Creative Exploration Research Articles

From words to worlds: Generative reconstruction of The Alchemist narratives

This paper explores the creative translation of narratives into atmospheric qualities of space using artificial intelligence (AI). The study transforms the textual descriptions of events based on the notable works of Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist into generative architectural representations. Exploration of prompts in text-to-image generative technologies is still defined by the description of forms and context instead of based on events. The study argues that utilising stories of events as prompts creates possibilities for a more enriching and evocative visual of architecture. This study utilises the Microsoft Bing Image Generator DALL-E 3 to generate images based on prompts derived from key events of The Alchemist. Nine particular events of The Alchemist novel are transformed into images, which are further transformed into AI-generated prompts. The study follows by regenerating the prompts into another set of images. The resulting AI-generated images reveal the potential of AI in creating architectural spaces that embody the atmospheric qualities of The Alchemist narratives, with varying degrees of details and nuances of the narrative events. Through annotating the generated forms, the contrast of lights, and the materiality of the generated images, the study creatively reconstructs the atmospheric qualities of The Alchemist events. In doing so, the study blurs the lines between textual and spatial storytelling, empowering the craft of meaningful and impactful spaces through the power of narrative. This paper highlights the potential of AI not just as a tool for visualisation but also as a catalyst for innovative and creative exploration in the design field.

Reframing death: life-affirming messages from the dead through the lens of Spiritualism and tarot

ABSTRACT Death in Western modernity is predominantly experienced as challenging and destabilising, bringing uncertainty, loss, and pain. However, from some contemporary spiritual perspectives, death represents not just an ending, but also facilitates new ways of experiencing our embodied being. Based on participatory fieldwork in the UK, this paper explores constructions and encounters with death through the formal religious lens of Spiritualism and the more informal and personalised practices of tarot. Reflecting practitioners’ belief in the agency of spirit in earthly lived experience I resist simple dichotomies of life and death by taking seriously a place for spirit. Using three empirical examples I explore how such a lens allows alternative geographies and therapeutic relationships to emerge, framing experiences of death as both endings and new beginnings, opening up new possibilities in the space left behind. Drawing on this potential, the paper encourages creative exploration of alternative narratives around death, spirit, and place.

Walking and mapping methodologies: creative explorations of people’s relationships with space

This discussion note reflects on the experiences of collaborating to produce a hybrid workshop on walking and mapping methodologies (author 1 & author 2, 2023) building on research, scholarship and teaching in this area that we, the authors, have been undertaking over the past decade. The workshop explored how walking and mapping might be used in educational settings, in particular multilingual and transnational environments in higher education institutions. It brought together multidisciplinary perspectives on ‘space’, drawing on creative inquiry and applied linguistics, linguistic landscapes, and social geography. Our workshop was aimed at anyone with interests in creative approaches to research, particularly those engaged with participants’ lives and interactions within, across, and through space; and we intended to examine the challenges and opportunities of these approaches, including applications in their own research, scholarship and teaching. Here we outline the processes and thinking behind them, in the form of a two-part dialogue. We raise questions for researchers and educators about boundaries between research, teaching and scholarship, in addition to how walking and mapping methodologies might be critically engaged with in higher education.

PhEminist skins of resistance: creative activism as a decolonial tool for the empowerment of young people within the neo-liberal educational setting

ABSTRACT In this article, I discuss the legacy of the art historical trope of the female nude in perpetuating colonial narratives that inform young women’s understanding not only of the idealized female body, but also what is perceived as ‘good’ drawing in the contemporary art classroom. Theoretically informed by phEmaterialism (feminist new materialism and post-humanism in education), I review the skin as a post-human assemblage to diffract heteronormative and raced colonial imaginings of the female skin. I discuss the PhEminist Skins project, a collaboration with six young women artists (the YWAs), where critical engagement with creative methods, such as life drawing, mobilized the agency of the skin and created opportunity for creative activism. I further share how the methods developed by the YWAs instigated the creation of The Centre for Creative Explorations, a creative research centre that explores alternative pedagogical approaches to the decolonial endeavour in secondary education.

