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Creativity in Collaboration Across Disciplines: Writing, History and Photography - Peter Thomas, Anne Burke and Gavin Fernandes
- 1. Creativity in Collaboration Across Disciplines: Writing, History & Photography Peter Thomas, Anne Burke & Gavin Fernandes Peter Thomas p.thomas@mdx.ac.uk Senior lecturer and Coordinator or Academic Writing & Language for the Schools of Art & Design, and Media & Performing Arts Anne Burke a.burke@mdx.ac.uk Senior lecturer in History of Art and design and Module leader of VCD2936 Gavin Fernandes g.fernandes@mdx.ac.uk Senior Lecturer in Photography and Fashion, Communication and Styling
- 2. Overview of this session: -Background to the Writing Workshop: Why do it and how? -Introducing three aspects of creativity -Bisociation -Dialogue-as-ideal -Tolerance of Ambiguity/uncertainty -Structure of the Writing Workshop: What we did on the day -Making sense of what we did in terms of creativity -Closing Discussion
- 3. Background to the Writing Workshop: Why do it and how? -VCD2936: The Critical Image
- 4. Photography [is]… a subject torn between two languages, one expressive, the other critical… Roland Barthes Camera Lucida
- 5. 2008 research 59% feel that written assignments have not informed studio work (so far) 92% enjoy finding things out along the way, as they write Perceptions of writing Art & Design students & practitioners 62% enjoy writing Thomas 2013
- 6. Harding & Hale 2007 disjunction studio practices writing practices Biggs & Büchler in Lees-Maffei 2011 object-led text-led divergent subjective internally persuasive practical unconventional convergent objective authoritative theoretical convention-bound ineffable, tacit explicit rationality and logic Bakhtin 1981 Polanyi 1974 Turner 2011creativity tolerance of ambiguity need for certainty aesthetic intellectual Hay 2009
- 7. -The Reflective Journal -Piloted 2012/13 -Focus of PG Cert Practice Project -Taken as paper to EATAW 2013, Budapest
- 8. Dynamic Writing in Art & Design, EATAW, June 2013
- 9. Evaluating the Journal…. Dynamic Writing in Art & Design, EATAW, June 2013
- 10. -The Reflective Journal, 2013/4 Supported through: -Regular group sessions with Gavin -Self-evaluation exercises -Two collaborative writing workshops
- 11. Introducing three aspects of creativity in our collaboration Bisociation Dialogue-as-ideal Tolerance of ambiguity/uncertainty Abra 1994
- 12. Bisociation Arthur Koestler The Act of Creation (1964) pp 559-560
- 13. Dialogue-as-ideal M. M. Bakhtin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Bakhtin Lillis, T. (2003) Student Writing as ‘Academic Literacies’: Drawing on Bakhtin to Move from Critique to Design, Language & Education. Vol. 17, No 3, 192-207.
- 14. Tolerance of uncertainty/ambiguity Tolerance of ambiguity will allow individuals to continue to grapple with complex problems, to remain open, and increase the probability of finding a novel solution. Zenasi, F., Besancon, M. & Lubart, T. (2008) Creativity and Tolerance of Ambiguity: An Empirical Study, Journal of Creative Behavior, Volume 42 Number 1, p62. For Stoycheva (1998, 2003)...ambiguity- tolerant individuals are able to accept feelings of anxiety and psychological discomfort naturally provoked by ambiguity associated with new, difficult situations. Vernon (1970) explained that tolerance of ambiguity...enables individuals to not be satisfied by partial or non-optimal solutions to complex problems.
- 15. -Writing Workshop I: Exhibition Review
- 16. -Writing Workshop I: Exhibition Review -Related subsequent activities: -Lecture on Curatorial Practice -Lecture on History of Curating -Guided Visit to Exhibition, at both sites -Assessment 1: Curatorial Statement
- 17. -Writing Workshop 2: Critically Informed Image Analysis
- 18. Structure of the Writing Workshop: What we did on the day 1. (AB) Barthes’ identification of three positions related to photography: -subject; photographer; viewer. 1.i. (Students) Read text, key ID terms, draw representation of text. 1.ii (AB lead) Discussion of text 2.i. (PT) Image analysis activity as group, from perspective of viewer, using 3 stage approach (brainstorm; group; order) 2.ii. (PT lead) Image analysis individually, from perspective of subject; use scribblings to write paragraph from this position 3. (GF) shows & discusses own work, from position of photographer. 4. Closing discussion of 3 positions. What do you take from the session today?
- 19. 1. Barthes’ identification of three positions related to photography: -subject; photographer; viewer
- 21. 2.i. Image analysis activity as group, from perspective of viewer 3-stage Approach 1. Brainstorm 2. Group 3. Order Draft from Joel Sternberg (2012) American Prospects. Göttingen: Steidl.
