This is a diagram of the creative process, focusing on the empathic relationship between a spark and a trigger in the world outside, or better still, between the artist and human/non-human things. The spark-trigger is articulated in time. No matter which happens first, the encounter is what matters. The trigger is something that draws the artist’s attention; it is an artifact or event, a conversation with friends or a news headline. The spark may be the condition that enables the trigger to expand the artist’s creativity. Both – the spark and the trigger – lead the artist towards the artwork’s configuration. Of course, there are other relationships between surrounding events floating in the environment and the artist’s mind. Although they are linked nodes, not all of them result in the spark-trigger experience.
As a side note, it’s important to mention that the notion of material and materiality used here is not restricted to the physical art forms but also encompasses the digital art expressions. Thus, the flow of ideas and the material’s manifestation loop, surpass restrictions and sometimes arrive at a final form which can be shared… or not. In fact, the final product is (or may be) the process. A process that is not only about creating the artwork, but is also about constructing connections, sharing emotions and empathy, which are required skills for the globe’s inhabitants right now.
The present diagram was freely “sparked” by the following:
– Molior Symposium 2021 Rethinking Our Futures: Art and Collaboration
– Palle Dahlstedt’s Spatial Model of Artistic Creativity (2012)
– Pedro Veiga’s A/R/Cografia: a criatividade investigada (2020)
– Tim Ingold’s: Bringing things to life: Creative entanglements in a world of materials (2010)
