Beyond Productivity Information Technology, Innovation, and Creativity (2003) / Chapter Skim
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2. Creative Practices
2. Creative Practices
Pages 30-60
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Each approach also benefits from resources such as training tools and suitable working conditions. This chapter explores how human creative capabilities can be accessed, developed, and applied to ITCP work.
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See Robin Mansell, 2001, "New Media and the Power of Networks," First Dixons Public Lecture, London, October 23, available online at |
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Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council, 1999, Being Fluent with Information Technology, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. 9Paul David, in a similar vein, discusses the importance of generic learning abilities, which must go beyond the acquisition of a specific repertoire of techniques, or even the ability to cope with a need for constant updating of technical knowledge, to a "capacity to understand and anticipate change." See Paul David and Dominique Foray, 2002, "An Introduction to the Economy of the Knowledge Society," International Social Science Journal (UNESCO)
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intersections of information technology and creative practices.
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The work of Karim Rashid in industrial design is an illustrative case (see Box 2.1~. The boundary-pushing influence of ITCP work on its fields of origin is a recurrent theme in the projects discussed in this chapter.
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INDIVIDUALS WITH DIVERSE EXPERTISE AND allows for a S K ~ ~ ~ S degree of There are some unusually talented people who can do it all, or do enough to create work that straddles more than one discipline and creates new skill sets. This approach has a unique beauty and economy; independence as one reviewer of this report suggested, an individual's work tends to have a conceptual wholeness, whereas collaborations may produce that larger "camels horses designed by committees." Many artists prefer the model of the multiskilled individual as the embodiment of the "move collaborative fast and travel light" style of work, which allows for a degree of independence in thinking and action that larger collaborative models may not always offer.
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as well as a doctoral student in computer science.~5 Mateas combines cultural production with artificial intelligence (AI) , two activities that normally have very different goals.
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This is not necessarily bad, because the overall pattern of multiple hybridization results in a number of different intersections of the arts and design with computer science and engineering different schools of ITCP thought and different kinds of activity which together span the range from the fine arts through design and craft. i8See Chapter 6 for an extended discussion.
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outside the commercial sphere.~9 The result is a certain amount of untapped creative energy become centered or underemployment, which limits cultural production to a narrower bandwidth than otherwise might be possible with more generous funding. This situation constrains the breadth and spectrum of the in a commercial, technical syntax of ITCP: Absent more funding for more experimental work, ITCP may become centered in a commercial, material core.
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22 Some non-commercial collaborative projects are both inspired and supported by institutions. An example is Bar Code Hotel, an interactive installation by artist/programmer Perry Hoberman that was among nine virtual reality projects produced by the Art and Virtual Environments project at the Banff Centre for the Arts.23 In Bar Code Hotel (see Figure 2.2)
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its original empty condition. Bar Code Hotel was produced through a hybrid work model in which the artist developed the concept but accomplished the work with help from others.
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Listening Post demonstrates that collaborations not only draw on and assemble a wide variety of skills in newly developing areas of digital culture but also may alter creative practices themselves the shape and nature of the way people work, and the way disciplines are defined and categorized. The boundaries of practice here were altered as a result of challenges that arose in the legal territories of intellectual property and licensing.
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The following descriptions of work models in these fields may provide some guidelines for future collaborations of computer scientists and artists and designers. A rc h i te c tu re Architecture is inherently a collaborative field.
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And they can use sophisticated software, applied to digital models of projects, to verify structural, thermal, and other aspects of performance. Projects that would have been imaginable but infeasible in the past can now be pursued without much difficulty (see Figure 2.3~.28 Movie Procluction The movie industry exemplifies cooperative creative practices, relying on collaborative processes involving artists and technicians to make its magic.
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These smaller-scale efforts are also collaborative in nature, with profit or revenue as a less important consideration than it is for mega-Hollywood-scale projects. Movie production has embraced IT.
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Desktop tools for postproduction in editing sound as well as animation and special effects are also creating access for a whole new generation of filmmakers. Ironically, as this lowerbudget end of film making has achieved commercial viability, it also has tended to compete with the experimental and non-commercial arena of film making for resources, such as access to venues.