- 22. 2.i. Image analysis activity as group, from perspective of viewer Brainstorm Group Order
- 23. development of paragraph on own family photograph, from perspective of subject 2.ii. Student example of image analysis
- 24. photographer GAVIN FERNANDES subject; photographer; viewer
- 25. photographer GAVIN FERNANDES subject; photographer; viewer
- 26. photographer GAVIN FERNANDES subject; photographer; viewer
- 27. photographer GAVIN FERNANDES subject; photographer; viewer
- 37. Reflecting on three aspects of creativity in our collaboration Bisociation Dialogue-as-ideal Tolerance of ambiguity/uncertainty Was it? What evidence was there of
- 38. Preparation for workshop 2 Modifications were informed by: Initial idea (solution to a problem) – modified/redrafted/reiterated external resources concurrent briefs personal resonances exhibitions etc. our own positions disciplinary role-based backgrounds etc. experience of doing the first session of how the students were responding to the module of teaching the students on other modules etc.
- 39. Preparation for workshop 2 Modifications were made possible by: Initial idea (solution to a problem) – modified/redrafted/reiterated setting up a structure that could accommodate them (module, aims, etc.) creating a space that afforded us the possibility to exchange ideas & develop the project (freedom to digress) having an openness to working in new ways (receptiveness, adaptability, tolerance of uncertainty) enjoying the process of working together committing to the project and working at it (not allowing it to drop)
- 40. The workshop itself 3 distinct sections allowed us to play to our different strengths but each element was part of a bigger, coherent whole (fluidity & progression) Activities alternative approaches (to reading & writing), discussion, individual work, shouting (!) combination of approaches to delivery Roles collaboration afforded a break from the norm for lecturers & students (freedom, alternatives)
- 41. Thank you Peter Thomas (p.thomas@mdx.ac.uk) Senior lecturer and Coordinator or Academic Writing & Language for the Schools of Art & Design, and Media & Performing Arts Anne Burke (a.burke@mdx.ac.uk) Senior lecturer in History of Art and design and Module leader of VCD2936 Gavin Fernandes (g.fernandes@mdx.ac.uk) Senior Lecturer in Photography and Fashion, Communication and Styling
- 42. References Abra, J. (1994) Collaboration in creative work: An initiative for investigation. Creativity Research Journal, 7:1, 1-20. Bakhtin, M. M. (1981) The Dialogic Imagination, Austin: University of Texas Press. Barthes, R. (200) Camera Lucida. London: Vintage. Biggs, M. & D. Büchler (2011) Text-led and Object-led Research Paradigms: Doing without Words in Lees-Maffei, G. (ed.) Writing Design: Objects and Words. London & New York: Berg, 231-242. Harding, J. & L. Hale (2007) Anti-Creativity, Ambiguity and the Imposition of Order. Creativity or Conformity? Building Cultures of Creativity in Higher Education [conference] University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, January 8-10. Hay K. G. (2009) Concrete Abstractions and Intersemiotic Translations: The Legacy of Della Volpe in MacLeod, K. & Holdridge, L. (eds.) Thinking Through Art: Reflections on Art As Research, London: Routledge, 51-59. Koestler, A. (1964) The Act Of Creation. London: Hutchinson Lillis, T. (2003) Student Writing as ‘Academic Literacies’: Drawing on Bakhtin to Move from Critique to Design, Language & Education. Vol. 17, No 3, 192-207. Orr, S., M. Blythman & J. Mullin (2005) Designing Your Writing/Writing Your Design: Art and Design Students talk about the Process of Writing and the Process of Design. Across The Disciplines, 3 (Special Issue Visual WAC) www.colostate.edu/atd/visual/orr_blythman_mullin.cfn [accessed 20/11/07] Polanyi, M. (1974) Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Sternberg, J. (2012) American Prospects. Göttingen: Steidl. Thomas, P. (2013) Transformation, Dialogue and Collaboration: Developing Studio-based Concept Writing in Art and Design through Embedded Interventions. Journal of Academic Writing Vol. 3 No. 1 Summer, pages 42-66 Turner, J. (2011) Language in the Academy: Cultural Reflexivity and Intercultural Dynamics. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Zenasni, F., Besancon, M. & Lubart, T. (2008) Creativity and Tolerance of Ambiguity: An Empirical Study, Journal of Creative Behavior, Volume 42 Number 1, 62.
Editor's Notes
- Intro ourselves (jobs & roles in this project) Focus of talk is a workshop on writing in photography It involved all 3 of us – collaborating Is part of a module Feeds into a research journal The focus today not how creative we are, but how full of creative potential teaching is, particularly collaborative teaching
- Gavin
- AB to explain where the workshop sits overall module relationship to BA Photography Programme assessment strategy timing of sessions (term 1 & 2) Collab PT&AB
- Why do we do these workshops? Where does the need for them stem from? There’s a problem…
- OK so writing is important for ADs, but it’s also problematic AD students don’t ‘get’ writing PT’s findings Related to those of Orr, et al.
