11-15 April 2005, Goldsmiths College, London University, London UK
The main theme of the conference was the creative process and the creation of artifacts: understanding creative practice, art works employing digital media and creativity support tools.
Thanks to ANAT and RMIT University, the opportunity to attend the conference and exhibit my art work/research to international audience has been an extremely valuable experience. Mostly in terms of exposure to contemporary interdisciplinary thought in the pursuit of understanding the creative process.
Abstract from my paper… A Theory of Error explores notions of art and corporeality, and in particular art representing the brain and mechanisms of thought, reflections about exploring the creative process and considering thought when the brain is simulated through digital imaging. Forming a theoretical background to the project are various interwoven theories from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, art and technology that examine the mechanisms of creativity in relation to mutation and disorder, chaos and abstraction.
The papers of the conference appear at: http://portal.acm.org/portal.cfm
The program of the conference was separated into 3 streams: Central, scientific and technology orientated work on creativity; An expanded coverage of creative art practice and, historical development in this area.
The art component
The reflective practice and practice based research chaired by Janis Jefferies (Dept of Art, Goldsmiths College). The aim: To provide a platform for a new type of a multi-disciplinary worker: the artist as researcher, participating in trans-disciplinary practices and pioneering research in the development of technologies at the cusp of creativity and cognition. To further develop my research and to establish appropriate relations, this is exactly where I need to be.
The exhibition represented collaborative art projects from performance art, sound art, visual arts, musicians, technologists and scientists… presenting new models for engaging in and exploring the nature creativity. Interactive art & collaborative projects placed emphasis on the artist as “a node in the network of creativity” and the combination of thought matrices to develop a project was the strength in artistic practice and the creative process, whatever the discipline.
I was especially engaged in the art demonstration titled: Tech-tiles (Tim Blackwell & Janis Jefferies). The tech-tiles, visually, are rectangular portions of an image, and aurally, portions of a sonic event or stream. The whimsical sounds reacted to the density of textured image and various textural forms were created from spontaneous sounds mapping of textile images into sound. The association and correlations became both harmonic and disturbing sonic improvisation.
Society of Neurons: An Arts/Science Project (Warren Neidich, Robert Zimmer & Thibaud de Souza) was an interactive & interdisciplinary project and one of the most inspiring. Using current theoretical frameworks emerging out of neuro-scientific inquiry, a very lively web-based mutating computational network or a “webbrain” has been created. The frameworks were discussed further in a conference in May 05 titled: “Neuroaesthetics” chaired by Warren Neidich. And if you missed that one, you can find out more about his work at www.artbrain.org (including links to his new Journal of Neuro-aesthetic Theory) or his book: BLOW-UP: Photography, Cinema and the Brain (2003).
Workshop – Freedom & Constraint in the Creative Process in Digital Fine Art: an AHRB Invited workshop. Chaired by John Hayworth. Although I wasn’t officially on the list of attendees, John accepted me as a late participant due to the appropriateness of my work. The workshop shed light on the freedom and constraints in creative process focusing on thought, technique and materials. Key points:
- The digital greatly influences our perceptions and approaches to creativity computer aided art manifests a diversity of practices in which the fusion of thought and action is critical to the creative process
- The computer extends creative ability to express interactive techniques and enables the viewer to have an active role and an immediate relationship with image making.
- The digital provides fluidity in image construction.
- Digital changes the way we are creative – enhancing the process and influencing the way we view the world. Technology influences perception and thinking; while at the same time concepts, ideas and feelings influence the use of technology.
- Rather than being called a “digital artist” we can say we are “informed by the digital”
The themes are fully explored at www.embodiedmind.com
Other highlights
Another notable address was that of Keynote Speaker Margaret Boden (Research Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Sussex). I had referenced Margaret throughout my Masters research and was delighted to hear her speak and to visit the new Dana Centre at the Science Museum. She spoke about new technologies, new aesthetics and new principles of aesthetics to evaluate interactive art and also presented several different ways of generating creative ideas – based on the following:
- Arranging existing ideas in new combination’s
- Taking accepted cultured styles and explore potential, extend limits tweak styles or utilize new tools
- Defining creativity as a transformative process, where the fundamental rules are altered… new structures (by mutations or otherwise). Examples were in major art movements or individuals and individuals who led them.
More tangible, technical measurable processes, where explored in many of the papers presented. Creativity was discussed in terms of computer functioning, computer programming and design. “Understanding Design as a Social Creative Process” (Andy Warr & Eamonn O’Neil) discussed creativity in respect to design and the emphasis being that social creativity is more productive than individual creativity. The landmark event of the “9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering” 1966, was used as a source of historical reference into the nature of interaction and collaboration, creative dialogue and collective wisdom.
Socializing with the conference delegates at a dinner on the 4th floor of TATE Modern was definitely one of the highlights. As were the London galleries, as was going to the Old Vic Theatre to see Kevin Spacey in the National Anthem.
The only reason I was pleased to take my seat on the plane was that I had left no time at all for the “Heathrow hike”… The flight home, with all of 60 passengers, allowed me to take centre aisle, arm rests up and lay back to watch Gone with the Wind. Perfect.
