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Chapter 8
Between Material and Ideas: A Process-Based
Spatial Model of Artistic Creativity
Palle Dahlstedt
Abstract In this chapter, I propose a model of an artistic creative process, based
on study of my own creative processes over twenty years of activities as composer
and improviser. The model describes the creative process as a structured exploration
of the space of the possible, emphasising the interplay between a dynamic concept
and the changing material form of the work. Combining ideas, tools, material and
memory, creativity is described as a coherent, dynamic, and iterative process that
navigates the space of the chosen medium, guided by the tools at hand, and by the
continuously revised ideas, significantly extending previous spatial models of cre-
ativity. This involves repeated misinterpretation and coincidences, which are crucial
in human creative processes, adding meaning and depth to the artwork. A few exam-
ples from real life are given as illustrations of the model, together with a discussion
of phenomena such as appreciation, skill and collaborative creativity. Finally, I dis-
cuss how the proposed model could form a foundation for computer implementa-
tions of artistic creative process, to increase our understanding of human creativity,
and to possibly enable believable artistic behaviour in machines.
8.1 Introduction
Humans have always wanted to build intelligent machines, with various degrees
of success. One particularly elusive property of intelligent behaviour is creativity.
How do we form new ideas? How do we create something nobody has previously
seen? Creative insights may seem like momentary events, but under the surface of
the consciousness, they are gradual processes, combining and elaborating previous
knowledge into new thoughts, until the conditions are just right for them to surface.
In art, creativity is essential. The formation of ideas is important, but in my expe-
rience, the depth and meaning of an artwork emerge from the process of implemen-
tation of the original ideas, during which these ideas may very well change, drift
and be elaborated upon, sometimes beyond recognition.
 
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