Creative Arts Research Articles

Learning-based Artificial Intelligence Artwork: Methodology Taxonomy and Quality Evaluation

With the development of the theory and technology of computer science, machine or computer painting is increasingly being explored in the creation of art. Machine-made works are referred to as artificial intelligence (AI) artworks. Early methods of AI artwork generation have been classified as non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) and, latterly, neural-style transfer methods have also been investigated. As technology advances, the variety of machine-generated artworks and the methods used to create them have proliferated. However, there is no unified and comprehensive system to classify and evaluate these works. To date, no work has generalised methods of creating AI artwork including learning-based methods for painting or drawing. Moreover, the taxonomy, evaluation and development of AI artwork methods face many challenges. This paper is motivated by these considerations. We first investigate current learning-based methods for making AI artworks and classify the methods according to art styles. Furthermore, we propose a consistent evaluation system for AI artworks and conduct a user study to evaluate the proposed system on different AI artworks. This evaluation system uses six criteria: beauty, color, texture, content detail, line and style. The user study demonstrates that the six-dimensional evaluation index is effective for different types of AI artworks.

Foucault’s Analysis and Interdisciplinary Perspective on Velázquez's Painting Las Meninas

This paper examines Michel Foucault's interpretation of Diego Velázquez's painting Las Meninas (1656) which he uses to illustrate shifts in épistémès throughout history. After analyzing Foucault's interpretation, I extended his approach by employing an interdisciplinary perspective to relativize some of his concepts. The study incorporates various interdisciplinary methods, demonstrating that these approaches lead to a more profound understanding of the ontological, aesthetic, technical, psychological, and sociological dimensions of Velázquez's painting. This strategy demonstrates that artistic creations are dynamic and surpass simplistic dualistic frameworks, methodological relativism, and determinism. As a result, Las Meninas emerges as a self – referential artefact, continuously evolving in meaning through different epistemological and social frameworks.

On the Shaping of Characters in Dance Drama

Dance performance is a kind of artistic dynamic image soaked with "emotion", and only by grasping the unity of inside and outside and the situation, can we completely shape the character image and achieve a certain artistic aesthetic effect. In dance creation, the creator is an inseparable and complete process of artistic creation, from deeply capturing the dance image, creating and organizing the dance language, arranging and designing the dance section, to finally reflecting the artistic conception on the stage by the actors through rehearsal. This paper takes the dance drama "Zhaojun Out" as an example to discuss how to shape the characters with dance, improve the dancers deep aesthetic thinking on the dance image, and shape the character characteristics of the main characters in the dance drama.

Censorship and Creative Communities: Fragility and Change of Fanfiction Writing in China

AbstractResearch on cultural production has recognized that artistic creation, especially fandom subcultures, depends on social interaction within artworlds. Yet less research has examined how creative production functions when exogenous social forces disrupt key forms of interaction. This study leverages the case of Chinese fanfiction writers’ response when state censorship interrupts and threatens fanfiction writing to better understand the vulnerability of creative communities. Based on interviews with Chinese fanfiction writers who experienced an unexpected intensification of online censorship in 2020, and following fandom studies in understanding fanfiction as rooted in a gift economy, I show how censorship discouraged writing by destabilizing interaction and interfering with gift exchanges. I find that censorship transformed cultural production by (1) reorganizing and fragmenting networks, (2) reshaping the meaning of visibility, and (3) opening up new opportunities in a disintegrated community. As this study argues, we need to go beyond asking whether censorship is effectively destructive or not. While creative communities are vulnerable to outside disruption, especially in online space, the pressure of censorship leads to new conventions, networks, and fields for artistic creation as censorship does not simply strangle creativity.

