Same Difference: Transdisciplinary Concepts and Skills in Artistic Practice to Minimise Communication Breakdown in Art Practice when Misusing a Common Language

Abstract

Our ears are not isolated from our other senses, but work in conjunction with them to maximise our chance of survival and to make sense of our world. However, the growth of specialisation in artistic practice and theory means that disciplinary-specific practices have, over time, tended toward silos, isolating themselves from each other by their specialist training institutions, funding bodies and artistic and industrial practices. The advantage of separation was to enable the analysis of structures and form through particular lenses or frameworks, and to create highly specialised ‘experts’ in areas such as visual arts, dance, drama and music. This ensured high quality within that paradigm, but, in an era of convergence in which we now find ourselves, new phenomena arise, one being the transdisciplinary musician. For such an approach, fresh concepts emerge, and new skill-sets and techniques are needed. This article attempts to identify some of these.