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Papers by Daniel Mafe

Research paper thumbnail of Rephrasing voice: art, practice-led research and the limits and sites of articulacy

While my PhD is practice-led research, it is my contention that such an inquiry cannot develop as... more While my PhD is practice-led research, it is my contention that such an inquiry cannot develop as long as it tries to emulate other models of research. I assert that practice-led research needs to account for an epistemological unknown or uncertainty central to the practice of art. By focusing on what I call the artist's 'voice,' I will show how this 'voice' is comprised of a dual motivation-'articulate' representation and 'inarticulate' affectwhich do not even necessarily derive from the artist. Through an analysis of art-historical precedents, critical literature (the work of Jean-François Lyotard and Andrew Benjamin, the critical methods of philosophy, phenomenology and psychoanalysis) as well as of my own painting and digital arts practice, I aim to demonstrate how this unknown or uncertain aspect of artistic inquiry can be mapped. It is my contention that practice-led research needs to address and account for this dualistic 'voice' in order to more comprehensively articulate its unique contribution to research culture. 4

Research paper thumbnail of Acquiring know-how: research training for practice-led researchers

… -led Research, Research-led Practice in …, Jan 1, 2009

Haseman, Bradley & Mafe, Daniel (2009) Acquiring know-how : research training for practic... more Haseman, Bradley & Mafe, Daniel (2009) Acquiring know-how : research training for practice-led researchers. In: Smith, Hazel & Dean, Roger (Eds.) Practice-led Research, Research-led Practice in the Creative Arts. Research Methods for the Arts and ...

Research paper thumbnail of Working Spaces: art practice in progress

These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different ... more These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different time periods and thus the citation count from each is usually different. Some works are not in either database and no count is displayed. Scopus includes citations from articles ...

Research paper thumbnail of Emergent Matters: Reflections on Collaborative Practice-led Research

Peer-reviewed paper from the 2005 conference …, Jan 1, 2005

This paper will address two threads of our research activities, firstly that they are iteratively... more This paper will address two threads of our research activities, firstly that they are iteratively informed by and informing of our creative practice and, secondly, that they involve the joint efforts of two research peers. Therefore, we describe this work as collaborative practice-led research. We outline some central concerns pertaining to the collaborative and practice-led nature of research and offer some reflections on our experiences of this approach in a creative arts context. As an overview of our content, we present a case study description of our collaborative project that explores Procedural Textures in animated image and sound. Both the generative techniques in the practice and the collaborative research relationship exhibit emergent properties; outcomes that provided unexpected surprises and novelty and produce more than the sum of the parts.

Research paper thumbnail of Pontormo, Umberg and the End of the World: Painting and Lacan's Das Ding

The International Journal of the Humanities, Jan 1, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Art and the sublime: the paradox of indeterminacy unknowing and (dis) orientation in the presentation of the unpresentable

eJournalist, Jan 1, 2009

The (dis)orientation of thought in its encounter with art can be understood as the direct result ... more The (dis)orientation of thought in its encounter with art can be understood as the direct result of an encounter with indeterminacy as a lack in meaning. As an artist I am aware of how this indeterminacy impacts on the perceived value and authority of the artistic voice and in particular its value as a research voice. This paper explores this indeterminacy of meaning, as a profound and disturbing unknowing characteristic of the sublime and argues its value to advanced thought and for any methodological understanding of practice-led research.

Research paper thumbnail of Theoretical critique of the work of art: co-producers in research

ACUADS 2009 Conference Interventions in the Public …, Jan 1, 2009

Conference Papers by Daniel Mafe

Research paper thumbnail of A different kind of studio: Reflecting on the open studio and the artist-teacher

For more than 15 years, QUT’s Visual Arts discipline has employed a teaching model known as the ‘... more For more than 15 years, QUT’s Visual Arts discipline has employed a teaching model known as the ‘open studio’ in their undergraduate BFA program. Distinct from the other models of studio degrees in Australia, the open studio approach emphasizes individual practice by focusing on experimentation, collaboration and cross-disciplinary activities. However, while this activity proves to be highly relevant to exploring and participating in the ‘post medium’ nature of much contemporary art, the open studio also presents a complex of affecting challenges to the artist-teacher. The open studio, it can be argued, produces a different type of student than traditional, discipline-specific art programs – but it also produces a different kind of artist-teacher.

In this paper, the authors will provide a reflection on their own experiences as artists and studio lecturers involved with the two ‘bookends’ of the QUT studio program – first year and third year. Using these separate contexts as case studies, the authors will discuss the transformative qualities of the open studio as it is adapted to the particularities of each cohort and the curricular needs of each year level. In particular, the authors will explore the way the teaching experience has influenced and positively challenged their individual (and paradoxically) discipline-focussed, studio practices. It is generally accepted that the teaching of art needs to be continually reconceptualised in response to the changing conditions of contemporary art, culture and technology. This paper will articulate how the authors have worked at that reconceptualisation within both their teaching and studio practices and so practically demonstrate the complex dialogic processes inherent to the teaching of the visual arts studio.

