Methods and Tools of Creation

ARTS
 What precisely constitutes art is debatable, and thus if the scope of
art is extensive, so too are the methods and tools of construction. 
 Generally, art Is divided into the following areas:
 Architecture
 Sculpture
 Painting
 Literature
 Music
 Performance
 Film
 There is overlap within these areas as well as subdivisions
 drawing would be a subdivision of painting
 there is a fine line between lyrical music and literature
 A key concept to understand is that there are methods of
producing art that result in certain types of work.
 There are also methods of assessing or judging the
quality of a work of art.
 The chosen method of artistic production will often affect
the method via which its quality is judged. 
 For example, if an artist uses actors and a digital camera
to produce a film and then presents the completed work
as art, its quality will be assessed with a different method
than would be used to assess a painting or even a play.
 The method used to create a work of art greatly affects the
subsequent knowledge created.
 Consider the impact that freedom of methodological creation
has on knowledge within the arts.
 Do other AOK allow similar methodological freedom?

 Knowledge question
 Does limiting method result in limiting knowledge?
 The tools and methods of artistic construction can
also contribute to the assessed quality of a work of art.
For example, examine Figures 2 and 3 below.
 Both of these works of art are famous in large part
because of the method used to create them.
 In the case of Figure 2, DuChamp’s Fountain, the
method was to buy a urinal from an industrial
supply store, sign it, and put it on a pedestal.
 In the case of Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the
Island of La Grande Jatte, he utilised a method
called ‘pointillism’, a technique in which he
painted an image using small dots as opposed to
brush strokes and lines.
 The method of creation for both works of art was
distinct yet crucial in assessment of quality.
 In the case of Fountain, the method was indeed ‘lazy’,
yet this method was purposefully chosen to make a
point. 
 Thus the method and the message are linked – the
method is the message.
 In Seurat’s painting, the method is also crucial and key
to appreciation of the work, but for different reasons.
 Seurat’s method was incredibly difficult, and thus it is
factored into appreciating his skill as an artist and the
work as a whole.
 For many artists, what is more important
than the literal method and tools of
constructing a piece is what they refer to
as the ‘creative process’. 
 Creativity, or divergent thinking, is
incredibly hard to teach and yet it is a
skill valued in all AOK and segments of
society, and it is certainly a skill that is
prized and embodied in the arts.
 Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative
people how they did something, they feel a little guilty
because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It
seemed obvious to them after a while.
 (Steve Jobs)
 Creativity is intelligence having fun.
 (Albert Einstein)
 Great things are done by a series of small things brought
together.
 (Vincent van Gogh)
 Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when
you grow up.
 (Pablo Picasso)
 Even brilliant artists and scientists have a hard time defining precisely what creativity is
and how to harness it.
 The Steve Jobs quote is very typical of the method of artists in that they often state that
artistic inspiration just ‘comes’ to them. 
 What experts tend to value most in the arts is the end result.
 Unlike other AOK, engaging in a certain method does not
guarantee high-quality knowledge. 
 In other AOK, experts can check the method used to create
the knowledge as a way of assessing the quality of the
knowledge itself.
 However, in the arts, method does not carry the same
weight. 
 Put another way, having an objectively high-quality method
does not guarantee objectively high-quality art. 
 Conversely, atypical or ‘poor’ methods in the arts do not
guarantee low-quality art. 
Discussion

 This conversation on methodology is designed to make you consider the role of method
on both the process of knowledge construction as well as the type of knowledge produced
within different AOK. A key knowledge question is:

 Do paradigms of methodology serve to increase or decrease the quality of knowledge within an

AOK?