Algorithm and Tool Development for Creative Generation of Graphic Design of Folk Houses and Ancient Buildings Integrating Cultural and Creative Elements

This study presents an innovative approach called CNN-GA for graphic design for folk houses and ancient buildings, which integrates Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) with Genetic Algorithms (GA) to foster the creation of culturally rich and aesthetically appealing graphic designs in architecture. Our research focuses on capturing the essence of folk houses and ancient buildings, deeply rooted in cultural heritage, and reimagining them through a modern computational lens. The CNN component of our model is trained on a diverse array of architectural imagery, enabling it to effectively recognize and categorize key elements such as motifs, textures, and structural forms inherent to various architectural styles. This neural network acts as an intelligent extractor of cultural and aesthetic features, providing a nuanced understanding of traditional architectural elements. The extracted features are then input into a GA, which embarks on an evolutionary process of design generation. This process iteratively combines and refines the architectural elements, fostering a creative exploration of design possibilities that maintain cultural integrity while introducing innovative interpretations. The synergy of CNN and GA in our CNN-GA framework allows for an automated yet insightful design process, yielding graphic designs that are not only architecturally sound but also resonate with the rich cultural narratives of folk houses and ancient buildings. This research holds significant potential in revolutionizing architectural graphic design, offering a novel tool for architects and designers to merge traditional aesthetics with contemporary design paradigms.

Мотивы смерти в лирико-публицистическом дневнике Б. Чобанзаде «Песнь свирели» и его место в контексте творческих исканий автора

Based on the materials of the artistic day book “Song of the Reed-Pipe”, the poetics of the early work of Bekir Chobanzade, one of the brightest representatives of the Crimean Tatar literature of 1917–1920, is thoroughly considered. This is the time of political, revolutionary upheavals; the formation of the people’s liberation movement of Muslims in the Crimea; the convocation of the First Democratic Kurultai, which proclaimed: the restoration of equal rights for women, the abolition of class privileges, the allotment of peasants with land, the idea of founding national and cultural autonomy. “Reed-Pipe Songs” were written by the author during his studies in Hungary and Switzerland. Loneliness, longing after ancestral home, worries about the fate of the motherland, the search for the meaning of life occupy the main place in his creative heritage. Selfless struggle and heroic death for the freedom of the people in the understanding of B. Chobanzade are the meaning of the life of every Tatar. He prays to the Almighty for a glorious death for himself and a life full of suffering for his enemies. Pessimistic romanticism, civic spirit determine the creative character of the writer. Despite the fact that B. Chobanzade is known as a major specialist in the study of languages and literatures of the Turkic peoples, his literary personality has been studied only in a perfunctory manner. The main reason for this is the complex imagery of the language of the works, the depth of the author’s philosophical thought based on national traditions and mythology. The works of previous researchers of the life and creative path of the cultural actor are analyzed. The main linguistic, generic-topical, stylistic features of the literary texts of the mentioned collection are revealed. The philosophical and aesthetic component of the motives of death in the works of B. Chobanzade is comprehended.

An entropy modulation theory of creative exploration.

An entropy modulation theory of creative exploration.

Reflections of Doctoral Students' Creative Thinking Skills on Their Dissertation Preparation Process

The importance attached to graduate education is increasing to meet the demands of preparing qualified manpower. Training researchers aims to build the skill sets of mastering scientific research and critical thinking, being an expert in a field while generating and grasping knowledge. Additionally, creative thinking skills are highly valued in producing original and authentic studies. In this respect, dissertations (for PhD) are reported to include more of these skill sets compared to the theses (for MSc). This research aims to examine how creative thinking skills of doctoral students are reflected in their dissertation preparation process. This case study investigates these processes experienced by five doctoral students who are in the stage of dissertation proposal submission. With a semi-structured interview, their reflection on their use of creative thinking skills in dissertation processes are comprehensively analyzed. It is concluded that these students utilize various strategies to produce original work by integrating creative thinking skills such as fluency, flexibility, elaboration, combinational and exploratory creativity to their dissertation processes. At the same time, personal, environmental, financial, and implementation related challenges that would adversely affect their creative thinking skills are reported along with the approaches of their advisors towards the originality and limitations of dissertations.

Know Your Tools: Neuroscience and Service Design

The early stages of service design projects are defined by empathy, awareness and a deep analysis of the context in which designers engage. Therefore, understanding our cognitive capacities (‘neuro-related tools’) enhances the ability to detect environmental cues, enriching the service design process, especially within innovative and creative explorations, to envision desirable futures.

South Korean Documentary Cinema and remembrance: the past in the present, at Jeonju Film Festival 2024

ABSTRACT Korean documentary film has historically both been designed as a contribution to political life and also as a creative exploration in the growing film industry. Documentary in the service of political mobilizing, which occupied a large place in early documentary, has evolved into a wide range of expression, without losing the overall character of social commitment. As seen at the Jeonju Film Festival 2024, documentary work continues the longstanding politically-engaged character of South Korean documentary, while demonstrating sophisticated approaches to the challenge of developing narratives of remembrance. This work is undertaken with techniques ranging from animation to strategic use of silence and absence, reflexive archival use and memoir. Documentary choices testify to professionalization and innovation in the field and also to the enduring identity of documentary filmmakers as storytellers of a fraught, contested and still in formation Korean identity.

