https://infiltratemathematics.wordpress.com/investigation-space/
In some recent studio time I set up an investigation space, for managing and developing from material from my observations. I did some reading about artists’ use of archive; I am in the process of data analysis and as such this is a space of active enquiry rather than record. I am calling it an investigation room, and using notecards and bulletin boards, as seen in TV portrayals of murder investigations.
The bookshelves house a set of images, writings and recordings from my observations of mathematicians in the wild, alongside records of each development from this material. This room is portable, to be packed away and unpacked again from the bookshelves at its centre, and each packing and unpacking will alter and develop the material.
Visits (active) | Published (passive) | |
Analysis (passive) | Fieldwork analysis | Publication analysis |
Interventions (active) | Onsite interventions | Reconfiguring publications |
Today I set up my investigation room in a configuration that seemed to address itself to some of the questions I’ve been thinking about while writing my methodology. I’ve been interested in what it means to be an artist ethnographer, and ways to avoid buying in to the myth of the impartial and passive observer and own my own participation and positionality in my research. As such this unpacking was mapped by the table above, considering the active and passive aspects of my research.