Question
of Research
Synopsis
What
methods can be employed to develop our creativity in relation to
technology
and studio practice
PETROVA
Tsveta MA Illustration
First thing I
did when in the beginning of my research, was deconstructing
the question.
Even though I know the meaning of the words, actually writing down
their definitions and researching them a bit more in depth, they
turned out to hold so much more to them than I expected. That made
the question even more vast, and also challenging. Basically, I was
in front of three key words: creativity, technology and studio
practice. I wanted to find a concrete sub-question in order to make
my research area a bit more specific. I was interested, at first, in
how technological development can help stimulate the creative
process.
The first step I took,
was researching the scientific and philosophical side of the
question, finding theories, studies, quotes etc. I stumbled upon a
lot of sources that I find intriguing, one of them being Teresa
Amabile theory on the 3 components of creativity (domain-relevant
skills, motivation and creative-thinking skills). This is where my
sub-question changed direction- the motivation component in Amabile's
theory is highly influenced by the environment. There is a quote by
Morris Morris as well stating that environment has a huge impact on
creativity. From this point on, I decided to continue my research
exploring that. I found some interesting studies on how physical
surroundings can actually have an influence on our creative process.
Although sometimes I've been quite going quite distant from my
question during my research and thinking process (as seen on my blog)
I think I filtered well enough my information for the presentation
unit.
On the next stage,
after I had defined my sub-question and researched the theoretical
side of how environment can stimulate creativity, I decided to
conduct a few interviews. Instead of making it as a survey for random
people on the internet, I decided it would make more sense for me to
choose a few creative practitioners and to speak to them about their
experience. I had the luck to speak to a few successful creatives
about their ideal working space, which I feel makes it easier both
for me and my the people I presented my research to, to illustrate
the theoretical part of it. I received some quote different answers
but the main point all these people made when explaining why these
are the perfect condition for them, was on avoiding distraction. They
all had their own strategies, including self- discipline on how to
work best avoiding getting distracted, and shared with me what they
find motivating about their working space. Turns out, the same things
that can be motivation, can be a distraction at the same time. The
easiest example- the internet. It is an amazing source of information
and opportunity for visual research that can be stimulating for the
preparation process, but also offers all kinds of distractions that
can keep us away from the drive to create.
What I like
about this unit is that we all had to do our research the way we
wanted- this is why we all got such different presentations and
everyone had treated their question differently, which I find
amazing. Being given this freedom also put me in an awkward position
in the beginning- as a weakness, I admit of being quite indecisive
during the first stage of my research. I changed directions a few
times, but as much as I worked on my research methods, it was all
becoming more and more clear with the time. I think part of the
problem in the beginning was the overly critical thinking of mine,
believing that most of my ideas aren't good enough, that made me
limit myself to a certain point. Quickly I became aware of this, and
took it to another extreme, where I was getting too distant from my
question during my reflections. This is the first time I am working
on such a vast research question and in the beginning it was quite
challenging for me to get the balance of working with that kind of
freedom and the idea that there aren't wrong or right answers.
At the end of
the unit I feel content with my work, I believe I have presented a
coherent presentation, even though my blog posts might seem all over
the place in direction of thinking. I feel like exploring different
directions of the questions before choosing the right one for me was
an indispensable part of the process. The unit has definitely
enriched me as a creative practitioner and had given another
opportunity the explore the theoretical and social part of the
creative process.
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