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3. Advancing Creative Practices through Information Technology
Pages 61-95

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From page 61...
... Given experimentation to date, it is clear that new tools developed by computer scientists can be immediately applied by artists and other creative practitioners within a wide array of contexts. But there are further important implications of information technology and creative practices (ITCP)
From page 62...
... The intended outcomes go beyond making new tools for art and design practice, though that may be one outcome, to arrive at a fundamentally new way to do research a true hybrid. Both of these perspectives on interaction are important for the future of ITCP.
From page 63...
... media. It is a mistake to overemphasize the entirely new digital worlds that are uniquely possible using computers, as though the adaptation of already existing content or art forms to the new medium were only a lesser, transitional stage on the way toward the more significant discovery of purportedly new, essentially digital art forms.2 What tends to be overlooked, both by the modernist artist's and designer's technology push and the information technologist's pull for advanced content, are the subtle and by no means trivial processes of change occurring in the traditional art and design forms as they adjust to and begin to find their own responses to information technologies.
From page 64...
... For example, tacit knowledge unformalized and probably unformalizable knowledge such as design methodologies or embodied skills such as drawing or dancing has always played an impor
From page 65...
... The ineffable human feel can be simulated acceptably through clever tricks, but the danger all too often is that consumers of technology, including artists and designers, will accommodate themselves to the reduced expressive bandwidth afforded in easy-to-use interfaces, as discussed below.3 The emerging research paradigm for embodied interaction in human-computer interaction (MCI) is one opportunity for a different style of interface perhaps more compatible with highly skilled art practice.4 · ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ TOOLS NEEDED TO SUPPORT CREATIVE WORK: HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE Computer and communications hardware and software are the tools of ITCP and the means by which almost all digital media are created and manipulated.
From page 66...
... , although IT must also address data and information in less processed, intermediate states.6 This concept is derived from Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council, 1992, Computing the Future: A Broader Agenda for Computer Science and Engineering, Juris Hartmanis and Herbert Lin, eds., National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
From page 67...
... Although artists and designers share frustrations with other user groups, their perspectives, like those of other users, may help illuminate new paths for IT research and development. This situation was recognized in a recent special issue of a leading computer science journal: Many significant advances in research on human creativity have occurred, yet today's tools often contain interface elements that stymie creative efforts.
From page 68...
... These conditions suggest that it is reasonable to expect a wide range of willingness and ability among artists and designers to retrain and to upgrade their tools; how this will affect ITCP remains to be seen. Developers of software tools that can support creative practices have a number of variables to consider, all of which may affect the i°See tool characteristics in Sharon L
From page 69...
... exposed by their tools, the amount of structure supported or imposed on the work process and product, the number and kinds of different presentations and representations of content supported, the kinds of manipulations directly implemented, the openness and extensibility of the tool at various levels, and the levels of abstraction afforded. The developers' decisions often reflect attempts to make the system easy to use, or simplifying assumptions about what users want, but they can also greatly affect what users produce.~3 Very little research has explored the relationships between these design decisions and the fitness of the tool for various kinds of ITCP work what follows are some observations made by the committee.
From page 70...
... It is much easier to design a tool for a welldefined task than for non-deterministic, creative work, which cannot be reduced to a set of tasks. As one example of how these design decisions can affect the utility of tools, consider an image-editing program that provides a "blur" feature with a capability for "more" and "less" control.
From page 71...
... 41, available online at . Comprehensive tools for creative work will be neither possible nor necessary.
From page 72...
... . 20Sensors can be applied in many contexts relevant to ITCP work, as described in subsequent sections of this chapter.
From page 73...
... 26Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council, 1997, More Than Screen Deep: Toward Every-Citizen Interfaces to the Nation's Information Infrastructure, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. Collaboration between artists and designers and computer scientists couch aim at a meta-too~kit that wou~cl offer ease of use plus flexible, extensible
From page 74...
... These and other examples illustrate how tool designers vary the kinds of structures imposed on the work process and product in their tools, often to facilitate experimentation, improvisation, and flexibility.
From page 75...
... See also Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon, 1996, Where Wizards Stay Up Late, Simon and Schuster, New York; and Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council, 1999, Funding a Revolution: Government Support for Computing Research, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
From page 78...
... Given that a certain kind of creativity is inspired when faced with limitations, it may be that the limitations of the format can provide a framework for creative work, much as the traditional form of the classical symphony did for classical and romantic music, acting as a structure to both work within and rebel against. Other models of Web programs suitable for ITCP work are possible.
From page 79...
... The growth of the number of Internet users across diverse segments of society provides the basis for new applications for ITCP work. 35Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies (O'Reilly, Beijing and Cambridge, Mass., 2001)
From page 80...
... 38See the Word Circuits Connection Muse, available online at . 39The electronic documents on the Web are formatted in special languages (e.g., HTML)
From page 81...
... . expensive to develop and 11 nexpensive to ECONOMIC REALITIES when it appeals to many people, A key factor that shapes the development of tools for creative work is the economics of software.
From page 83...
... This approach allows users to contribute capability directly, makes the software freely available, and allows users access to the inner workings of the software so that creative modifications and customization are possible.
From page 84...
... They obviously establish some constraints, but they also can allow various programs to interoperate in new and creative ways, and they are typically associated with stabilizing a market, lowering costs, and facilitating training.44 Although perhaps 44This situation is exemplified by consumer electronics, but it also applies to various forms of IT (and non-IT products)
From page 85...
... Digital images are basically just arrays of pixels, yet they can be produced, stored, and manipulated in many ways. With standard representations for digital images, many programs and devices can interoperate, including cameras, digital editors, Web browsers, optical character reading (or other scanning)
From page 86...
... fostering consensus by demonstrating what a standard may lead to in practice. SELECTED AREAS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE THAT WOULD PROMOTE CREATIVE WORK Precisely what the future holds is uncertain, but based on current expectations and trends,46 the capabilities available for work in ITCP will become far more powerful and diverse in the coming years.
From page 87...
... 49See, for example, John Markoff, 2002, "Technology Gives Sight to Machines, Inexpensively," New York Times, June 17, available online at .
From page 88...
... for device programming, a simulation capability, and an optional component for interacting with the device, as described in "An Overview of Phidgets," available online at .
From page 89...
... The standards are constantly upgraded, solving some problems yet introducing others. For an emerging field, like digital media or ITCP generally, standards that lack reliability are a serious problem.
From page 92...
... First, the associated computer models depend on assumptions and to ensure that the models do not present the kinds of constraints criticized above, it will be important for artists and designers to have some understanding of the models' inner workings, which in turn depends on comfort with quantitative analyses. Second, some of the earliest explorations of ITCP were generative processes.
From page 93...
... See Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council, 2001, The Internet's Coming of Age, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. 55Mike Snider, 2002, "Faster Connection Allows Users to Do More," USA Today, June 23, available online at .
From page 94...
... Researchers and developers have produced a small number of data points more work in understanding this area can have deep ramifications for encouraging ITCP. 58A Canadian task force concluded a series of consultations with the arts and cultural community with a report entitled Filling the Pipe: Stimulating Canada's Broadband Content Industry Through R&D, available online at .
From page 95...
... Languages are particularly important for specifying interactive behavior and generative processes, an area not well supported by commercial software. Because a great deal of creative activity involves combining existing concepts in new ways, and because programming languages provide the glue for assembling software tools and libraries into applications, languages are critical to innovation.


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