Part of the
principles of MAPP (and BAPP) are networks and collaboration. (These are ideas
that carry across the whole course.) We sometimes mention 'the Prisoner's
Dilemma' coming from Game Theory. Have a look at http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/playground/pd.html.
In this course part of the idea of networks involves collaboration. But this is also a larger shift in thinking in terms of how we construct what interaction in society should look like or how we construct our Western history.
Darwin offered a
world of survival of the fittest which
mirrored the Regency and Victorian period of empire building of his lifetime.
What if we let go of the *metaphor of fighting that we use in so many
descriptions of ideas and replaced it with collaboration.
Below Howard
Rheingold explores how we can readjust to see history (and present day) from a
metaphor of 'working together' rather
than 'survival of the fittest'. I
think this is really important because art is often involved in activism that
brings people together through making together.
*An interesting book to look at on
metaphor is LAKOFF, G. &
JOHNSON, M. 1980. Metaphors we live
by, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Working in a show
or part of a cast also rely on cooperation, so as artists we are very familiar
with the idea in our professional work but how can we learn from those professional
situations of collaboration? How is collaboration a part of your practice? What ethical considerations does the principle
of collaboration raise in a creative process?
To push this idea further: The idea of cooperation is explored in
many artists processes. Art activism often uses the idea of making something
together as a way to value and highlight community. I feel collaboration has a
part in the map of an artists practice. Where is collaboration in your
practice, in your inquiry, in your field of work?
How do we explain
the value we know of doing this to people who have not experienced what it is
like to be a part of a show or performance? This is also about my interest in how artists can lead the way in other
fields through explaining our good practice in our own field.
Also think about:
team work is not always collaboration, so what are the principles of
collaboration. In this course drawing on Connectivist principles we are seeing
the blogs and discussions as acts of collaboration. How are You in the network of learning of the
course? Does your experience in the network of the MAPP learning community
mirror experiences in your professional practice? Are you bringing assumptions
about working together from MAPP to your
Practice or the other way around?
Here is a video talk about collaboration and the work of a poet
who uses collaboration as part of process. If you asked yourself how to
collaborate each time you started a creative process or entered a teaching
situation, what interesting ethical considerations does it raise - different
for each situation I would think. In this way collaboration could be seen as a
principle for learning not just an organising tool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmQVNE-MbKI
Please comment below to continue the conversation. As always for longer thoughts please post on your blog and leave the link int he comments for people to go to.
Adesola
