09/26/14

Divergent vs. Convergent

Divergent thinking: thought process that follows logical steps to attain solution.
There are many different solutions

convergent thinking : ability to give answers to standard questions that do not require creativity
HIGH I.Q ALONE DOES NOT PROMOTE CREATIVITY
curiosity, willingness to take risks, persistence
creating lists of questions, meditation,, brainstorming, subject mapping , keeping a journal , creating artwork and free writing are all techniques that help creativity.

most effective in situation when answer already exists, simply needs to be recalled. no room for ambiguity in answers

linked to knowledge as it involves manipulating existent knowledge by means of standard procedure.

used as tools of broken solving- use critical thinking
often used in conjunction with divergent thinking
there is one best solution although it is difficult to determine

when it's too complex, you have to rely on intuition, gut feeling

by finding a solution, you are changing your world view
targets your conception of the world as a whole - there is a relation to the conception of the fast and world view
when you solve your own problems, you become stronger, problem-solving skills are improved

mind maps help organize info 
organization 
key words
association
clustering
visual memory
outstadingness
conscious involvement 
how can we make cycling in city the safest and fastest possible? 




  

Creative Person Proposal

                                                       Paul-Emile Borduas

For my presentation on a creative person, I chose the painter Paul-Emile Borduas, who was born in 1905 in Saint-Hilaire, Quebec.  Although he was not on the list of artists, I thought it would a good idea to present on him. I know just a bit of information about him and I am intrigued to learn more about this creative man. Borduas used a very automatic way of creating his art. He doesn't think about what he will paint, he simply begins painting. His paintings are very surrealist and abstract. What I find interesting about Borduas is that his works were extremely progressive and liberal for the period of time he was living in. 1940's Quebec society was extremely conservative and religious and the art works created during the time reflected this reality. Borduas' liberal ideas were shown through his artwork as well as the manifest he later published with the help of the group he founded : the automatists. This group consisted of young artists who shared in Borduas ideas about the church and state and who were against the rigid Quebec society.

Essentially, the reason I chose to present on this artist because he sheds light on the fact that art does not only play a role in adding beauty into the world and creating and viewing art is not only for the purpose of pleasure. Although these facts are true, Borduas is a clear example that art can make a real impact in the world.

Notes 09/12/14

Use constraints to stimulate creativity :

Experiment: one playground with fence, one without.
importance principle: paradox of structure
can a fence make us explore more area
is structure necessary for creativity?

Oulipo: workshop for potential literature
loose gathering of writers and mathematicians that use constrained writing techniques.
constraints are used as means of triggering ideas and inspiration
members define themselves as : rats that construct the labyrinth for which they propose to escape

Documentary (*-*)

what does a Oulipo do?
uses restraints as principle to uncover potential literature
creative  ownership

what is n+7?
an easy constraint
simple word algorithm0

when was Oulipo formed?
-1960

what does Oulipo stand for?
-ouvoir de littérature potentielle

can someone apply to be part of the group- NO

who founded oulipo

Raymond Queneau, Francois Le Lynnais
what is the schism
the divide within the group

who wants to hide/ reveal rules
Perec wants to hide constraints, Calvino wants to reveal them

anticipatory plagiarism
writings before

what is the difference between Oulipo and Surrealism

what is Ou-x-po
potiental to apply any art form to another


skills vs. literacies
skills are self-reliant , literacy implies a community
what is the first and second step

(1) knowing how to answer the questions, formulate good questions
(2) figuring out if the information is accurate









                                                                                 

Short story using random words:

"Brr, it's cold in here!", said the human named Tanner.
He decided to put his favourite sweater on - the one with the octopus on it.
He wanted to show his sweater off so he called his friend Sierra to come over.
She agreed. "I'll bring the pizza and alcohol" she added.
When she walked in, Tanner noticed her T-shirt. There was a picture of a pencil on it.
Tanner was jealous, he wanted that T-shirt.
While he thought of a plan to attain it, he turned the television on.
There was a show about a chef making chocolate-covered sushi in a microwave.
Tanner was so distracted by the show that he almost forgot the task at hand.
While Sierra was distracted by the "weed be gone" commercial, Tanner left
the room.
He came back with a huge stick and proceeded to knock Sierra over the head with it.
A new commercial came on the television with message written in bold : Don't do drugs.

Notes 09/05/14

• There are many ways to solve a problem
• If you are creative, you will discover all these ways including the less obvious ones

Surrealist techniques and games :

free of consious control
surrealism uses many techniques and games said to fee the imagination
your mind will limit you, if you let it become too rational
promote thought that is spontaneous
reveal psyche, consciousness
automatism: remains primal importance - do things automatically, without thought, improvised
means of subconscious, free of rational control
hand freely moves around paper
André Breton and Supot: wrote books on automatism
Paul Emile Bourdeouis, Jean Paul Riopelle :  Defining figure of Montreal art scene. Under authoritarian rule (rigid society)
signed Manifesto
surrealistic painting used completely non artist procedure
express somebody's deep personality but they want to that that away


Techniques:

Entropic graphomania: dots are make on sides of impurity
took out artists out of art, instead scientific techniques

Collage: assembling of different elements to create a whole
art form of novelty

Cubomania: randomly putting images together

Etricessment: visual poetry, cutting off pieces of image to create new image

Decalcomania: spreading paint on canvas, putting paper on it while it's still wet to create a starting point

Fumato: put matches on canvas, light them up
Involuntary sculpture: absent-mindedly manipulating something

Latent news: news is cut out and stuck back together

Games

not only form of recreation...
method of investigation
goal is to make unique outcomes
exquisite corps : images and words put together fold paper give it to other person
collective artwork- see it as experiment, author's name is irrelevant