AMP: Learning Creativity

thinking about the box

reconsidering creativity

What we typically teach in art courses

elements and principlesdisciplinary studio skillsproblem solvingcreativitywork ethicstudio citizenshipperception/acuitycritical self reflectionsocial production/collaborationaesthetic theorycommunication skillsart historical contextsocial context/ visual culture

predictors of student success

work ethic


curiosity

creativity


critical self reflection

work ethic

curiosity

creativity is a complex

No less than eleven creativity perspectives identified by Runco, 2006

Creativity is studied in several fields using numerous perspectives.







can creativity be learned?

The degree to which an individual believes that creativity is learnable depends upon their perspective and understanding of creativity.

two primary approaches

In order to make students more creative, instructors can use two approaches:

Teach cognitive Use adaptivestrategies strategies

creativity

behaviorstechniquestacticsstrategiesmental habits

permissionsafetyencouragementmodelingexpectations

Adaptive strategies

I will provide & you should take advantage of a learning environment that promotes creative thinking.

creativity

Adaptive strategies:

permission values experimentation & a variety of solutions safety freedom to fumble & fail & look “stupid” along the way

encouragement supportive of real effort and accomplishment

modeling instructor demonstrates creative values and

techniques expectations sets & communicates clear and constant goals

Cognative stratagies

creativity

Cognitive strategies:

mental habits recognize conventional thinking, creativity

blocks behaviors think with process

strategies shift paradigms, synaesthesia tactics x-ternalize thinking, visual research, role play, x-ray

vision

techniques divergent, convergent

creativity

mental habits

conventional thinking

creativity

mental habits

age

based on Piaget, 1970,1976; Kohlberg,1987; Johnson 1985

Numerous studies over the years have established a strong correlation between age and conventional thinking. Your cohort is currently near the bottom of the “creative valley”. Your thinking tends to be highly conventional.

conventional thinking

creativity

mental habits

based on Piaget, 1970,1976; Kohlberg,1987; Johnson 1985

But take heart: The studies were randomized. As art students you have already “skewed” the sample” so this is less predictive for this group.also, there are, of course, individual variations. your results may vary.

This is not meant to impugn your creativity, rather it is meant as a challenge and a check: Suspecting that your thinking is not as original as it may at first seem to you is key to unlocking your creativity.

Developing a Create Mind

Works like…

“The heart of all new ideas lies in the borrowing, adding, combining, or modifying of old ones.

Do it by accident and people call you lucky.

Do it by design and they’ll call you creative.”

- Michael LeBoeuf

Be Receptive

• try new things• welcome the unfamiliar• ask a lot of questions• learn to listen

Ask the question:“Why?”

Foster a Wide Range of Interests

• make connections between backgrounds• collaborate and learn• feed your hobbies

Be Curious

• research the unknown• explore somewhere new• seek out information• be a “lifelong learner”

How often are you taking pictures with that cell camera?

• make art with your music • make art with your clothes• make art out of your apartment• make your hair a work of art• make art out of your trash• make art with friends• make art with your video games• make art with out of sports• make art with food• make art with your phone• make art online• make art you can smell• make art

Be Attentive

• realize the value in every experience• see past the superficial• seek out new possibilities

Make Connections

• find similarities between disparate parts

Conviction

• never be satisfied with the same old answers• innovate!• start a revolution

Investigate New Levels of Complexity

• play• experiment• use your intuition

creativity blocks

creativity

mental habits

stress Stress is not only a distraction which drains energy which could otherwise be used creatively. It is bad for one's health. Creativity is Play!

routines Routines have their uses, such as creating good study habits, but they can limit the range of responses available and can lead to the a hatred for creative endeavors, or the "bureaucratic mind”. "The will to a system is a lack of integrity." –Nietzsche

goal directed behavior Overly focusing on goals rather than process limits perception and blinds us to possibility.A straight line is the scalpel with which we excise opportunity.

beliefs Having a strong belief in something not only limits our response options, but causes us to limit the way in which we perceive and process information from the outside world. We may "filter out" information which contradicts our belief, and end up in our own "reality tunnel", blissfully unaware of much that occurs in front of our very eyes.

egoOne must be humble before one's subject. Having a strong ego identity with a particular belief exacerbates the realty tunnel. This is not to imply that one must have no beliefs, merely that one needs to be very aware of one's beliefs and consequent limitations.

fear Fear of self expression and of the judgment of others can severely limit one's creativity.

self criticism Negative thinking and self criticism are also limiting factors of an individual's creativity.

creativity

behaviors

think with process

creativity

behaviors I hear: I forget.I see: I remember.I do: I understand.

