ABSTRACT
Since the late 1970s, the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) has devoted its empirical attention to the constitutive practices of science and technology, ranging from laboratory practices in cutting-edge science to technology use in myriad everyday settings across contemporary societies. Over the last two decades, in turn, multiple initiatives of transdisciplinary collaboration across art, science, and technology have seen the light of day. Why, by whom, and under what circumstances are such initiatives promoted? How do they play out in practice? What does their experimental character look like? And what can be learned – epistemologically and institutionally – from probing the multiple practices of “art/science” at work? The introduction sets the stage for the topical contributions that make up this volume in answer to the raised questions. First of all, it spells out the gist of the “practice turn” in STS in the form of an ad hoc reminder of its particular relevance to this book. We then go on to consider the current discourse on “artistic research” and its contrasting notions of artistic experiment in particular. In a last step, the introduction outlines the volume in terms of the positions, practices, and implications that its contributions draw out, describe, and discuss. In doing so, it outlines the heuristic interest of the “practice turn” in STS for investigating experimentation across art, science, and technology in situ.
