How A/r/tography Improves Reflection and Inquiry of Art Workshop Practitioners

<p>In this paper, I researched how A/r/tography, a methodology of inquiry of artists/researchers/teachers, improves the reflection and inquiry of art workshop practitioners. I did a case study on an art workshop practitioner's inquiry through manga (comic) to determine if the feature of A/r/tography that includes both visual and written processes is effective for the practitioner's reflection and inquiry related to their workshop practices.</p><p>As manga contains both pictures and words, reflection and inquiry through it requires visualization of one's thinking process that could be better expressed in a visual or a written way. Through the case study it became clear that through reflection and inquiry, the practitioner extracted important scenes/episodes related to his/her research question and expressed them as consecutive “koma” (manga panels), utilizing the character representing him/herself and the dialogue/narration that shows his/her thought through the reflection and inquiry.</p><p>In addition, it is suggested that reflection and inquiry including both visual and written aspects can improve the practitioner's cognition–expression cycle, as well as provoke inner discovery, leading to a deeper reflection and inquiry process.</p>