Praxis now: Frayling’s 'Research in Art and Design' 24 years on

Christopher Frayling’s iconic set of value propositions in art and design research is now 24 years old. Identifying three dominant modes of artistic research – research-into, research-through, research-for – Frayling outlined a set of values that, arguably, remain pervasive today. Though often broadly translated into ‘practice-led’ and ‘practice-based’, new interdisciplinary models have blurred previously static boundaries. This paper is part discourse and part report. Examining the ever-shifting and often porous terms of higher degree research in the creative industries, we reflect on the value of Frayling’s model in understanding methods and methodologies in new collaborative, inter and transdisciplinary models of research.

We report back on the move towards praxis modes of research methods across the research degree programs at the University of Tasmania, examining how new evaluative tools blur paradigmatic definitions of ‘practice-led’ and ‘practice-based’. Through a ‘conscious uncoupling’ (Paltrow & Martin) of methods from their disciplinary hosts, we emphasise a praxis model of research training that closes the gap between practice-led and practice-based modes of enquiry. With an emphasis on core values we speculate on new terms for Frayling’s praxical knowledge. We set out a range of value propositions for future frames of evaluation. In particular, we interrogate potential models for collaborative practice in higher degree research and methods for incorporating and valuing interdisciplinary outcomes.