Choral Art of China: Determination of Composing Creativity, Performance and Education

Compared to other types of musical art, the unity of three components – composer creativity, performance and education – in choral practice is the most deterministic. A vivid example of this is the choral art of China, each direction of which has its own characteristic features, peculiar ways of development, vectors of application determined by certain historical and socio-cultural factors, but in general they appear as an inseparable organic alloy. The purpose of the article is to highlight the trinity of composer creativity, performance and education as determinants of the development of choral art in China. The research methodology is based on a comprehensive approach based on historical-cultural, comparative, music-theoretical analysis of the material and theoretical modelling of the structural-logical and substantive characteristics of choral activity. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that the trinity of composer creativity, performance and choral art education in China is considered for the first time as an immanent quality determined by historical development. Conclusions. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese choral culture has been actively assimilating compositional, performing, and educational traditions of a foreign, mostly European, model. In the first half of the century, this was especially evident in the work of composers. Choirs by Chinese composers created in this period are based on the melody of patriotic songs in an organic synthesis with European writing techniques (including polyphonic). In the second half of the 20th century, the emphasis shifted towards performance, which was determined by the socio-political involvement of art, when choral work was a tool of political propaganda. At the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, choral art in China becomes independent, specialised educational institutions are opened in the country, where the training of conducting and choral personnel is carried out. At each stage, each branch of choral art in China had its own characteristics, development trajectory, vectors of application. In general, separate components – composer creativity, performing and educational activities become an inseparable whole during the entire development. This determinism of Chinese choral culture ensured its successful development in the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Female Image and Gender Discourse in Drama, Film and Television Literature

This paper aims to explore the multiple representation of female images in drama, film and television literature and the construction of gender discourse behind it. Through analyzing the shaping of female roles in different historical periods and cultural backgrounds, this paper reveals how they reflect the changes and conflicts of social gender concepts. The article emphasizes that the female image is not only the product of artistic creation, but also the mirror image of social gender power relations, which is of great significance to promote gender equality.

A Study on the Construction of Patriotism in Main Theme Film and Television Works

Mainstream cinematic works, with their distinctive perspectives and narrative styles, have emerged as vital vehicles for the promotion of patriotic sentiments. These productions, through their diverse and emotionally profound subject matter, not only provide audiences with visual and auditory delights but also ignite a strong sense of identity with the nation and its people. In recent years, as times evolve, the standard of creating such works has been continuously elevated, with themes becoming increasingly relatable to real life, striving to awaken dormant patriotism within viewers. Amid the global wave of cultural integration and collision, there is an ever-growing need for cinematic works to disseminate and fortify patriotic ideals. These mainstream films are not merely artistic creations but also cultural missions, employing in-depth explorations of history and modernity, individual and collective narratives, to forge novel expressions of patriotism.

White Masters and Black Servants: A Decolonial Analysis of Winky D’s “Happy Again” Music Video

In December 2021, Zimbabwean musician Winky D (born Wallace Chirumiko) released the video to his song “Happy Again.” While many cheered the release, the “Happy Again” video was not immune to criticism. Drawing on concepts of coloniality and decoloniality as well as framing theory, this article uses thematic analysis to deconstruct the kinds of selections that perpetuate coloniality that were spotlighted and made noticeable in the “Happy Again” music video. Further, the article discusses the implications of such depictions as well as proposes possible representations that could have been less problematic. By focusing on race, this article contributes to scholarship on representations in Zimbabwean music which has predominantly examined portrayals of gender. Considering that Winky D’s artistic creation lives on YouTube where many continue to view it, this article relies on cultivation theory to justify why contesting and rejecting the problematic depictions of Blackness and Whiteness in the video is urgent. Despite the British formally leaving Zimbabwe at the country’s flag independence in 1980, the framing of Blackness and Whiteness in the video shows a continuation of imperialist ideas that anchored the colonial project. White people are framed as affluent masters while Black individuals are portrayed as poor servants. These representations have potentially deleterious consequences when embraced by credulous and unwary audiences. The article concludes by highlighting its contributions to nuancing theories used to scaffold the analysis.

Identity development of Arab drama therapists: The role of ethnic boundary work

Previous studies have suggested that creative arts therapists who work in conservative societies must adapt their Western therapeutic ideologies to collectivist and traditional norms. Less is known about how these creative arts therapists construct and maintain their professional identity in diverse sociocultural contexts. Building on the literature that emphasizes the role of ethnic boundary work in professional identity processes, we examined how Arab drama therapists maintain, challenge, and negotiate ethnic boundaries in the process of professional identity construction.Participants were 38 Israeli-Arab drama therapists (36 female) working in Israeli-Arab schools. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews (27 participants) and playback theater groups (12 participants). Thematic analysis revealed three different forms of ethnic boundary work: "Distinguishing Arab identity from drama therapy", "Drama therapy as an act of challenging ethnic and gender boundaries", and "Negotiating ethnic boundaries within the context of drama therapy".The current study emphasizes the sociocultural context of boundary work by illustrating how Israeli-Arab drama therapists define their professional identity across ethnic, gender, and political tensions. We conclude with implications for research and practice.

