Readings

Creativity:

Article 1: “Creativity: What Are We Talking About?”

Main Idea: The main idea of this article was to explore the many definitions of creativity and also the raise concern for how these definitions and teachings are being handed down to students and future creative people. This article stresses the fact that humanity would benefit from, “…a renewed focus on creativity and innovation, as we offer greater clarity of meanings, processes and purposes”.

Supporting Key Concepts:

·      The term “creativity” is defined very ambiguously and in a way that allows it to have no common meaning. As our world grows and gains more and more knowledge, and creates more and more things, the meaning of creativity shifts in the eyes of many.

·      The three broad categories for theories of creativity are:

·      Domain-Altering:

·      “…any act, idea or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one”.

·      Self-Expression and Meaning Making:      

·      “…creativity and art are biological necessities for homo sapiens” and “…all humans have some creative capacity and that creativity is a valuable attribute, because it helps us to adapt to change and celebrate life”.

·      Creative Problem Solving:

·      “…cycle of problem and fact-finding, analysis, idea generation, and judgment.”

·      There is a major concern that the idea that is installed in us that there is “one answer” to every problem ultimately results in the inability to seek out, confront and solve open-ended problems. Because there is such a lack of understanding of creativity, and no common meaning, the idea of creativity is being dismissed and changed completely.

·      When the idea of creativity changes, the people we name as “creatives” change as well. Some may peg artists like Frida Kahlo or Picasso as true creative people. However, in an ever growing and developing world, some may find the maker of the Segway as the most creative. When there are changes made to the meaning of creativity, those who are defined by it may change as well.

Example and Assessment: The best example from this article is the discussion of the three categories for theories of creativity. Each one outlines a broad, but also very distinct and understandable category that creativity may be seen as. The author does a great job of including people that fall under that specific definition of creativity and gives a number of ways of how to renew the focus of creativity, clarify its meaning and purpose and share it with others.

Personal Response: I think this article generated a lot of thought for me. When I think about creativity I immediately think of self-expression and finding your voice through yourself and your ties to the world and others. However, I do also agree that creativity generates something new – it changes the way we see the old. Thus, I think that although I saw points for each category, I, myself felt more in tune with the “Domain-Changing” and the “Self-Expression and Search for Meaning” categories.

Questions: When I was reading this article I was thinking a lot about the processes I go through to gain my creative stance on things. Do I fall under one of these categories? How do you teach someone how to be creative if the definition is not definite? Is there a way to teach someone how to be creative or is it a natural ability? Is it a want or a need?

Article 2: “Understanding Digital-Synthesized Photographs Through Theories of Knowledge: A Case Study of Tom Bamberger’s Cultured Landscapes”

Main Idea: The main idea of this article was to investigate digital photographers’ views of reality to help identify and clarify knowledge provided by their work. This article stresses the fact that, “…photographers now spend more time editing their photographs with Photoshop than finding a “perfect” scene.” The article then goes on to study and gain knowledge about the work of Tom Bamberger, a contemporary photographer that created the Cultured Landscapes project.

Supporting Key Concepts:

·      To understand an artist’s message in their work, you must investigate the artist’s worldview, or what he or she values as knowledge.

·      Tom Bamberger takes photography and uses it to help display reality and truth. His knowledge and what he holds to be valuable are very important to how his work is conceived.

·      “For Bamberger, “art” is a verb, not a noun, and it is a collective presentation of  a cumulative view of everything he sees.”

·      He believes that in order to tell the truth, there needs to be beauty in the photograph. Bamberger defines beauty as “…a particular kind of form that human beings find pleasure in.”

·      His work, Cultural Landscapes, is an approach to make photographs more real, beautiful and more true.

Example and Assessment: The best example from this article is the overarching idea that, “In order to understand an artist’s important message beneath his or her digital fantasies, I propose that we investigate the artist’s worldview, or what s/he values as knowledge.” In particular, when looking at the work of Tom Bamberger, I think is is vital to understand why his work is created how it is and why he thinks that it is important for him to create the work he does.

Personal Response: This article generated a lot of thought for me. I think it is always immensely interesting to see artwork and hear from the artist what they find is important and vital knowledge for their work. Although some of my beliefs on truth, reality and beauty are different from Bamberger’s, I think gaining insight as to how he works and the ideas behind his pieces are important to not only viewing his work but also being able to possibly attribute those ideas to further works of art and realities that are similar to his.

Questions: When I was reading this article I found myself comparing and contrasting a lot of my beliefs to those of Tom Bamberger’s. I asked myself what I thought to be the definition of truth, reality and beauty and I also thought how my work might be affected if I were to adopt the knowledge that he holds and attribute it to my own art.

Article 1: “Thinking Outside and On the Box: Creativity and Inquiry in Art Practice”

Main Idea: The main idea of this article was to supply the reader with wisdom and information regarding creative theory and the types and phases of thinking and conceptual strategies in creativity. This article defines Wallas’ Four Stages of Creativity – preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification – and uses a class project from Lincoln High School to exemplify these ideas and phases.

Supporting Key Concepts:

·      “Creative thinking is a key factor. Therefore, understanding creative thinking is critical to grasping how we learn through making art.”

·      Wallas’ Four Stages of Creativity:

·      Preparation

§  1. Name

§  2. Distill

§  3. Hunt, Gather and Collect

§  4. Mine and Extract

·      Incubation

§  5. Connect, Synthesize, and Juxtapose

§  6. Cast or Frame

§  7. Project/Extend

·      Illumination

§  8. Construct

·      Verification

§  9.  Reflect

§  10. Elaborate/Extend Further

·      Types of Thinking and Conceptual Strategies in Creativity

·      Analytical: examining something to make sense of it or detecting an abstract concept in the concrete.

