Practice as research: Knowledge how and knowledge whether

Abstract

Christine White's “Knowledge How and Knowledge Whether” debates the “know how” of the artist in contrast to the “know whether” of the academic. How useful is the documentation of the creative process by the academic? The paper challenges the academic theory versus the professional practical exploration and recognizes a changing landscape in academe which seeks to justify the creative process as meaningful when for centuries the meaning of creative processes has been validated by the process in its own right. Creativity is developed over a period of time and artists and academic artists practice their work in order to continue a thread of creativity, which weaves throughout an individual's practice rather than to justify the funding of certain subjects within higher education.