- Where does the perceived disjunction stem from? - Emphasis on difference reinforces st sense of stasis - In some cases sts have not achieved ‘honours’ degrees because of incomplete/inappropriate written component - Some of this gap is not uncommon in other practice-based disciplines…not unique to A&D Not as simple as this
- AB to give overview of how reflective journal came about; using as part of PGCert; focus of EATAW paper, with proposed way forward for changes to how it is run this year
- Extracts from EATAW paper The brief the students got last year
- Extracts from EATAW paper Some 2012-13 journals (good for different reasons) Recommendations for next year
- AB to introduce Gavin coming on board; GF to give overview of approach developed Changes for this year
- Peter Before we talk about our 3 terms, what is creativity? Why choose to focus on these 3 aspects, of all the many aspects/components/qualities/properties/features, etc. of creativity? Because we are not creativity scholars, we don’t have time here & they these three seem to relate to collaboration...at least OUR collaboration. Bisociation Dialogue-as-ideal Tolerance of ambiguity/uncertainty Abra quote – not what it seems & not what we’re interested in here...not historic collaboration, but real-time, uncertain, dialogic and associative collaboration
- Bisociation Explained by Koestler as a problem-solving approach A means of generating variability or original, unexpected results Not unlike metaphor – understanding one concept in terms of another (Lakoff & Johnson) Matricies – cognitive structures/networks Related to other ideas in studies of creativity like ‘remote associates’ (Mednick) and ‘network thinking’ (Miller) Our collaboration was a literal tri-sociation, bringing 3 people & their matrices together to bear on writing in photography
- Peter Dialogue as given vs dialogue as ideal Given – description of the nature of language, dialogue as an inevitable feature of utterances and how they communicate meaning as part of ‘a chain of communication’; Ideal – the struggle to find new meaning or your own a practice Lillis characterises as ‘questioning, exploring, connecting, in order to develop newer ways to mean’. Our collaboration called on us to question one another in order to explore possible connections of which we were originally unaware, to generate a new lesson.
- Cited by many as a trait necessary for creative thinking (e.g. Dacey 1989; Barron 1963 & 1969; Eysenck 1997; Treffinger,, Feldhusen & Isaksen 1990)
- AB to introduce Writing Workshop I and where it fits with other ongoing work on curatorial questions; Peter to chip in too
- AB to introduce Writing Workshop I and where it fits with other ongoing work on curatorial questions; Peter to chip in too
- AB to give overview as module leader of what wanted session to achieve; holistic approach to image analysis, informed by relevant critical reading/theory; for reflective journal to become a space where ideas were applied to reading of images – this being one of the weaker points identified in the mid-way self evaluation that Gavin led; for journal to become a space where this kind of analysis was ongoing and became habitual, in preparation for the essay assignment, which requires evidence of this kind of thinking, but more formally articulated. The exact format of the proposed session emerged initially from our meeting at Hendon Library – on basis of which this prior preparation email was sent to students. NB. We might want to think more about how we bring in our own experiences of the preparation process, also Gavin & Peter you might want to add what you wanted session to achieve.
- AB to give overview of Writing Workshop 2
- AB to add Barthes quote – for very short introduction to the three positions identified
- 1. Students asked to read (individually) text in 10 minutes & to underline key terms. 2. As a class, we shared the key terms (on the white board) - a collective comprehension. 3. In groups, students asked to come up with a visual representation of the content (triangles were very common).
- PT Two routes to generating material for writing about images Brainstorm-group-order Freewrite-review-rewrite
- PT I ask group to shout out what they, as viewers, notice (brainstorm). I write them up & project with visualiser. The students then identify elements which seem to relate to one another (group) & they name the groups. Note the un-grouped elements...selection is key. They decide the order the grouped elements should appear in, in a paragraph. This involves decisions about relationships between them (cause-effect, symbolic meaning, etc.) Finally, we co-write a 4-5 sentence paragraph – they dictate, I write (or we would have, if we’d had time). Demo/reminder of how meaning-making lies in the hands of the student-writers...no ‘right’ interpretation, although some ‘better’ ones (more well-explained/justified selections).
- PT Text on image analysis through process of drafting Look at own (family) photo & freewrite for 10 minutes (write without stopping-pausing, no reader so don’t worry about language accuracy, but write in sentences). Review freewritten text (identify bits to keep, add notes & find thematic links). Rewrite (re-order if necessary), this time write for a reader, so try to make the language more accurate.
- Did it work? Effective? Novel?
- Hand writing Their ‘workings’ mind maps Personally selected images
- More engagement than last year They ran with it!
- Assessment process also more effective Self-assessment – more engaging
- Bisociation – we tri-sociated in prep & delivery (freedom & opened up possibilities unlikely on our own) Dialogue – in prep & delivery we were trying to find a new, complex thing (us – the class; students – a way with words) – we didn’t know what the outcome would be – we crafted an opportunity to break down artificial boundaries between making/writing/thinking – engaging with centripetal and centrifugal discourse Tolerance of ambiguity – underpins all our efforts
- Intro ourselves (jobs & roles in this project) Focus of talk is a workshop on writing in photography It involved all 3 of us – collaborating Is part of a module Feeds into a research journal The focus today not how creative we are, but how full of creative potential teaching is, particularly collaborative teaching