Month: May 2023

As the name suggests, the chapter starts by describing the fear of the artist: not being good enough and what I can only describe as impostor syndrome an the feeling of alienation to one’s art. It really tackles the (wrong) idea of the Artist as genius, as someone that was born with a divine gift for the arts. (this discussion actually remind me of a great essay called (Why have there been no great women artists? By Linda Nochlin)

This idea of the genius artist is confronted by 4 main ideas: Skill can be learned, ordinary people make art, viewing and making are different roles, and art making is something older than the modern view of art.

I’ve always hated the distinction between arts and crafts. For me it only feels as if one practice is less difficult than the other, when each one has its difficulties and requires skills. (In my opinion there is also a link of crafts being perceived as a feminine activity, but I don’t really have proofs). This separation comes from the difference between something learned and something innate. Anyone can make crafts, only Artist can make great art.

This chapter also go over the fact that art is personal, but does not define the artist. This also shows the importance of differentiating the process and the result, specially when it comes to see the roles as an artist and as a spectator. I liked how it explains art as a modern concept, because yes art existed before, but it was not perceived the same way. (I wonder how this concept has been recently affected by technology)

The books describes lateral thinking as moving backwards and vertical thinking as moving forward. Something that has been bothering me about these ideas is mentioned in this chapter: the distinction is completely arbitrary. vertical thinking can be developing and restructuring, as well as lateral thinking. For me, these two concepts are not even distinguishable in most aspects.

One thing that still bothers me is how vertical thinking is described as “being right all along”. I genuinely don’t think such thing exist. Later on the chapter it is explained that in lateral thinking “wrong” ideas are also explored, which is different from being right all along. However, I still think that the concepts are too close to be considered two different things.

What I thought was interesting about this chapter was how wrong ideas are explored. The way i interpret it was : ok it is wrong, but what if it wasn’t ?

Which I think is a interesting way of approaching problems.

The chapter discusses the problems that arise when one tries to make art, and how it gets done. I found most curious two statements: art as an expression of personal identity is a modern construct, and the romanticism of the period of an artist’s life when no one cares about their art is wrong.

The authors point out that art existed before as a part of a bigger religious picture, and even older still is art made by cavemen who didn’t think much of themselves at all (so the authors postulate).

Regarding the romanticism of the hard phase of an artists life, the authors explain that this phase is a required learning phase where the person learn how to create their best work. All people must make mistakes along the way. No one has any reason to be moved by the artist’s artwork, and they’re not missing any insight that the artist has seen from afar. The art just isn’t there yet.

I think the chapter tries to negate some of the fear around making art, and tries to make the reader reflect on the humble nature of artwork. It is not an esoteric gift bestowed by god on a chosen few.

The first chapters start with an introduction of innovation and what it requires. The author distinguishes between ‘backward’ and ‘forward’ thinking. Where backward thinking involves analyzing an old idea and explaining it, while forward thinking involves moving ahead and creating something new. The lines between them are blurry since forward thinking, as all lateral processes, is non-linear and may require some backward thinking. Bono claims that this forward thinking is a feature important to innovation.

The second chapter goes in depth into the concept of Suspending Judgement of ideas, ourselves and other people. This goes back to the previous statements we read about lateral thinking sometimes involving being wrong in the middle of the brainstorming process in order to be right at the end. If we keep judgement in our hearts are are not able to fully consider some idea for what it is and the inspiration it can provide (despite it being wrong, or weird), we will have slower progression towards truly unique end products.

I find the above to be quite abstract. Although Bono tries to give examples of Lee de Forest and Marconi, I find the descriptions unsatisfactory. Perhaps an application of the principles in my own work will yield more insight.

field.io

This was my favorite visit so far. Something that I found particularly interesting was their description of a “visual anchor” in a creative process:

precise information (e.g. algorithms) -> visual representation (basic ‘structure’ of the algorithm in blocks -> abstraction based on artistic and not so much scientific decisions.

This sounds like a useful framework for future artworks.

Bruna, Haya, Natty

For our project, we decided to design a magazine based on apples called “Apple Daily”. In this magazine, we presented each of our works, the watercolor painting presented by Bruna, a comic done by Natty, and the Recipe to Success done by Haya. 

In Natty’s comic, he created a light-hearted comic based on the adventures between a talking apple and a knife, which it takes a dark turn towards the end. It aims to attract attention to the readers of Apple Daily and provide them with a sense of humor throughout the day. 

In Haya’s infographic, it provides you with the key steps to creating a successful Apple business and factory. The infographic gives you key tips and tricks to stay on top of your game, such as providing the best quality of apples, gaining customers, and becoming a success.

Bruna was inspired by the way in which a recipe book, as well as the act of cooking in itself, often evokes connections to female relatives in our earliest memories. Relating this nourishing memories to the traditional conditioning of women as domestic laborers, she created a watercolor panel of textures that stem from snapshots of her own body. “Pinch of Love” attempts to turn the (female) body into a main ingredient of our women-centered food memories. It is both as an embracing of those times, as well as as a criticism to their underlying sexism.

Shahram Chaudhry

I loved how they focused so much on their environment and surroundings – cooking food together , good way of bonding to connect on a personal level which is essential if they want to make art together

Build own set ups suitable to projects, not limiting themselves to available options  , exploring and thinking outside the box

The crowd simulation idea was pretty cool

Using AI to generate and another AI to critique it

Spend more than half the time on research and development so very innovative end products

In Chapter 1, Bayles and Orland discuss the challenges and fears that artists face throughout their creative process. They state that art is filled with uncertainties and that artists should emphasize these uncertainties to overcome their fears and obstacles throughout their creative process. Some common fears that artists face are fear of failure, the unknown, and judgment.

They state that fear is an initial part of the creative process and is necessary for growth and progress. To increase creativity, individuals must go through this cycle of trial and error to achieve self-discovery. According to the authors, the willingness to confront and work through these difficulties is what separates successful artists from those who give up. Additionally, Bayles and Orland touch upon the notion of expectations. When artists set high standards, they tend to receive disappointment in return as well as self-doubt. They encourage artists to focus on the act of creating itself, rather than being fixated on the outcome or recognition.

I really enjoyed the talk we had with the people at field. The work that they do seems very professional and to the point. They broke down the process of creating each project in a very intriguing way. With each project, they seem to do a lot of research first to align themselves and get onto the same page as their clients.

It was interesting to also hear about the frustrations of producing a product that they are proud of but are then rejected by the client. Occasionally this also happens in some of my uni assignments so I resonated with that feeling of frustration.

I also really appreciated the posters they distributed to the class. Overall they did a great job of conveying how their design process works.

In these pages, de Bono discusses the concept of suspending judgment and its relationship to lateral thinking. He states that traditional thinking relies on the evaluation of thinking, which stifles creativity and the creative process. On the other hand, lateral thinking relies on going against judgment to enhance creativity and explore ideas.

He highlights the concept of “po” which focuses on a state of open-mindedness and non-judgment. With this strategy, one enhances the use of lateral thinking and allows one to delve into deeper ideas and thoughts that could not happen with the use of vertical thinking and judgment. Additionally, he introduces more techniques to break away from fixed patterns of thinking and uncover hidden possibilities.

Moreover, he highlights once again the importance of working in group settings to generate new ideas. He states that individuals should refrain from criticizing or evaluating ideas prematurely. With a new and open-minded environment, individuals are able to explore their creativity without the pressure of judgment from themselves or other people.