Research paper thumbnail of Rephrasing voice: art, practice-led research and the limits and sites of articulacy

While my PhD is practice-led research, it is my contention that such an inquiry cannot develop as... more While my PhD is practice-led research, it is my contention that such an inquiry cannot develop as long as it tries to emulate other models of research. I assert that practice-led research needs to account for an epistemological unknown or uncertainty central to the practice of art. By focusing on what I call the artist's 'voice,' I will show how this 'voice' is comprised of a dual motivation-'articulate' representation and 'inarticulate' affectwhich do not even necessarily derive from the artist. Through an analysis of art-historical precedents, critical literature (the work of Jean-François Lyotard and Andrew Benjamin, the critical methods of philosophy, phenomenology and psychoanalysis) as well as of my own painting and digital arts practice, I aim to demonstrate how this unknown or uncertain aspect of artistic inquiry can be mapped. It is my contention that practice-led research needs to address and account for this dualistic 'voice' in order to more comprehensively articulate its unique contribution to research culture. 4

Research paper thumbnail of Acquiring know-how: research training for practice-led researchers

… -led Research, Research-led Practice in …, Jan 1, 2009

Haseman, Bradley & Mafe, Daniel (2009) Acquiring know-how : research training for practic... more Haseman, Bradley & Mafe, Daniel (2009) Acquiring know-how : research training for practice-led researchers. In: Smith, Hazel & Dean, Roger (Eds.) Practice-led Research, Research-led Practice in the Creative Arts. Research Methods for the Arts and ...

Research paper thumbnail of Working Spaces: art practice in progress

These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different ... more These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different time periods and thus the citation count from each is usually different. Some works are not in either database and no count is displayed. Scopus includes citations from articles ...

Research paper thumbnail of Emergent Matters: Reflections on Collaborative Practice-led Research

Peer-reviewed paper from the 2005 conference …, Jan 1, 2005

This paper will address two threads of our research activities, firstly that they are iteratively... more This paper will address two threads of our research activities, firstly that they are iteratively informed by and informing of our creative practice and, secondly, that they involve the joint efforts of two research peers. Therefore, we describe this work as collaborative practice-led research. We outline some central concerns pertaining to the collaborative and practice-led nature of research and offer some reflections on our experiences of this approach in a creative arts context. As an overview of our content, we present a case study description of our collaborative project that explores Procedural Textures in animated image and sound. Both the generative techniques in the practice and the collaborative research relationship exhibit emergent properties; outcomes that provided unexpected surprises and novelty and produce more than the sum of the parts.

Research paper thumbnail of Pontormo, Umberg and the End of the World: Painting and Lacan's Das Ding

The International Journal of the Humanities, Jan 1, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Art and the sublime: the paradox of indeterminacy unknowing and (dis) orientation in the presentation of the unpresentable

eJournalist, Jan 1, 2009

The (dis)orientation of thought in its encounter with art can be understood as the direct result ... more The (dis)orientation of thought in its encounter with art can be understood as the direct result of an encounter with indeterminacy as a lack in meaning. As an artist I am aware of how this indeterminacy impacts on the perceived value and authority of the artistic voice and in particular its value as a research voice. This paper explores this indeterminacy of meaning, as a profound and disturbing unknowing characteristic of the sublime and argues its value to advanced thought and for any methodological understanding of practice-led research.

Research paper thumbnail of Theoretical critique of the work of art: co-producers in research

ACUADS 2009 Conference Interventions in the Public …, Jan 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of A different kind of studio: Reflecting on the open studio and the artist-teacher

For more than 15 years, QUT’s Visual Arts discipline has employed a teaching model known as the ‘... more For more than 15 years, QUT’s Visual Arts discipline has employed a teaching model known as the ‘open studio’ in their undergraduate BFA program. Distinct from the other models of studio degrees in Australia, the open studio approach emphasizes individual practice by focusing on experimentation, collaboration and cross-disciplinary activities. However, while this activity proves to be highly relevant to exploring and participating in the ‘post medium’ nature of much contemporary art, the open studio also presents a complex of affecting challenges to the artist-teacher. The open studio, it can be argued, produces a different type of student than traditional, discipline-specific art programs – but it also produces a different kind of artist-teacher.

In this paper, the authors will provide a reflection on their own experiences as artists and studio lecturers involved with the two ‘bookends’ of the QUT studio program – first year and third year. Using these separate contexts as case studies, the authors will discuss the transformative qualities of the open studio as it is adapted to the particularities of each cohort and the curricular needs of each year level. In particular, the authors will explore the way the teaching experience has influenced and positively challenged their individual (and paradoxically) discipline-focussed, studio practices. It is generally accepted that the teaching of art needs to be continually reconceptualised in response to the changing conditions of contemporary art, culture and technology. This paper will articulate how the authors have worked at that reconceptualisation within both their teaching and studio practices and so practically demonstrate the complex dialogic processes inherent to the teaching of the visual arts studio.