Welcome to the start of MAPP - Week 1 of this term
Please read and watch and comment below so we can start a conversation...
This is a section of a video lecture. It is quite light hearted but what John Green's point is that learning - that is worthwhile is a part of living (and living with integrality). Education is about application not being told what to do...It is about the capacity to make connections and critically imagine, divergent thinking...
Then think about what your learning is - what does it mean to have learnt about life through being an artist or being in the Arts. What value do you put on creative skills to imagine, wonder, working-out the capacity to make connections . These are skills we ask you to use as core to what learning means - Art's Critical value.
In this video Cindy Foley references Sir Ken Robinson's lecture* (video).
Cindy identifies key habits that artists employ, that are also key to our course.
Comfort with Ambiguity
Idea Generation
Transdisciplinary Research
*https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity/up-next?language=en
Please read and watch and comment below so we can start a conversation...
This is a section of a video lecture. It is quite light hearted but what John Green's point is that learning - that is worthwhile is a part of living (and living with integrality). Education is about application not being told what to do...It is about the capacity to make connections and critically imagine, divergent thinking...
Then think about what your learning is - what does it mean to have learnt about life through being an artist or being in the Arts. What value do you put on creative skills to imagine, wonder, working-out the capacity to make connections . These are skills we ask you to use as core to what learning means - Art's Critical value.
In this video Cindy Foley references Sir Ken Robinson's lecture* (video).
Cindy identifies key habits that artists employ, that are also key to our course.
Comfort with Ambiguity
Idea Generation
Transdisciplinary Research
*https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity/up-next?language=en
Thanks Adesola. I have responded on my blog if anyone would like to comment.
ReplyDeleteDis(Comfort) with Ambiguity
ReplyDeleteTo say artists are comfortable with ambiguity is perhaps a slightly mis(connected) statement. It is possible that creators/thinkers/artists have just developed a framework of practice that creates a secure space to experience the dis(comfort) of not knowing or ambiguity.
When I was a child I hated being (feeling like) I was wrong, a trait that probably still remains in some of my life – At school I loved maths, I loved maths because there were actual, clear, distinct ‘wrongs and rights’. What I enjoyed was not the being right, but the security of the framework the subject gave me, allowing me to puzzle out answers – I loved the discovery, the creativity of it!
Watching Cindy Foley’s and Ken Robinson’s video I wondered about this – Are all artists/creators comfortable with all ambiguity, what about situations they are not familiar with or they feel unprepared for – maybe a consultation with a surgeon after a serious diagnosis or a lost passport on holiday – both ambiguous situation that make most of us uncomfortable due to insufficient understanding and a lack of control of the outcome. Is it possible that artists/creators have developed a secure framework, a framework that allows for play with ambiguity because as thinker/artist you are secure within process?
Maths is mostly ambiguity until you work out the answer – what we teach children is the tools for working within the framework, so they are secure in their ability to reach an answer.
Many children shy away from creativity, because of the fear of not knowing, doing it wrong, looking silly – In fact this is why most adults do too.
So, my question is: Is there a way of teaching the framework that allows for ‘comfort with ambiguity’– What does that framework look like? Is it different for each person or are there tools, that, if adopted, create enough security to develop the confidence to play with an idea.
Very thought-provoking ideas, Stella! I had not thought about ambiguity revolving around the process and tools versus the subject itself. I will think more on this and write a blog post shortly, reflecting on this idea.
DeleteThanks Adesola. I enjoyed this talk.
ReplyDeleteI would go slightly further from what Stella is mentioning and perhaps suggest that artists/creative thinkers have an innate ability to be comfortable with ambiguity which develops further as they develop their tools for professional practice. A little bit like a muscle that works out regularly. When Cindy Foley gave the metaphor example, my initial reaction was to go into the realms of my imagination and just create! Like a spark or challenge given to me that I would be happy to develop.
