Artsuch

Artsuch is a term used in contemporary art discourse to describe an interdisciplinary practice that merges artistic inquiry with systematic exploration drawn from science, engineering, and the humanities. Projects described as artsuch treat art-making as a method of investigation, producing artifacts that function as both artworks and research outputs. The term foregrounds process, documentation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Origin and usage: Artsuch arose in early 2010s online art communities and practice-based research debates in Europe and North America. It is a flexible umbrella term rather than a fixed school, signaling a deliberate search for knowledge through art. Practitioners often frame their work as residencies, collaborations, or long-term investigations that traverse media, from installation and generative systems to field studies and data visualization.

Methods and forms: Common elements include iterative project cycles, field work, data collection or analysis, prototyping, and public documentation. Artworks may be interactive, data-driven, performative, or hybrid. Collaboration across departments or with communities is typical, as is open dissemination of results using open-source tools or online journals.

Reception and examples: Critics describe artsuch as a flexible, inquiry-driven approach that expands what an artwork can be and how knowledge is produced. Some institutions stage exhibitions or residencies for artsuch projects. Notable examples in this frame include Echo Atlas (2018) by the Lumen Collective and Field Notes (2021), a collaborative installation exploring urban ecology. The term remains debated, especially regarding definitional boundaries and evaluation for funding.