Hi Michael,



I am 100% behind iterative.



For me creativity feels a bit like assembling a 3d puzzle piece. First

you look at all the bits from all the angles (research) then you start

trying bits together in ways that intuitively feel 'right', but you

don't know if you are there (or if a crucial piece has gone awol under

the sofa) until it suddenly all clicks into place. (That's the flash  -

and to be fair it is important - a proverbial infinite monkey might type

out Macbeth by accident, but it would not recognise it as a masterpiece)

Every artist is soaking up influences all the time, sometimes

conciously, sometimes unconciously - it takes a lot of time to gain

confidence and learn to trust to the 'muse', and that in itself is

iterative.



Urban legend has it that Picasso was doodling on a paper napkin in a

Paris café when an admirer approached and asked if she could buy the

drawing. Picasso agreed but asked for a significant amount of money. The

admirer was shocked: “How can you ask for so much? It only took you a

minute to draw this!” “No”, Picasso replied, “It took me 48 years and 1

minute”.



The magician Derren Brown constructed a cute experiment with some

advertising creatives where he 'fed' them visual clues in a carefully

orchestrated taxi journey before tasking them to create an advertising

camapaign. He then managed to predict their campaign with convincing

accuracy. (actually, perhaps this is a bit sad - but presumably we are

not classifying advertising creatives alongside Beethoven etc?)



I am currently taking a PhD by practice in arts and computational

technology at Goldsmiths. Documenting the creative process is key to my

research - without it, I cannot prove my investigative progression.

Would be happy to come aboard if you want me...



Cheers



Carol MacGillivray



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	-----Original Message----- 

	From: List for people wishing to share knowledge experiences of

curriculum design on behalf of Michael Douma (Lists) 

	Sent: Wed 15/07/2009 19:34 

	To: [log in to unmask] 

	Cc: 

	Subject: How drafts reveal the creative process?

	

	



	Dear All,

	

	I've been a member of this list for a while, and have a question

about

	the creative process which might be of interest.

	

	Many of us believe that creative works are generated by the

artist in

	a flash of insight, a special moment when the work appears in

the mind

	fully formed.  Then, all the artist has to do is execute this

vision,

	using the techniques of his or her medium.  But is this really

how

	creativity works? There have been many in-depth studies of the

	creative process in recent decades. These studies have used

methods of

	biography, of history, and of empirical observation.  All of

these

	studies show that this "flash of insight" view is false.

Artists

	start working without a fully-formed vision or plan for the

final

	work; the work changes dramatically, often more than once,

during the

	work; and what we see at the end is something that has emerged

from

	the process of working with the medium, a process that has many

drafts

	along the way. Artists generate works over long periods of time,

with

	many smaller "mini insights" occurring to them along the way.

The

	best way to understand this process is to examine closely

snapshots of

	the work as it unfolds: by looking at drafts.

	

	To educate the general public and students about creativity, my

	colleagues and I are planning a new online exhibit about drafts.

We

	may lose ourselves in a gripping novel, get goose bumps from an

	historical speech, or become mesmerized by a brilliantly

composed

	symphony, but most people give little thought to the creative

process

	that fuels great and lesser-known works in the arts, humanities,

	social sciences, and sciences. Initial drafts and subsequent

versions

	of any work are where vision and skill combine to form the

creative

	process, yet even those in the academic, art, music, or literary

	arenas rarely address the iterative process that shapes final

pieces.

	Exhibiting, interpreting, and evaluating the changes creators

make

	between drafts pulls back the curtain on the creative process,

and

	provides a sense of context, discovery, and invention for

students,

	educators, and the general public.

	

	For our exhibit, topics are still taking form, and will include:

	Governance: Political Speeches, Legislation, and Constitutions

	The Arts: Visual Arts, Music, and Literature

	The Physical World: Science, Mathematics, Technology, and

Cartography

	Other: Business Models, Military Conflict, and Architecture

	

	* What do you think about iterative vs. a flash of insight?

	

	* Do any particular ideas or case studies come to mind which are

	illustrative for the public? (e.g., Gettysburg address,

Beethoven's

	ninth symphony, etc.).

	

	* We are also looking for additional advisors on this project,

with

	expertise on various topics, please let me know if any possible

	advisors leap to mind.

	

	Thanks,

	

	Michael

	

	--------------------------------------------------

	Michael Douma

	Executive Director

	Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement

	http://www.idea.org/

	http://www.webexhibits.org/

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	--------------------------------------------------