Contrary to Stella, I stopped loving maths once I thought that there was no scope for imagination. I believed that all I needed to know in Maths was to have the tools in which to resolve a problem. I later found out that it was simply the way I was being taught. My Father was an excellent mathematician and his extra tuition made me love Maths again, enough to get some good grades. I later discovered that the ability to make connections between different aspects of maths allowed me to further my understanding of it ( slightly too late as I went on to dance instead).
I believe natural creative thinkers are comfortable with the lack of control within a framework, since this allows them to perhaps explore and discover. My observation within dance practice with youth is that they are less confined with processes and societal rules and if given a safe space to explore, are able to exercise their imagination in ways adults sometimes feel far too aware to explore without fear of rejection. Other aspects, like being surrounded by a community of other creatives and excellent resources certainly support creative thinking.
On another note many artists/creative thinkers create amazing works and generate ideas from being in pressured environments of any nature. The ability to "think under pressure" is a real innate skill that has fostered great works of art, music and text.
Was pressure the ideal framework for learning and generating ideas and solutions? Most educators will possibly respond with a vehement "No" to this question, it is however a point not to be denied in this thought process.
I also loved the thought by which other disciples inform the development of the original idea. I've always read a lot. I still do. If I get an idea I'll research aspects of it straight away, be it music, poetry, techniques, documentaries, other artists...I never thought of it as research however...just a process in which I'm developing the original idea and trying to think how to manifest them into something concrete and more complete. It was fascinating to have a name for this process.
I feel that, creative thinkers need to feel comfortable taking risks within given frameworks as well as outside of it in order to find solutions and foster art education and thinking outside of the box. Companies such as Google and Apple already recognise this and have highly modified their work environments to reflect this. Although it may be too simplistic to simply to say "just have a safe space" where creativity is encouraged, it's probably is a good place to start.
Here's my blog on the topic: https://dilinikandyandance.blogspot.com/2019/09/arts-critical-value.html
ReplyDeleteThank you Adesola for the post! More and more I start to feel, that being able to make connections, is such a key point in learning. As it means understanding something in a bigger context, seeing the bigger context allows you more freedom of changing perspectives and looking at something from different angles. Making connections I feel is like building a bridge, it opens up completely new paths to explore and investigate further, the emphasis is on the excitement of the new possibilities it opens up to explore further, rather than the short lived satisfaction of having found the right answer.
ReplyDeleteLoved watching this Adesola
ReplyDeleteLearning and generating ideas, i feel yes ! artists or creative thinkers tend to be natural and more comfortable with the uncomfortable with but in all areas of life i am not too sure. I tend to agree with iris that artists/creative thinkers have under tremendous pressure produced mind blowing creativity, unique, and totally out of the box.
Given frameworks in art education or in the education system are safe and predictable, which deplete creativity rather than enhance. I see in my school dance class or private students the excitement when they are left free to explore and how they come alive to create and not judged as right or wrong but as pure creativity. Most of my unique learning has come when i have challenged my own creative thinking and pushed boundaries to dig deeper.
I really related to cindy foley when she spoke about her husband's enlarging his canvas as a painter the layers that he worked through. I also found it enlightening to describe a creative process as research too. The learning through being an artist about life has made connections and experiences beyond set frameworks and yes many different disciplines or knowledge come into play to support an idea.
Major aspects of my life in the comfort of ambiguity has brought tremendous growth and redefining as an artist.
What an extremely interesting TED talk. Complete food for thought as I embark on module two and the analysis of different learning and research methods.
ReplyDeletehttps://jessemapp.blogspot.com/2019/09/arts-critical-value-thoughts.html
This was a wonderful post for me to read. I am now working on my Module Three, and worried about getting it "right" and feeling insecure. This has made me feel more confident as a dance student, allowing me to let go of this process a little more and continue with my exploration, and let the ideas mature and grow...
ReplyDeleteActually, I am facing some difficulties to understand the meaning of the blog. If you have any short video film related to your blog, then I would request you to share here. It would be great help.training time managment
ReplyDelete