Sonic Electromagnetism

The author describes their sound art practice, which uses the electromagnetic field (EM) to explore concepts of the body toward a feminist and pro-trans future. This practice stands in contrast to hidden consumer “black box” culture and mediated digital telepresence. Three specific art projects are explored that fuse visual design, printed circuitry, and interactivity to build critical space for participatory exploration. The author explores concepts of the body in relation to spatialized sound and queer phenomenology of sound. Lastly, the author suggests that the creative exploration of sonic electromagnetism is a larger movement by a disparate community of artists who aim to challenge existing systems of power. In their exploration of the electromagnetic field, the author argues that these artists strive to harness a new source of empowerment and spirit.

THE APPLICATION OF SWAN IDEA SOURCE ON BRIDAL FASHION

Swans are the most loyal animals that only mate once in a lifetime. The purpose of this research is to find out the process of making and the finished result of bridal fashion with a swan as the source of the idea. This research method uses a three-stage design process approach. This method consists of three stages of research: problem definition and research, creative exploration and implementation. The design direction was determined in the initial stage, and in the second stage, a moodboard was made. The implementation stage involves applying a swan feather and manipulating fabric decoration as the centre of attention on the bridal outfit. The process of manipulating fabric starts with preparing copper wire, segment fabric and brocade fabric, then cutting to form strands of swan feathers and sewn with balut stitch on all sides to unite the three materials. The results of this research show bridal fashion with feather-shaped manipulating fabric decoration, with two designs of men's and women's bridal fashion. The final result is the style of Muslim clothing, according to the provisions of Islamic law, intended to cover parts of the body that are inappropriate to be shown to the public. The primary material is tille sequins and satin maxmara lining with the appropriate size, but it does not show the shape of the woman's body so that it can be worn for Muslim women wearing hijab.

Развитие творческого мышления студентов в процессе преподавания скульптуры

This article addresses the issue of the lack of creative thinking among master’s degree students in sculpture departments at universities in China. Combined with teaching practice, the article puts forward countermeasures to solve the problem of lack of creative thinking and emphasizes the importance of cultivating students’ creative thinking ability in sculpture teaching practice. Among these measures, whose effectiveness has been confirmed through teaching practice, are: encouraging student initiative, emphasizing independence in creative exploration, ensuring interdisciplinary training, integrating various art forms, and enhancing student self-discipline. Additionally, the author highlights the need for reforming the sculpture curriculum and updating the teaching methodology. In the context of modern art education, it should not be limited to the development of a specific set of skills but should instead stimulate students’ imagination and creative pursuits to meet society’s demand for creative art products. Cultivating of students’ creative thinking is not solely the responsibility of teachers; it requires active participation from the students themselves, ultimately leading to the formation of an independent artistic style and personalized artistic self-expression.

An Unexpected Arc of Agency: A Conversation

ABSTRACT Between 2021 and 2024, director Eric Fraisher Hayes and dramaturg Beth Wynstra teamed up for a series of productions of Eugene O’Neill’s early and lesser-known plays under the auspices of the Eugene O’Neill Foundation. The following dialogue revisits some of the discoveries made during their joint creative exploration of these plays in production.

Designing activities and tools to support university students' creative and collaborative exploration of physical computing

Today’s digital world requires students to gain skills in collaborative problem solving and digital literacy. One approach is to teach people how to design computational artefacts that require both electronics and programming. Physical computing platforms offer an endless amount of possible opportunities for people to design and develop technological artefacts. However, many times students are overwhelmed when trying to learn both software and hardware simultaneously. The students struggle to be innovative and creative in their projects. Also, they focus on mastering the tool and following instructions for existing projects rather than being able to creatively explore the tool and understand the process of designing and developing new artefacts. For that reason, we aimed to answer the question: What type of tools and activities can be developed to support university students creative exploration of physical computing? Programming and electronics are fundamental design disciplines in today's digital world, and therefore they should be taught through design activities rather than limiting education to textbook readings and laboratory exercises. We introduce our process of designing activities combined with a supportive tool to ease these challenges. The activities and tools were developed iteratively in three phases with a series of workshops with 126 students and teachers. The tool consists of a set of paper cards that provide necessary details (hints) about the electronics and software and help provide structure for the students to conceptualise how their artefact interacts. We additionally, introduced a learning Jigsaw pattern (orchestration script) for the later intervention that enabled individual students in the groups to focus on design, hardware, or software. For evaluation, we used the Creativity Support Index (CSI), which is a psychometric survey designed to assess the support of the creative process. The instrument investigates collaboration, efforts worth the result, exploration, immersion, enjoyment, and expressiveness. The results between the phases showed improvement with the use of the refined versions of the cards and orchestration of the learning activity. This study has demonstrated that design activities can provide a more accessible approach for the introduction of physical computing to students from various majors. Moreover, learning physical computing through design activities allows the learner to develop computational and design thinking skills for collaboratively solving problems.