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, and online games, is an increasingly important force in youth culture and the economy video games make more money than the Hollywood box office.35 Even more than film, computer games require a close marriage between the practical aspects of code and art, and between programmers and artists, at every stage of production. It is not just that different skills are required to produce the end result.
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In the words of one lead designer, "Every game is a moon shot."38 A concept from this industry that may be applicable to other ITCP activities is the leveraging of user talent (not unlike the audience participation in Terminal Time and Bar Code Hotel)
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or f 10~t tul ~ tvi; / / It coord~t VERTEX ~ * LPVERTEX r FIGURE 2.4 Development teams for computer games.
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Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull says a course in improvisation is the closest thing there is to a class in how to collaborate. Perhaps the strongest statement that can be made about these offerings is that they send a signal, coupled with enabling resources and management support, that creativity matters, is encouraged, and may be rewarded, and that it can involve moving beyond one's starting skill set, whether on an individual basis or in combining people with different starting skill sets into teams.
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Doing so may involve assessing the multiple dimensions of each relevant discipline which affects its interfaces to others and the ongoing processes of change affecting each discipline. Specific obstacles to be overcome at the intersection of IT and creative practices are discussed in the following subsections.
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This attitude was evident in early committee discussions, coming out most strongly in contrasting perspectives on the potential for creative practices within industry. Because of their experience in 45As Michael Mateas, creator of Terminal Time, told the committee: "Power is a big issue ....
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Hence it is important to foster social contexts that recog nize explicitly that people come from different cultures and explicitly work to bridge those differences. Establishing strong common goals and simultaneously ensuring individual work satisfaction the sup port of individual goals within the group is one strategy for cross 49This perspective is likely to be more common among studio artists than, for example, commercial artists who work in advertising or industrial designers.
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A major impediment to cross-disciplinary collaborations is the traditional academic focus on isolated disciplines, the organizing principle for departments, journals, and the reward system for teachers and researchers.52 New technological art forms require new ways of organizing, which can take decades to stabilize, as was true for cinema and perhaps for emergent forms such as virtual environments.53 MINIMIZING COMMUNICATIONS CLASHES Although the arts and sciences are not completely separate spheres indeed, some see them as intricately related they do speak different languages. During the writing of the present report, for example, committee members and staff win IT backgrounds had difficulty understanding the nonlinear concepts and writing style of those with art and critical studies backgrounds.
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As noted by Michael Mateas, for example, the scientist seeks abstract and objective knowledge, whereas the artist seeks an immediate perceptual experience for the audience.57 Accordingly, it can be difficult for them to reach consensus on common problems and topics and to establish common understandings.58 Yet there are also rapid changes redefining practice that are blurring previously rigid boundaries, as collaborators find ways to accommodate their differences. As noted by a reviewer of this report, successful collaborations involve mutual respect and friendship: Each knows enough about the other's field for meaningful conversation to take place, but respects the other's expertise enough to leave specialized decisions to that collaborator.
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According to promotional materials, Open Studio empowered the arts community to "give the Internet a soul," helping artists and arts organizations gain powerful new opportunities to network, strengthen ties to communities, and build new audiences, while ensuring that the online world is a source of creative excellence and diversity. Technology plays a role in education at Eyebeam Atelier, where the goal is to expose broad and diverse audiences to new technologies and the media arts while simultaneously establishing and articulating abased on a personal communication from Bill Alschuler, School of Critical Studies, California Institute of the Arts, 2002.
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Audience members at Columbia University as well as observers on the Internet could watch the session in real time. A question-and-answer session was held for both in-person and Internet observers.63 Wo RK S PAC ES Appropriate work spaces are an essential ingredient in creative production.64 People need a comfortable setting offering access to their tools and collaborators.
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The re-thinking of design for knowledge sharing, through both physical proximity and electronic communication, is an important part of creating new work processes and has to evolve hand in hand with space planning. How can these processes be facilitated in ways that allow for the flexibility and crosspollination that are desirable in facilities for research and creative production?
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Virtual spaces can be architectures for collaborations that allow multiple users to talk and share work and work space across geographical territories. These capabilities are changing the nature of collaborative work as well as the markets and audiences for it.
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