RePAIRing the student nurse journey: empowering interrupted students through innovative support strategies.

This article reports on a study that evaluated an innovative 6-week summer returners' programme, part of the Health Education England RePAIR project, designed to support nursing students who have interrupted their studies. Held from May to July 2022, the programme addressed diverse needs through academic guidance, mental health and resilience workshops, creative arts, professional identity development, and practical nursing skills training. The programme ran alongside support from the programme team, student engagement services, and ongoing communication via phone and email. Despite non-mandatory sessions leading to varying attendance, the combined efforts facilitated the return of 67 out of 135 interrupted students. Thematic analysis identified four key themes: anticipation and fear, making contact and reaching out, preparing for return, and psychological wellbeing. The programme's effectiveness underscores the necessity of tailored support strategies to enhance retention and wellbeing. This innovative approach highlights the importance of personalised support in aiding nursing students' return to education and addressing nursing workforce shortages.

Reviewing the effect of creative arts therapy on the development of cognitive and social skills in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Creative art therapy has been utilized for many years as a treatment regimen for certain mental disorders. Overall, results of studies on creative art therapy show a positive trend, with general improvements in mental health and reduction of neurological symptoms in the majority of cases. The results regarding the effectiveness of creative art therapies in treating autism spectrum disorder are unclear and varied, due to the range of symptoms involved in autism spectrum disorder, the effect of age on therapy, and the variety of creative art therapies available for use. Of all the creative art therapies chosen to review, music was the most investigated. The studies performed on music therapy showed positive results, however, a large-scale randomized controlled trial refuted the positive benefits, leading to an inconclusive overall result on the effectiveness of music therapy. Research on the benefits of creative art therapies for children with autism spectrum disorder is inconclusive. Studies generally demonstrate a positive effect on many different types of creative art therapies. However, these studies have major limitations in generalizability due to small sample sizes and their descriptive nature. Future research should focus on developing randomized controlled trial protocols that can be used on a larger scale to generate more definitive results on the benefits, or lack thereof, of creative art therapies. Research should also be performed on the effect of adolescence on creative art therapies, and whether targeting it at younger children with autism spectrum disorder would be more or less beneficial than targeting it towards adolescents.

Fast Facts and Concepts #491: Use of Creative Arts in Caring for Patients with A Serious Illness.

Fast Facts and Concepts #491: Use of Creative Arts in Caring for Patients with A Serious Illness.

Punk Children's Empowerment in Changing Life Culture and Increasing Income

This research aims to empower punk children’s program by Kampung Seni and Black Dog to change the culture of life and increase income. The reason for carrying out this research is to change society’s negative views toward punk children’s culture. This study uses a qualitative approach, with data collected through observation and direct interviews with five punk children in Kampung Seni and Black Dog studios. The result of this research is that the empowerment of punk children carried out by studio managers through education and skills programs can change the culture of lazy work into enthusiasm for work. Second, the empowerment carried out by the two studios resulted in punk children’s artistic creativity in the form of competitive products that could be traded. Third, punk children’s creative products can increase their income and, at the same time, change their social status. This research implies that the government of Sidoarjo Regency can motivate other groups to manage and empower punks or similar children who have yet to be authorized. Keywords: empowerment program, punk children, lifestyle, income

Johan Halvorsens engagemang i Helsingfors 1889–92 som katalysator för hans arbete som kompositör

The first part of the article examines the Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen’s activities in Helsinki during the years 1889-92. The flourishing musical life of the Finnish capital, which actually inspired Halvorsen to begin composing, as well as Halvorsen’s musical agency, are examined from a variety of perspectives, both socio-cultural and biographical. The research is based on extensive historical archival material. The aim of the article is twofold: first, to map the musical and personal impulses that inspired Halvorsen’s emergence as a creative artist, and second, to highlight his contribution to Helsinki’s musical life during this period. The second part of the article presents Halvorsen’s String Quartet in E minor (1892). This is his most important work from this period in terms of its scope and the prestige of the genre. The public response to the work’s first performance was positive, but the composer himself was not satisfied: a few years later he destroyed most of the material, but transcribed the slow movement for orchestra. Since Halvorsen was a self-taught composer, it is natural to ask why: was the destruction of the work the result of a lack of quality, the composer’s excessive self-criticism, or simply the conviction that the work did not represent his stylistic idiom as a composer? These questions will be explored through a transcription of the surviving orchestral score, an analysis of musical structures such as form (macro and micro), melody and harmony in the one surviving movement, the contemporary reception of the work, and finally a comparison of the work with Halvorsen’s oeuvre as a whole.

