Keynote talk given at the 2013 Cognitive Informatics conference in Montreal

1. Hacking and Meta-
Creativity
how open source, cheap electronics and online
communities are making it easy to add high tech
gadgets to creative practice

2. David Gerhard

4. REACT:
Research into Art and
Creative Technologies

5. CTECH

6. Computer
Science
Fine
Arts
CTECH

7. The sea change
• Creative practice is starting to include
traditionally “by the book” media
• Electronics, Mechatronics, Code
• Collision between established pro and self-
taught amateur
• Making these tools easier to use is itself a
creative act
• Hack

8. (meta)

9. 3 root causes
•Cheaper, better, easier-to-get stuff
•Accessible fabbing
•Community, including FOSS/OSHW

10. Hack

11. A quick, clever, or
unusual solution

12. (uninformed,
sloppy, ...)

13. “Professional”

14. Stable, well-tested,
predictable

15. creative?

16. Creativity = good?

17. “Creative
Accounting”

18. Four stories of
Metacreativity

19. •Electronics Prototyping
•Manufacturing
•Music
•Film

20. (look for the meta)

21. (look for the
hacking)

22. 1. Electronics
Prototyping

24. for engineers only

25. Artists

26. Kinetic sculpture,
wearables, interactive
exhibits....

29. $

35. (meta)

36. arduino design
oomlout kit

37. Biggest problem of
engineering design:

38. Designed by
engineers

39. Designed for
engineers

40. Arduino is a hack

46. No engineer
needs the arduino

47. Circuit design as a
creative practice

48. (meta)

49. CS207:
Building Interactive
Gadgets

51. 2. Manufacturing

52. Creating physical
stuff

53. Industrial
Prototyping

56. $1,000,000

58. $1200

60. Hack

63. (meta)

64. 3. Music

65. Case Study:
iPad Orchestra Class

68. Topics
• History of Laptop Orchestras
• Improvisation and Experimental Sound Art
• New Media in Music
• What is an App? History and Structure of Mobile Applications
• Soundscape Composition and Found Sounds on Mobile Devices
• The iPad in Music Production
• New Media Musical Instruments and Interfaces
• Immersive Soundscapes
• iPad in Music Education
• The iPad in Interdisciplinary Arts

69. Virtuosity

70. Barrier to Entry

71. Music on the iPad
is a hack

72. Case Study:
Musix and the Rainboard

83. (meta meta?)

84. 4. Film

85. The Crane Shot

87. Robotic Motion Control

89. Only in
professional films

90. $$$$

91. there must be a
better way

93. Ardupilot

94. Brains for
helicopter

98. Aside: Wii Hacks

101. DIY drones:
a hacked-together
helicopter

103. GoPro on an
RC gimbal

104. Build a quadcopter
from scratch:

105. creative

106. Use a scratch-build
quadcopter for HD
video?

107. meta-creative

109. Hack → Consumer
Product

110. Demo

116. $2000

118. $3000

121. 4 stories

122. •Electronics Prototyping
•Manufacturing
•Music
•Film

123. Recurring
Memes...

124. Meme:

125. Justin

126. “Just in time”

127. “Just enough”

129. Compare to traditional
professional degrees:

130. “Just in case”

133. Professional vs
amateur

134. Drawback of
“Justin” thinking:

135. Don’t know what’s
possible

136. Don’t know what’s
been done

137. Which comes first:
Ideas or Tech?

138. Cool Tech
Idea
What can I build with it?

139. Idea
Cool Tech
How do I make it happen?

140. Meme:

141. “ANYTHING IS
POSSIBLE”

142. Meme: Technology
removes constraints

143. 3d printing: “you
can build anything”

145. Arduino: “you can
make any circuit”

147. Exercise: Let’s remove
some constraints!

148. Write the next
great novel....

149. GO!

151. tyranny of the
blank page

152. One final thought

153. Creativity ≠
no rules

154. Creativity = breaking
some rules in new ways

155. Go hack.

156. Learn just enough
to be dangerous

157. Questions