The Global Performance Art Network: How the Net Works Author Clunn, Rebecca Published 2014 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School Griffith Business School DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/2414 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366836 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au The Global Performance Art Network: How the Net Works Business School Department of Employment Relations & Human Resources Rebecca Clunn B. Music Performance – Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University B. Creative Industries (2A Hons) – Queensland University of Technology Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2013 Abstract ABSTRACT As a performance artist, I have experienced a strong synergy connecting performance artists, the work they make, the network they create and inhabit, and the trust that binds them together. I wanted to discover how that network operated. Therefore, this doctoral research project focuses on the question, “What is the operation of the global performance art network? ” Network theory forms the overarching theoretical framework, with the additional concepts of trust, community, social capital, and performance art playing a key part in the analysis. With no known research into the global performance art network to date, the research will contribute to theory development and practical perspectives in relation to performance art. In addressing the research question, I acknowledge my personal ontology and self-interest in the subject matter. This duality of researcher / participant has allowed for a conscious ethnographic approach to this research. I have adopted a pragmatist paradigm in approaching this research question, which encourages a mixed methods strategy, combining quantitative and qualitative research methods, allowing for triangulation of data. The program of research contains three studies that together address the research question. An auto-ethnographic qualitative participant observation of the network comprised Study one. Study two involved qualitative semi-structured convergent interviews with network members, while Study three was a quantitative longitudinal social network mapping analysis, using a historical/comparative cross-sectional approach. The findings of this research indicate that the experience of trust is intrinsic to the networks’ operation as artists trust themselves (self trust), artists trust their audience and other artists (interpersonal trust) and further there is an experience of generalised institutional trust within the network as trust becomes a social norm within the network. The research outcomes included theoretical development around networks and trust and the practical application of these findings to network development in other industries. Griffith University i Declaration by Author STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. Author R. Clunn Supervisors: Dr Arthur Poropat Dr Sheryl Ramsay Dr Anne-Maree Dowd August 2013 August 2013 iii Business School iv Business School Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... I STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY .................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ XIII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the research ......................................................................................... 4 1.2 Research Questions, Contribution and Justification .................................................... 5 1.3 Methodology overview ................................................................................................ 7 1.4 Outline of thesis ........................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 9 2.1 Introduction and aims:................................................................................................. 9 2.2 Background to literature ............................................................................................ 11 2.2.1 Performance Art ........................................................................................ 11 2.2.1.1 Brief history ..................................................................................... 11 2.2.1.2 Performance art today .................................................................... 11 2.2.1.3 Performance Art, utopia and the sublime ........................................... 12 2.2.1.3 Trust in Performance Art Practice ................................................... 16 2.2.1.4 Performance Art Networks ............................................................. 21 2.2.2 Trust ........................................................................................................... 22 2.2.2.1 Defining trust .................................................................................. 23 2.2.2.2 Development of the trust literature in organisations and the arts 25 2.2.2.3 Cooperation and trust ..................................................................... 27 2.2.2.4 Altruism and trust ........................................................................... 29 2.2.2.5 Evolution of trust ............................................................................ 30 2.2.2.6 Trust in global performance art network ........................................ 31 2.2.3 Conclusion - Background to literature ....................................................... 31 2.3 Theoretical framework .............................................................................................. 33 2.3.1 Introduction and aims ............................................................................... 33 2.3.2 Networks ................................................................................................... 33 2.3.2.1 Defining networks ........................................................................... 34 2.3.2.2 Network Structure .......................................................................... 35 2.3.2.2.1 Small Worlds .................................................................. 36 2.3.2.2.2 Scale-Free Networks ...................................................... 37 2.3.2.3 Network development and evolution ............................................. 37 2.3.2.3.1 Longitudinal networks ................................................... 38 2.3.2.4 Network governance ....................................................................... 39 Griffith University v 2.3.2.5 Network Outcomes and Effectiveness ............................................ 39 2.3.2.6 Network as a Community ................................................................ 40 2.3.2.6.1 Collaborative Community .............................................. 41 2.3.2.6.2 Online communities ...................................................... 42 2.3.2.7 Social capital in networks ................................................................ 43 2.3.2.7.1 Social Rules .................................................................... 45 2.3.2.7.2 Social identity ................................................................ 46 2.3.2.7.3 Personal identity ............................................................ 48 2.3.2.8 Trust in Networks ............................................................................ 49 2.3.2.9 Conclusion – Theoretical framework .............................................. 50 2.3.3 Literature Review Conclusion .................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 53 3.1 Introduction and aims:............................................................................................... 53 3.2 Research paradigm .................................................................................................... 53 3.3 Methodology—ethnographic research ..................................................................... 55 3.4 Research design ......................................................................................................... 57 3.4.1 Mixed method case study design .............................................................. 58 3.5 Stages of Research ..................................................................................................... 59 3.6 Research context ....................................................................................................... 60 3.7 Research Methods and Procedures ........................................................................... 60 3.7.1 Study one: Auto-Ethnographic qualitative research: participant observation of the network ....................................................................... 63 3.7.2 Study two: Ethnographic qualitative research: semi-structured convergent