Structural brain correlates of creative personality: a voxel-based morphometric study

ABSTRACT The current study explored the neuroanatomical basis of creative personality using the voxel-based morphometric (VBM) approach. The sample comprised two groups – Creative (CR) group (professional creative artists) and matched controls with no demonstrated artistic creativity (NC) with 20 participants in each group, in the age range of 20–40 years, right-handed (screened using Edinburgh Handedness Inventory) and had minimum average intelligence (IQ > 90 on Raven’s Progressive Matrices). Professional creative artists were selected using the creativity achievement questionnaire, creativity was assessed using the Wallach & Kogan test of creativity, and personality was administered using NEO-FFI. The result indicates that creative individuals have significantly higher openness to new experiences and it positively correlates with the right middle frontal gyrus. VBM analysis indicates increased gray matter volume in the inferior frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus in the CR group, pointing toward the integration of cognitive and imaginative processes that might be implicated in creative personality.

Automatic tiling method for mosaic ceramic art images based on subpixel edge fitting localization and collaborative operation of multiple manipulators

Mosaic ceramics are not limited to use solely as building materials, they also possess artistic value. Artists can create images by arranging and combining mosaic ceramics, resulting in a perfect fusion of large-scale public art for external walls and ceramic materials. However, the current approach for artists to create mosaic ceramic exterior wall art images involves manual laying and assembling of individual mosaic ceramics. This manual process suffers from issues such as low efficiency, eye fatigue, selection errors, and the risk of high-altitude operations. These challenges significantly impact the quality and efficiency of creating mosaic ceramic exterior wall art image images. To address these problems, this paper proposes an automatic mosaic ceramic art image stitching method based on subpixel edge fitting positioning and collaborative operation of multiple robotic arms. Additionally, a new U + I type conveying method is designed for efficient and space-saving transportation of mosaic ceramics. Experimental results demonstrate a high success rate of recognition, absorption, and placement of multi-color mosaic ceramics using this method reaching 95.45%, with a positioning error within 0.5 mm. The method can also adapt to varying levels of light intensity or noise interference. This approach effectively enhances the quality and efficiency of creating mosaic ceramic exterior wall art images and promotes the development of mosaic ceramic exterior wall public art creation.

The Problem of Subjectivity in Algorithmic Creativity Organisation

The aim of the article is to study the issue of determining subjectivity, authorship and uniqueness of the results of producing the creative process, organised by the use of algorithmic calculations. Results. The article clarifies the possibility of organising the artistic and creative process using mathematical calculations, and automating the reproduction of certain manipulations, additionally, it reveals signs of the uniqueness of the corresponding generation results, and grounds the degree of automating the cultural process. The scientific novelty of the article is revealed in the process of highlighting technical assets of modern art, which, although slowly, nevertheless quite demonstratively show the potential of algorithmic computing as a stimulator of creative innovations. Among the methods used in the process of analysing the issues which are raised in the article, first of all, the analytical method has to be singled out, that is based on both historical and philosophical processes, as well as modern cultural activity. Conclusions. It is revealed that algorithmic creativity is actually a kind of mechanised production process, organised in accordance with the features of machine training, and the identified signs of stylistic imitation of traditional practices. Two types of practices for organising the corresponding creative process are established according to the degree of interaction of artists with robotic systems: practices where robotic mechanisms become “subjects of creativity”, that is they are able to produce content for organizing artistic processes; practices involving the equal interaction of robotic mechanisms and artists (for instance, in theatrical performances). The cultural process automation leads to the decrease in the artist’s participation, and weakening of his authorship, but he still has an absolute advantage in the thinking orientation. Interpretation of meaningful content is a critical problem in relevant practices. The usage of algorithms in creating art products challenges traditional methods of artistic cultural creation, as the artist’s meaning and intentions are not always clear. Evaluating further prospects for the artistic culture development requires taking into account these aspects, and recognising potential consequences of forming algorithmic creativity for the further cultural development of humanity.

