1.4.1. Instrument for analysing the collaborative process
There are no blueprints for team composition in interdisciplinary collaboration, as these vary for each situation and each research and development objective. In order to understand the most suitable model for collaboration, a more generic approach is desired. Due to the lack of knowledge about (and thus terminology for) the artistic methods and models, a special instrument is needed for analysing the collaboration processes of the interdisciplinary teams. This research provides a tool to assist the team in the collaboration model selection process. The starting point of this tool is the Maxwell ARD triangle, which was designed as a collaborative effort by the co-editors of the aRt&D[35] book, initiated by Sandra Fauconnier.[36] This triangle refers to Maxwell’s RGB triangle of additive colour mixing schemes, as is often used in audiovisual and media education. Maxwell’s triangle was used as a metaphor for the RGB colours of monitors and electronic display systems as often used in electronic art. This triangle was used as a 2-dimensional notation system to provide information about the team composition of the artworks. The triangle visualised the notation rules, which described the person’s role (Artistic, Research, and/or Development) and it simultaneously visualised the person’s background (A - Humanities; including the arts; D - Natural; R - Social sciences).[37] The published version of the Maxwell ARD triangle (fig.1) mapped out two different things in the same diagram: the different roles as well as the background of the team members. For the purpose of this study, this approach might be misleading and/or confusing. There were too many ideas brought together in a single triangle. For this research, an instrument is needed which represents accurately the information we need for an overview of the team constellation. The metaphor of the colour mixing system will be left behind, and replaced by an aRt&D or a,b,g triangle. The new tool is clear and useful in that it succeeds in informing the collaborators about each other’s backgrounds (a,b,g). It also visualises the distance between the knowledge domains represented by the collaborators. It indicates roles for possible mediators or multitaskers in the team and it indicates shared knowledge fields. It provides a clear map of the knowledge and expertise represented in the team, which is the basis for methodological decisions when starting a project.
(fig.1a: Maxwell ARD triangle)
(fig.1b: copy with marked double functions)
