Juha Varton Artistic research on englanninkielinen käännös hänen aiemmin ilmestyneestä teoksestaan Taiteellinen tutkimus. Taiteellisen tutkimisen ensimetreillä esitettiin kysymys, voiko jokin taideteko tai -teos olla taiteellista tutkimista. Tämä on vakava kysymys, joka koskettaa käsitystämme tutkimisesta. Tämä on myös vähemmän vakava kysymys, joka kuvaa suhdettamme taiteeseen.

Arts universities have conducted, supervised, evaluated, and analysed research based on artistic activity. In the early days of this artistic research, a question arose: Can a work or act of art itself be artistic research? This question is a serious one that concerns our idea of research. This also leads to a less serious issue that describes our relationship to art: Although art is an important part of life, and although it delights and shocks us and makes our lives sweet and enjoyable, it is never on a par with other human actions. Art is always individual, and we can never be certain that it is indispensable even to the artist in question. Who says that art is not just a mistake, the joke of a lifetime, or an indiscretion? A human skill is never predictable, firm, or steady.

Artistic research is a young, open discipline, that is constantly leading to new discoveries. It is based on artists’ professional skills and on methods that have so far been applied in practice but not considered in theory. With this book, we are taking a step forward to add theory to practice, but we are not adding just any theory.