ANALYZING COLLAGE AS A COMMUNICATION ACT IN THE DIGITAL AGE BASED ON THE DADAISM RENEWAL MOVEMENT'S SPIRIT

Collage combines the semiotic tradition of Roland Barthes, the phenomenological tradition of Edmund Husserl, the critical tradition of Karl Marx, and the point of view of Jurgen Habermas in visual communication. The collage technique creates trans-aesthetic elements and double codes, a Dadaist method of encoding signs. Building on previous research, this study explores collage art as a communication act and its process in the digital era. Digital photography technology and computer software facilitate quicker and easier creation of collage art, emphasizing the fundamental concept of "paste." This pasting-sticking process mirrors the communication process of art and design in the digital era, illustrating cyclical communication capable of transcending space and time. The research has several conclusions. (1) By enhancing visual communication strategies and efficiency based on the spirit of the Dadaism renewal movement, unique collages can be created as a personal sign of message(s). (2) Collages as communication act in the digital era represent dialogue in trans-aesthetics code. (3) On the other hand, with the spirit of Dadaism that contains a free mind, open creation, and emphasis on social-cultural issues, collages as a communication process are also possible to frame messages and create fallacy.

Престиж преподавателя высшей юридической школы: некоторые особенности и направления развития

The purpose of the presented article is to identify the main difficulties and obstacles in establishing the socio-legal prestige of the teaching staff of higher education in modern Russia. The authors of the article formulate separate proposals aimed at organizational, legal, cultural and ideological support of the teaching profession of an educational organization. Methodology: the study combines the analysis of social relations and legal regulation in the context of the socio-legal prestige of a higher school teacher. In general, special legal, sociological, cultural, and logical research methods are used. Conclusions. The main conclusion is made in the work: the qualitative components of the socio-legal prestige of a teacher of an educational organization affect not only the state of the professional educational environment, but also determine the development of higher education. The authors of the article believe that objective difficulties and problems that stand in the way of forming the prestige of the teaching profession of an educational organization can lead to deformation of professional legal culture and regression of educational activities. Scientific and practical relevance. The proposed ideas can be used to discuss issues of improving the legal education system within the framework of scientific seminars and conferences. The authors are confident that the development of the higher education system through its social support and actualization can increase the prestige of the work of a teacher of an educational organization. Some of the ideas proposed in the article can be implemented in the field of artistic creativity and culture.

How the arts heal: a review of the neural mechanisms behind the therapeutic effects of creative arts on mental and physical health.

The creative arts have long been known for their therapeutic potential. These modalities, which include dance, painting, and music, among others, appear to be effective in enhancing emotional expression and alleviating adverse physiological and psychological effects. Engagement in creative arts can be pursued as a personal hobby, in a classroom setting, or through a formal therapeutic intervention with a qualified therapist. Engagement can be active (i.e., creating) or passive (i.e., viewing, listening). Regardless of the modality and manner of engagement, the mechanisms explaining the therapeutic efficacy of creative arts remain poorly understood. This study aims to systematically review research investigating the neurological mechanisms activated during active or passive engagement in creative arts, with a specific emphasis on the roles of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the amygdala in emotional regulation (ER) and creative behaviors. The review seeks to provide preliminary evidence for the possible existence of common neural mechanisms underlying both phenomena, which could inform the development of targeted therapeutic interventions leveraging creative arts for ER. A systematic review was conducted following the Cochrane Collaboration guideline and PRISMA standards to identify studies examining the neurological mechanisms underlying creative activities. A total of six out of 85 records meet the inclusion criteria, with all being basic research studies. Preliminary findings suggest that active and passive engagement with creative arts consistently activate neural circuits implicated in adaptive emotional regulation, including the mPFC and amygdala. These activations mirror the neural pathways engaged in effective ER strategies, suggesting the possible existence of shared mechanisms between creative expression and emotional processing. The evidence underscores the potential of creative arts as a complementary therapeutic strategy alongside conventional care and other evidence-based mind-body modalities. By elucidating the shared neural mechanisms between creative arts engagement and ER, this review contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding of the role of creative arts in mental health. Future research is recommended to further explore these neural correlations and their implications for therapeutic practice.