Between centainty and chance. Creativity as a knowledge acquisition phenomenon - how an art process negotiates uncertainty

Abstract

Creativity research has been gathering momentum since the 1950s, and it seeks to understand how we think beyond what we know, and how we create innovative products and novel ideas. My research examines the uncertainty at the core of creativity and creative processes, and the frameworks used to negotiate it. Within creativity research, between the typically objective role of the researcher and the frequently subjective nature of a creative practice, a gap can exist. This creates scope for an artist/process based study. My theoretical and practice-based research has examined the creative processes within art and design, in order to isolate their components, identify consistent methods, and contribute to the discourse surrounding creativity. My research has identified two sets of operational conditions, constraints and variations, which combine to form a structured process that enables the generation and analysis of creative work. Constraints & variations, in this research, function as a creative framework that coordinates predetermined conditions with modes of practice, and importantly, the balance of their combined application has been found to hinder or promote creativity. Creativity is defined by novelty and appropriateness and requires frameworks that deliver these two qualities concurrently. Constraints & variations create a network of relationships that complement the student/master relationship at the heart of many creative processes, and they establish a selective mechanism for the objective analysis of subjective qualities. Enabling constraints, combined with iterative variations, facilitate a process that is flexible, structured and open to invention. Critically, they can also contribute to the favourable conditions that promote creativity. These favourable conditions complement the intrinsic learning system at the centre of creativity, and give rise in this thesis to the term a creative ecosystem. My research has found that artists are accustomed to uncertainty and that creativity is often dependent on not-knowing. It is beneficial therefore, to understand the processes used to manage this uncertainty, so the lessons can be made available. To understand art as a valuable intellectual resource, a systematised method to investigate ambiguous and unpredictable terrains, and a method to acquire qualitative knowledge, is to more fully understand its unique contribution to creativity, to education, and to a progressive society.