Linda Candy at CAIA 2002: Co-Creativity in Art and Technology Exploration
Co-Creativity in Art and Technology Exploration
Abstract
There has been a remarkable growth in digital creativity since usable and useful computer technologies arrived in the workplace and at home from the mid 1980s. In the 1960s, however, there were only a few digital pioneers working largely in isolation and with little recognition that what they were trying to achieve bore any relationship to art practice. Artists with digital visions often sought refuge in Computer Science and in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Today, the world of art and technology has changed remarkably since those early beginnings and there is much more diversity in the new generation of digital creations. What was then conceived of as "computer art", where the control of the creative process and the making of artefacts belonged to the machine, has given way to new ways of working both with digital technology and with other people. We call this Co-Creativity where the collaborator may be human, may be a computer, or may be both.
The idea that interaction with digital technology plays a significant role in the creative process has driven the work at the Creativity and Cognition Research Studios (C&CRS). C&CRS was established for the purposes of exploratory art and technology projects and to make artist residencies the vehicles for research studies. In the COSTART project, expertise in both Human Computer Interaction and Digital Art combined to support art and technology residency projects. The studies of the residency projects brought out several issues about the nature of art-technology co-creativity. Being able to develop a partnership, as distinct from having an "assistant" relationship, was a significant plus for the success of collaboration between artists and technologist. In a true partnership, complementary interests exist even where the outcomes by each individual may differ. Indeed, successful partnerships operate in such a way as to serve convergent interests but, at the same time, they produce quite distinct and separate artistic outcomes. In this way, the partners are able to achieve mutual benefit but, at the same time, retain ownership of their individual achievements. To be able to enjoy such mutual benefit, requires the relinquishing of individual 'control' of the creative process: having differential but complementary roles appears to be best suited to achieving that end. The paper will argue that, to be successful over time, creative partnerships needed appropriate organisational support. An environment that supports co-creativity involves much more than a choice of which technologies and technical skills are needed, vital though that remains. Fostering co-creativity through sustainable partnerships is a key requirement for successful art and technology collaboration.
Abstract
There has been a remarkable growth in digital creativity since usable and useful computer technologies arrived in the workplace and at home from the mid 1980s. In the 1960s, however, there were only a few digital pioneers working largely in isolation and with little recognition that what they were trying to achieve bore any relationship to art practice. Artists with digital visions often sought refuge in Computer Science and in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Today, the world of art and technology has changed remarkably since those early beginnings and there is much more diversity in the new generation of digital creations. What was then conceived of as "computer art", where the control of the creative process and the making of artefacts belonged to the machine, has given way to new ways of working both with digital technology and with other people. We call this Co-Creativity where the collaborator may be human, may be a computer, or may be both.
The idea that interaction with digital technology plays a significant role in the creative process has driven the work at the Creativity and Cognition Research Studios (C&CRS). C&CRS was established for the purposes of exploratory art and technology projects and to make artist residencies the vehicles for research studies. In the COSTART project, expertise in both Human Computer Interaction and Digital Art combined to support art and technology residency projects. The studies of the residency projects brought out several issues about the nature of art-technology co-creativity. Being able to develop a partnership, as distinct from having an "assistant" relationship, was a significant plus for the success of collaboration between artists and technologist. In a true partnership, complementary interests exist even where the outcomes by each individual may differ. Indeed, successful partnerships operate in such a way as to serve convergent interests but, at the same time, they produce quite distinct and separate artistic outcomes. In this way, the partners are able to achieve mutual benefit but, at the same time, retain ownership of their individual achievements. To be able to enjoy such mutual benefit, requires the relinquishing of individual 'control' of the creative process: having differential but complementary roles appears to be best suited to achieving that end. The paper will argue that, to be successful over time, creative partnerships needed appropriate organisational support. An environment that supports co-creativity involves much more than a choice of which technologies and technical skills are needed, vital though that remains. Fostering co-creativity through sustainable partnerships is a key requirement for successful art and technology collaboration.