Chinese proverb i hear: i forget.i see: i remember.i do: i understand.

chinese proverb

think with process

creativity


Chinese proverb

the 500ms. delayeven for simple volitional acts consciousness lags half of a second behind readiness potential. we have made our decisions and have initiated our actions before we consciously decide to act.

readiness potential 1

-1 s.

conscious wish

-0.2 s.

readiness potential 2

-0.5 s.act

based on Libet, 1979; Keller and Heckhausen, 1990

"the role of consciousness in our decisions is greatly overestimated"-tor norretranders

think with process

creativity


Chinese proverb

rapid cognitionmalcolm gladwell's blink, (2005) makes the case for "thinking without thinking" citing numerous studies and examples that reveal how subconscious processes that he calls "thin slicing" allow us to make better decisions and more accurate predictions for problems involving several variables or multiple dimensions with little conscious decision making.

think with process

creativity

behaviorsrapid cognition500 ms. delay

Preconscious perceptivity & creativity are reactive. Try to put consciousness in charge of planning the strategy and evaluating progress.

Allow the preconscious to react, readjust tactics and resolve the problem.

thinking with process = preconscious "thinking" = visual thinking

think with process

creativity


Chinese proverb

rapid cognition500 ms. delay

When in doubt do something

The point is not to think less, rather to think differently.

Avoid a "plan and execute" division of process

The journey is the destination.

In creative works problem seeking is problem solving.

Process is a collaborator –"our actions think louder than words"

creativity

techniques

creativity

techniques

attribute listing

bug listing (seinfeld whine)

problem reversal

force-field analysis

change perspective

convergent thinking

creativity

techniques

lateral thinking

associative thinking

bisociation (forced analogy)

divergent thinking

creativity

strategies

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

communication model

machine model

mapping model

catalyst model

diagnostic model

force/field model

pointing model

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

communication model

what does the artwork say?what do I want to say?

standard model

meaning meaning artist

viewer

artwork

encode decode transmissio

nmedium

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

communication model


corrected communication model

meaningmeaningmeaningmeaning artist

viewer

artwork

encode decode transmissio

nmedium “noise”

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

communication model


deconstruction/feminist communication model

meaningmeaningmeaningmeaning artist

viewer

artwork

transmissio

nmedium “noise” “noise” “noise”

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

machine model

what does the artwork do?what do I want it to do?

In this model artworks do not create meaning, they create effects

artist viewe

r

artwork

machine inventor

effects

consumer

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

machine model

what does the artwork do?what do I want it to do?

applied arts such as advertising, interior & product design most often use a machine model– the machine is a “tool” used to alter the viewer

artist viewe

r

artwork

“tool”

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

mapping model

What relationships does the artwork show?what do I want to show?

artist viewe

r

artwork

representation

filter

scaleimportant features

level of detailstyle

territory &

terrain

mode ofInvesti-gation

key

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

mapping model

What is the territory?How do I know what to look for?

What are the landmarks?How are they related?

artist viewe

r

artwork

representation

filter



territory &

terrain


key

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

mapping model

What style of representation is appropriate?At what level of detail (resolution)?

Have I provided a key?

artist viewe

r

artwork

representation

filter



territory &

terrain


key

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

catalyst model

What reactions does the artwork create?What reactions do I want?

artist

view

er

view

er

viewe

r

viewer

artwork

effect

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

catalyst model

focus on creating social change or interactionrather than communicating meaning

artist

view

er

view

er

viewe

r

viewer

artwork

effect

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

catalyst model

The artwork can be an object or design but often it is performative or an event

artist

view

er

view

er

viewe

r

viewer

artwork

effect

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

force/field model

What forces & fields are displayed?Upon what influences, powers & spheres should I draw?