·      Connective or Associative: forming associations between things, finding similarities between them, or constructing metaphors by comparing one thing to another.

·      Transformative: elaborating on something, revisiting it, constructing it, or translating it into another style, medium or form.

Example and Assessment: The best example from this article is Wallas’ Stages of Creativity and the Phases that are included in it. The four stages are broken down and explained more, and even given phases for each one that explain in even greater detail. On page18 there is a fantastic diagram that allows the reader to easily follow and learn the stages and phases needed to think creatively.

Personal Response: I loved reading this article and thinking about the ways in which I use these stages and phases in my own art making. Although I do think that every person has their own ways to generate creativity and make art, I think that learning about these processes are important in learning and growing as a creative person.

Questions: When I was reading this article the biggest question that I thought of was if these stages were taught and used in every school by every teacher (art of not), if it would change the way people view creativity and the ways that a person can reach their creative potential.

Article 5: Art Education Technology: Digital Storytelling

Main Idea: The main idea of this article was to reiterate the importance of digital storytelling and how it is worked into modern art education today. The article first explains what digital storytelling means and how it is used in society and then goes on to explain the mediums and means by which is it created. In this article a story is defined as, “…a narrative account of an incident, person, event or position.” It then expands further on the idea of digital storytelling, defining it as, “…the practice of incorporating digital text, imagery, video, and audio into the presentation of a computer-mediated, multimedia story.” After the explanations and definitions, the majority of the article illuminates how digital storytelling is integrated in art education and why that is important.

Supporting Key Concepts:

·      Art Education’s Digital Storytelling learning goals:

·      To experience ditial storytelling as a powerful tool for art inquiry, production, and instruction and to create an instructional multimedia story related to art or art education.

·      To participate in class discussions and inquiries into digital storytelling as it related to art education.

·      To evaluate digital stories created by both class participants and others.

·      Create a Digital Story:

·      Exploring Topics: discuss and explore topic ideas and formats.

·      Script: conduct research both online and in the library on the chosen topics and complete a working script.

·      Storyboard: plan out a sequence of scenes and the interaction of the incorporated media components.

·      Production: Use multimedia-enabled computers, programs and equipment to create the digital story.

·      Image preparation: obtain images online, in print or produce them on a computer.

·      Criteria for Evaluation: know the instructors expectations and the criteria by which he/she will evaluate your work.

·      Critique: bring completed story to the class to elaborate further on the work

§  Creativity: is the story aesthetically or artistically interesting?

§  Cohesion: are multi-media formats integrated appropriately?

§  Success: is the story persuasive or engaging?

§  Meaningfulness: is the story informative or educationally significant?

Example and Assessment: The best example from this article is the basic overview on what creating a storyboard entails. In order to create a story, you must first explore topics for it. After your topic has been chosen, you then need to follow the remaining steps in preparation to show your final creation and have it critiqued by others. The artist must create a script, a storyboard, start production, prepare images and learn the instructors expectations and criteria by which he/she will evaluate the digital story. When the story is completed, it will be shown to other people for critique.

Personal Response: I think this article is very helpful for those that may not be aware of the importance of digital storytelling and the steps needed to achieve it. As an illustration major, I am constantly reminded the importance of these steps and am constantly creating new digital stories. I hope articles like this help other people to see the importance and also to encourage or help create digital stories for themselves.

Questions: When I read this article, I knew much of the process and the significance of digital storytelling because I am an Illustration major. I did not have very many questions but I do wonder if this article will help other people who read it, learn about how they can create a digital story by following the steps.

Article 6: Five Ways to Integrate: Using Strategies from Contemporary Art 

Main Idea: The main idea of this article was to explain that integration is a very important art practice today that studying about art and integrating it are compatible activities. This article is also for art teachers of all levels who wish to teach through and about art. It is used to help illuminate the doable art-based ways to connect art with an academic curriculum.

Supporting Key Concepts:

·      Art is inherently connected to all disciplines.

·      Five current art models based on five conceptual strategies of contemporary artists:

·      Depiction

§  Observe/Interpret

§  Learning through image making

§  All ages

·      Extension/Projection

§  Imagine/Envision

§  The power of fiction & imagination

§  All ages

·      Reformatting

§  Re-contextualize

§  How visual formats convey meaning

§  Middle/High School ages

·      Mimicry

§  Copy/Perform

§  Various methods of inquiry

§  All ages

·      Metaphor

§  Compare/describe

§  How metaphor generates meaning

§  High School ages

·      All of these strategies involve interpretation, reinterpretation and/or re-contextualization – ways artists change perceptions of things by reframing them.

·      Gude’s principles for a postmodern 21^st century art education.

·      Learning through the arts is compatible with learning in the arts.

Example and Assessment: The best example from this article is the five conceptual strategies. They are laid out and explained in critical detail throughout the entire article. Then, the article even gives an amazing table on page eighteen that summarizes and categorizes the information given.

Personal Response: I think this article is a very helpful resource when trying to integrate and connect art with academic curriculum. Coming from an art background, we already integrate these strategies and ideas in everything we do. However, for a teacher that is teaching another subject, this article would be immensely helpful.

Questions: When I read this article, I knew much of the process and the significance of integrating art practices in academic curriculum. I am an illustration major and we use a lot of the same ideas and strategies every day in our work and our image making processes. When reading this, I wonder how many teachers rom other disciplines would consider using these art practices in their curriculum to help better teach their subject and yet also integrate art.