Performative Schizoid Method: Performance as Research

Abstract

The performative schizoid method is developed as a contribution to performance as research. The method is inspired by contemporary research in the human and social sciences urging experimentation and researcher engagement with creative and artistic practice. In the article, the method is presented and an example is provided of a first exploratory engagement with it. The method is used in a specific project Becoming Iris, which enquires into the creation of arts-based knowledge during a three month visiting scholarship at a small, independent visual arts academy. Using the performative schizoid method in Becoming Iris results in four audio-visual and performance-based productions, centered on an emergent theme of the scholar acting as artist as the bird in borrowed feathers. Interestingly, the moral lesson of the fable about the vain jackdaw, who dresses in borrowed peacock feathers and becomes an outcast, stands in sharp contrast to the potential of a performative schizoid method: to liberally experiment and make-believe.