting of a historical novel Abduction and related exegesis. The novel is a third person intimate narrative set in the mid-nineteenth century and is based on actual events and persons caught up in, or furthering, the mass dispossession of small farmers in Scotland known as the ‘Clearances’. The narrative focuses on the situation in the Outer Hebrides and northern Scotland. It is based on documented facts leading up to a controversial trial in 1850 that arose because a twenty year old woman of the period (the central protagonist, Jess Mackenzie) eloped with a young farmer to escape her parent’s pressure to marry a rival suitor, himself a powerful lawyer and ‘factor’ at the centre of many of the Clearances. The young woman’s independent ideas were ahead of her time, and the decisions she made under great pressure were crucial in some dramatic events that unfolded in Scotland and later in the colony of Victoria, to which she and her new husband emigrated soon after the trial. The exegesis is composed of two unequal parts. It briefly considers the development of the literary historical fiction genre in the nineteenth century with Walter Scott in particular, a genre found useful in representing women’s issues of the Victorian era by Victorian and contemporary authors. The exegesis also briefly considers the appropriateness of the fiction genre (as opposed to creative nonfiction) in creating the lived experience in a fact-based work. The major part of the exegesis is a detailed, reflective analysis of the problem-solving process involved in writing the novel, structured by reference to Kate Grenville’s Searching for the Secret River – a work of metawriting that explains her creative process in researching and writing historical fiction based on fact.

Grotesque gestures or sensuous signs? Rethinking notions of apprenticeship in early childhood education

Education might be conceptualized as a swarm of signs. Deleuze, in Proust and Signs (1964/2000) suggests that “Everything that teaches us something emits signs” (p. 4). Such conceptualizations regard education as fluid, multiple and temporal; a young child can display great skill in decoding some signs but not others. Regarding education as temporal and complex operates at some distance to the sociocultural concepts suggested by Vygotsky (1978) which focus on linear sequences of gaining managed, culturally-loaded knowledge from more experienced others. Despite differing theorizations around apprenticeship, during early years education a child becomes sensitive to signs that collectively prioritize conventionalized knowledge acquisition and communication practices. Drawing for learning and communicating exemplifies apprenticeship as a creative process rather than as sequential or culturally driven, and serves to exemplify Deleuzian concepts around the relationships between time and learning, rather than age or development stage and learning.