Visual arts and dance have been in close connection since the beginning of the
twentieth century, a relationship that developed and strengthened in the sixties with
the work of Judson Dance Theatre in New York City, USA. Although artists and dancers
have collaborated for the last 50 years, few studies address the potential of employing
choreographic methods within visual arts processes of making. It is in this context that
my research inquires how installation artists may use choreographic strategies in their
visual arts practices.

Brad Haseman’s (2006) proposition of a new methodological paradigm for research –
performative research – is my starting point for a mixed methodology. In my work, I use
performative actions to investigate choreographic methods – such as improvisation,
and real time composition – to produce installation work in site-specific locations.
These performative actions are intended to act as a form of physical embodied
knowledge production (Klein, 2010). Simultaneously, qualitative interviews with visual
artists and choreographers provide data to shape and inform the construction of a
conceptual framework, informed by a combination of visual arts and dance approaches
to composition.

It is expected that my research will offer a methodological approach that explores this
new conceptual framework in practice. In this paper, I will introduce the research
methodology I am currently developing as part of my doctoral study, and explain how
the notions of performative research and embodied knowledge led the development of
my installation work so far.

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