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Paper short abstract:

This paper looks at two boundary objects developed in artistic research contexts. It examines the boundary objects’ potential in knowledge transfer between the involved researchers and explores the objects' influence on the structure of the ongoing research processes.

Paper long abstract:

Based on ethnographic field research carried out in two artistic research projects, this contribution firstly explores the epistemic potential of boundary objects created during the examined projects. Secondly, it will look at the boundary objects' structuring function in the analyzed research settings.

The investigated projects were located in (a) Germany and (b) Switzerland; the examined objects were (a) a newly developed digital musical instrument and (b) a computer- as well as biofeedback-controlled space. The researchers stemmed from various disciplines such as computer science, musicology, product design, media studies, and media arts. Regardless of their rather artistic or rather scientific educational background, the observed researchers deployed an artistic working mode to create multifunctional objects. That is, they developed objects, which served both as investigative instruments for their research endeavor and as presentation of first results. Even though artistically designed, these objects were neither intended nor considered to be artworks. Rather, they remained work in progress and were a first step in the search for an adequate presentation format of the research results. In both cases, journal articles were combined with the organization of events during which the audience could experience the objects personally.

The analysis will focus on the following questions: How do the researchers' individual backgrounds and research interests become manifest in the boundary object's design and functionality? And in which manner do the boundary objects structure the ongoing research processes, for example when new research questions evoked by the objects require a re-organization of the researchers' work?