IMMERSIVE ART PEDAGOGY: (RE)CONNECTING ARTIST, RESEARCHER AND TEACHER A project submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD Geraldine M. Burke M.A. School of Education, College of Design and Social Context, RMIT University June 2013 Declaration DECLARATION I declare that: a) except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; b) the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; c) the content of the project is the result of work carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; d) any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; e) ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. Geraldine M. Burke 30 June 2013 ii Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere thanks go to my Supervisors, Associate Professor Geoff Shacklock and Professor David Forrest. Together they offered considered and thoughtful advice while also challenging me to extend my research capacity within the parameters of the study. I thank them for their ongoing support across the years of my study. Thanks also to Professor Karen Malone, whose supervision in the early stages of my candidature encouraged me to take on this study in the first instance. Appreciation is also extended to the research participants whose generosity led to the sharing of artwork and stories that, in turn, made the study all the more meaningful. My gratitude is also extended to the project team with whom I worked while undertaking the Creative Junction Project. The project would not have been possible without their professionalism and dedication. I also wish to thank my work colleagues at Monash University who engaged in corridor conversations, discussed research dilemmas and shared their own research experiences and perspectives. They helped me develop as a researcher. To the many artists, researchers and teachers whose works have opened me up to new ways of knowing, I thank you for your insights and for enabling me to become an artist/researcher/teacher. To those many friends who encouraged me along the way, I am eternally grateful. Sincere thanks are extended to Jacinta Burke who patiently helped with formatting and presentation. To Chester and Joe, thank you for sharing the journey with me and for your ongoing love and support. This study is dedicated to my parents, Margaret and Thomas Burke, who encouraged me to follow my passion in art and who always supported and believed in my potential. I thank them for helping me find my voice through art. iii Contents CONTENTS SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 1 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Background to the Study .......................................................................................... 2 1.1.1 Immersive Art Pedagogy .......................................................................................... 2 1.1.2 Rationale for Developing and Researching Immersive Art Pedagogy ....................... 7 1.1.3 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 10 1.2 Research Aim and Scope ....................................................................................... 11 1.2.1 Limitations of the Study .......................................................................................... 13 1.2.2 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................ 14 1.2.3 Guide to Reading the Exegesis .............................................................................. 16 1.2.4 The Project: Photo Book ......................................................................................... 18 1.2.5 Summary ................................................................................................................ 19 1.2.6 Guide to Experiential Data and the Contextual Literature Review ........................... 19 2. METHODOLOGY AND CONCEPTUAL PRACTICES ........................................ 29 2.1 Research Design .................................................................................................... 29 2.1.1 Introduction to Study Design ................................................................................... 29 2.1.2 Exegesis ................................................................................................................. 29 2.1.3 The Project Component .......................................................................................... 32 2.1.4 Connecting the Exegesis and the Project ............................................................... 33 2.1.5 The Research Sites ................................................................................................ 33 2.2 Research Methods ................................................................................................. 37 2.2.1 Introduction to Methodology ................................................................................... 37 2.2.2 Research Parameters ............................................................................................. 38 2.2.3 My Methodological Journey .................................................................................... 39 2.2.4 Validity and Research Methodology ....................................................................... 50 2.2.5 Concluding the Methodological Journey ................................................................. 52 2.3 Description of Methods and Data ............................................................................ 53 2.3.1 Artwork ................................................................................................................... 53 2.3.2 Pedagogical Documentation and Photos ................................................................ 54 2.3.3 Digital Storytelling ................................................................................................... 55 2.3.4 Use of Visual Journal – between Images and Words .............................................. 55 2.3.5 Towards a Photo Book Hybrid: the Artist/r/t Photo Book ......................................... 56 2.3.6 Colour Scheme ....................................................................................................... 57 iv Contents 2.3.7 Artefacts ................................................................................................................. 57 2.3.8 Found Objects from Nature .................................................................................... 58 2.3.9 Autoethnography .................................................................................................... 58 2.3.10 Interviews ............................................................................................................... 59 2.3.11 Narrative Method .................................................................................................... 60 2.3.12 Critical Narratives ................................................................................................... 61 2.3.13 From Reflection to Reflexivity ................................................................................. 61 2.3.14 Writing Self ............................................................................................................. 62 3. EXPERIENTIAL DATA AND EVOLVING LITERATURE REVIEW ...................... 64 3.1 Creative World 1: IAP within an Art and Environment Project ................................. 64 3.1.1 Introduction to Creative World 1 ............................................................................. 64 3.1.2 Creative Junction Project: An Overview .................................................................. 65 3.1.3 Artistic Coordinator’s Narrative ............................................................................... 66 3.1.4 Contextual Review: Connecting through Immersion ............................................... 79 3.1.5 Community Narratives ............................................................................................ 86 3.1.6 Contextual Review: Connecting through Creativity ................................................. 92 3.1.7 Tania’s Narrative .................................................................................................... 96 3.1.8 Contextual Review: Connecting through Sociocultural Theory ................................ 99 3.1.9 Contextual Review: Connecting through Critical Pedagogy .................................. 101 3.1.10 Savaad’s Narrative ............................................................................................... 103 3.1.11 Glenn’s Narrative .................................................................................................. 110 3.1.12 Contextual Review: Connecting through Environmental Art .................................. 119 3.1.13 Critical Narrative ................................................................................................... 123 3.2 Creative World 2: IAP within a Teacher Education Context .................................. 127 3.2.1 Personal Narrative as Lecturer ............................................................................. 128 3.2.2 Contextual Review: Connecting through Immersion ............................................. 135 3.2.3 Rickie’s