As warm welcome and within a week of my arrival in Melbourne was the first of the Alfred Deakin Lectures: Flights of Fantasy: an illustrated lecture/demonstration of the neurological dimensions of spontaneous creativity. And it was refreshingly spontaneous… Composer & jazz pianist, Paul Grabowsky, improvises and whilst performing his impulses and brainwaves were analysed and interpreted by modern neuroscience by Prof VS Ramachandran (Neuroscientist and Director, Centre for the Brain & Cognition, University of California). Modern theories in neuroscience were made clearer through examples of Synesthesia – a condition where “crosswiring” in the neural connections cause individuals to perceive more than one sense at the same time eg. Colours may be visualized when hearing a sound, a number or a letter of the alphabet. Research surrounding this condition has aided neurologists with further investigation to how the creative brain may function.
Supported by ANAT and RMIT University.
The following list was given to me by Bruce Wands, Director, NY Digital Salon & Chair, MFA Computer Art Department, School of Visual Arts, New York – www.brucewands.com
And, a final comment, Bruce is worth contacting if you are interested in the NY Digital Salon. Few Australian artists are represented on the site – and I believe there could be more. Check out the site – www.nydigitalsalon.org
NEW MEDIA ART ORGANIZATIONS/GALLERIES/WEBSITES:
http://research.it.uts.edu.au/creative/
Artport, Whitney Museum of American Art Portal to Net Art, New York, http://artport.whitney.org
ASCI (Art & Science Collaborations, Inc) New York www.asci.org
BANFF Centre New Media Institute, Canada www.banffcentre.ca
Biforms Gallery, NY www.bitforms.com
Boston Cyberarts, USA http://bostoncyberarts.org/
C3 Centre for Culture and Communication, Hungary, www.c3.hu
Centre Pompidou Net Art, France www.centrepompidou.fr/netart/
Creative Time, USA www.creativetime.org
Crossfade http://crossfade.walkerart.org
CRUMB (Curatorial Resource for Upstart Media Bliss) – www.newmedia.sunderland.ac.uk/crumb
DIA Center for the Arts Web Projects, USA, http://discenter.org
Digital Arts Development Agency UK www.da2.org.uk/da2.htm
Digital Craft Museum of applied Arts Frankfurt, Germany www.digitalcraft.org
Digital Art Museum www.dam.org/
Edith Russ Site for Media Art, Germany www.edith-russ-haus.de
Electronic Arts Intermix, USA www.eai.org/eai/
ENCART (European Network for Cyberart) www.encart.net
Engine 27 USA www.engine27.org
Experimental Television Center USA www.experimentaltvcenter.org/
Eyebeam USA www.eyebeam.org
Faces www.faces-I.net
FACT (Film & Art Creative Technology) UK www.fact.co.uk
Franklin Furnace USA www.franklinfurnace.org
Harvestworks USA www.harvestworks.org
IAMAS (Institute of Advanced New Media Arts and sciences), Japan http://iamas.ac.jp
Intelligent Agent USA http://intelligentagent.com/
InterCommunication Center (ICC) Japan www.ntticc.or.jp
ISEA (Inter-society for the Electronic Arts) Canada www.isea-web.org
Java Museum www.javamuseum.org
The Kitchen www.thekitchen.org
Leonardo/International Society for the Arts, sciences and technology www.leonardo.info
Location 1 USA www.location1.org
Ljubljana Digital Media Lab http://ljudmila.org
MECAD (Media Centre of Art and Design) Spain www.mecad.org
Mediaterra Greece www.mediaterra.org
American Museeum of Moving Image USA www.movingimage.us/aec/
National Video Resource USA www.nvr.org
Net Art Review www.netartreview.net/
Nettime www.nettime.org
New Media Beijing www.newmediabeijing.org
New Media Scotland www.mediascot.org
New York Center for Media Arts USA http://nycmendiaarts.org
PS 1 USA www.ps1.org
Pixel Gallery Canada www.pixelgallery.org
Postmasters Gallery, USA www.postmasters.art.com
Post Media Network, USA www.michelethursz.com
Rhizome, USA www.rhizome.org
Run Me Software art Repository http://runme.org
SAT Canada www.sat.qc.ca
SFMOMA e-space www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/espace
SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group for Graphics of the Association for Computing Machinery) www.siggraph.org
SMARTlab (Site-Specific Media Arts Research and Tools) UK www.smartlabcentre.com
Tate Webart UK www.tate.org.uk/webart/
The New Center for Art and Technology USA www.newcat.org
The THING USA http://bbs.thing.net
Turbulence, USA http://turbulance.org
V2_Organisation, Institute for the Unstable Media, Netherlands www.v2.nl
Walker Art Center Gallery 9 USA http://gallery9.walkerart.org
Web Net Museum France http://webnetmuseum.org
Zero One, USA www.groundzero.org
ZKM (Zentrum fur Kultur und Medien/Center for Culture and Media Germany) http://on1.zkm.de/zkm/e/
Tags: cognitive psychology, collective wisdom, creative dialogue, neuroscience