‘I Need the White Pill!’ – A Creative Exploration of How Minority Flemish Youth Employ Ethnic Humour for Identity Construction

‘I Need the White Pill!’ – A Creative Exploration of How Minority Flemish Youth Employ Ethnic Humour for Identity Construction

Multiple Chirality Switching of a Dye‐Grafted Helical Polymer Film Driven by Acid & Base

AbstractA stimuli‐responsive multiple chirality switching material, which can regulate opposed chiral absorption characteristics, has great application value in the fields of optical modulation, information storage and encryption, etc. However, due to the rareness of effective functional systems and the complexity of material structures, developing this type of material remains an insurmountable challenge. Herein, a smart polymer film with multiple chirality inversion properties was fabricated efficiently based on a newly‐designed acid & base‐sensitive dye‐grafted helical polymer. Benefited from the cooperative effects of various weak interactions (hydrogen bonds, electrostatic interaction, etc.) under the aggregated state, this polymer film exhibited a promising acid & base‐driven multiple chirality inversion property containing record switchable chiral states (up to five while the solution showed three‐state switching) and good reversibility. The creative exploration of such a multiple chirality switching material can not only promote the application progress of current chiroptical regulation technology, but also provide a significant guidance for the design and synthesis of future smart chiroptical switching materials and devices.

Multiple Chirality Switching of a Dye-Grafted Helical Polymer Film Driven by Acid & Base.

A stimuli-responsive multiple chirality switching material, which can regulate opposed chiral absorption characteristics, has great application value in the fields of optical modulation, information storage and encryption, etc. However, due to the rareness of effective functional systems and the complexity of material structures, developing this type of material remains an insurmountable challenge. Herein, a smart polymer film with multiple chirality inversion properties was fabricated efficiently based on a newly-designed acid & base-sensitive dye-grafted helical polymer. Benefited from the cooperative effects of various weak interactions (hydrogen bonds, electrostatic interaction, etc.) under the aggregated state, this polymer film exhibited a promising acid & base-driven multiple chirality inversion property containing record switchable chiral states (up to five while the solution showed three-state switching) and good reversibility. The creative exploration of such a multiple chirality switching material can not only promote the application progress of current chiroptical regulation technology, but also provide a significant guidance for the design and synthesis of future smart chiroptical switching materials and devices.

Making With Place: Community Artists Theorizing Change

This article confronts tensions of “risk” and “change” in youth engagement and community arts, towards insights for alternate world-building. We problematize overly instrumental approaches, by examining aesthetic and inductive theories of change arising from Making With Place, a research creation initiative based in Toronto, Canada. From Spring 2020 to Fall 2022, we engaged diverse young people as artist-researchers in community arts production experiments exploring concepts of place from individual and collective perspectives. We draw here on resulting public artworks, discussions with the artists, and our own field notes to surface the theories of change arising from this work. We identify three emergent metaphors—the garden, the bridge, the margins—and the ways in which they resist dominant discourses in favor of new practices of imagination and repair. We explore how these creative explorations articulate theories of change that refuse forgetting and call forth desire.

Pyotr Verkhovensky in the Character System in F. M. Dostoevsky’s Novel “Demons”

The purpose of the article is to reveal the artistic and philosophical significance of the image of Pyotr Verkhovensky, who is the main character in the novel “Demons” by F. M. Dostoevsky. This implies an expansion and deepening of ideas about his personal development. In Verkhovensky’s spiritual experience, concepts about the primordial Christian landmarks are misperceived and the hierarchy of Law and Grace is violated. Pyotr Verkhovensky is endowed with the ability to influence others for the sake of his own selfish motives in the name of self-affirmation, building an imaginary reality, and commanding his trusted associates with threats and blackmail. Legalism imperceptibly turns into lawlessness, on the one hand, endowing Verkhovensky with the power to influence others, clearly by nature or by perverted human nature. On the other hand, it condemns the hero, who succumbs to the temptations of self-affirmation, to loneliness and spiritual impoverishment. The article also shows the influence of Pyotr Verkhovensky on the creative explorations of Russian writers, revealing the tragic consequences of violating the value hierarchy of Law and Grace, which allows us to consider this artistic image in the moral paradigms of modernity.