What agencies, authorities & domains are in play?

viewe

r

artwork

“flow chart”

filter

scopeimportant featureslevel of complexity

style

perceptionanalysis

domain

forces

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

force/field model

In the “weak” force/field model the artist perceives,processes and encodes domains for display to the viewer

viewe

r

artwork

“flow chart”

filter

scopeimportant featureslevel of complexity

style

perceptionanalysis

domain

forces

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

force/field model

In the “strong” force/field model the artist is not an observer, The artwork is an effect of forces at work on the artist. The reception of the artwork is an effect of the forces at work on the viewers.

domain

forces

forces

forces forces

forces

forces

forces artwork

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

diagnostic model

What is the artwork a symptom of?What does the artwork indicate or reveal?

intendedmeaning

unintended meanings

symptoms

decodesymptoms

artwork

viewer

artis

t

meanings

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

diagnostic model

intendedmeaning

unintended meanings

symptoms

decodesymptoms

artwork

viewer

artis

t

meanings

in this model the artist’s intended meanings are the primaryfocus during creation, but are only of secondary importance

In the reception

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

diagnostic model

intendedmeaning

unintended meanings

symptoms

decodesymptoms

artwork

viewer

artis

t

meanings

artworks are” read” for clues or evidence of of underlyingforces or conditions at work in the the artist or in society

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

pointing model

artist viewe

r artwork

what discovery, experience or concept does the artwork share?

how do I present my interest so that the viewer shares my experience?

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

pointing model

artist viewe

r artwork

this model represents the fundamental function of all artworks: to redirect the attention of viewers. It is not so concerned with communication per say, rather it is an

attempt to replicate the artist’s experience, curiosity, or enthusiasm in the viewer

shift paradigms

creativity

strategies

pointing model

artist viewe

r artwork

Although all artworks “point” in this way, by focusing on the pointing model artists make an important shift

from making work that is “about” a concept or experience to work that participates in the concept or

experience as much as possible

synaesthesia

creativity

strategies

medically: involuntary linking of 2 or more sensesartistically: translation of one sense into another

synaesthesia

creativity

strategies

hearing

arous

al

taste

balance

tensiontouch

smell There are the “traditional”5 senses, but also otherbodily sensations such asbalance, tension, arousal,hunger, etc.

becoming consciously aware of our physical responses & tapping into sense memoriesprovide important resourcesfor generating creative solutions to visual problemsthat are less prone to bebased on cliché symbols...

synaesthesia

creativity teach:

strategies

Symbolic approaches to depict “death”

black

coffin

skeleton

grim reaper

blood

ghost

black roseclich

é

synaesthesia

creativity

strategies

synaesthetic approaches to depict “death”

acrid, sweet stench of moldering flesh; the smooth, or serene aroma of lilies. what does death smell like?

does death have the tension of rigor mortis or the repose of release? what does death feel like? is death as solid and weighty as packed earth, as open and airy as a picked carcass, or as ephemeral as a cold breath on your cheek? What is the tactile quality of death? does it sound like a hushed and empty silence or have the stretched, rounded sonority of a funeral dirge? What does death sound like?

creativity

tactics

creativity

tactics• externalize your thinking: keep a journal

creativity

tactics• research: the easiest way to get out of your own

head is to get into somebody else’s

creativity

tactics• game 1: always assume that you are wrong…

this will test your thinking and push you on to alternative solutions, conceptions & perceptions.

creativity

tactics• game 2: habitually play “could be…what if…”

look at things not just as they are, but what they could be

airplaneMccroskey (showing map): what do you make out of this? Eugene: This? I can make a hat, or a broach, or a teradactyl!mccroskey: gimme that!

creativity

tactics• develop x-ray vision

as metaphor

frame 1 (surface):: 1950’s stock photo image of girls gossiping or sharing a secret.

frame 2 (depth): “encountering the double” (doppelganger; evil twin; ka; subconscious; id/ego;

inner voice, inspiration)

creativity

tactics

the key concept is to hold two frames of reference simultaneously

• develop x-ray vision

as metaphor

creativity

tactics• develop x-ray vision

literally

creativity

tactics

a common example of x-ray vision occurs in figure drawing classes. typically students learn anatomy, especially bones, major muscle groups and insertions (where and how muscles connect to the bones). students use surface clues on the model such as boney landmarks to trigger projections of the internal anatomy which help them to draw the figure more accurately


literally

creativity

tactics

other common examples of projective vision (what we are calling x-ray vision) include rorschach tests, kuleshov effects in film, constellations and, of course, “undressing with the eyes”


literally

creativity

tacticsmany will argue that x-ray vision is as described here is not literal–that it’s not “real”. it is a point well taken, but real or not x-ray vision is a useful creativity tactic.

a final thought for doubters: are your dreams real? the vision that you experience in dreams IS real (in the sense that it really happens & can be verified with eeg and pet scans) even though it only simulates external events & is not caused by them.


literally

creativity

summerymental habits

behaviors

techniques

strategies

tactics

Education

AMP: Learning Creativity