Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
8.1.2 Outline
In the following section, I discuss the idea of tools, the implications of their use, and
the notion of spaces and topologies related to these tools. Section
8.3
presents the
model, explaining the main ideas on a general level, such as material and conceptual
representation, and the interplay between them, including brief discussions on topics
such as craft, skill, novelty and appreciation, and collaborative creativity, in the light
of the proposed model. It is also discussed in the context of existing theories. How
the model could possibly be implemented in computers is discussed in Sect.
8.4
,
followed by some concluding remarks.
8.2 Tools
The word
tool
, in a wide sense, is used a lot throughout this chapter, denoting every-
thing from a traditional drawing tool (e.g. a paintbrush) or a musical instrument to an
abstract organising principle (spectral harmony), a given musical form (the fugue),
computer programs (Photoshop filters), generative procedures (grammar systems,
evolutionary algorithms, Markov chains) or representational systems (Western mu-
sic notation).
Artistic expression is clearly affected by the choice of tools. New genres and
subgenres constantly emerge in music, triggered by the availability of new kinds
of tools for music-making, such as loop samplers, live sequencers, time- and pitch-
altering algorithms, and many more, allowing new ways to work with sound and
structure. A tool embodies a complex behaviour (Gregory
1981
) and enables lines
of thoughts that would not be otherwise possible.
With more advanced tools, the contribution from the toolmaker cannot be ig-
nored. It may be good or bad, but the artist has to be aware of it. Sometimes you do
not want to spend time on developing your own tools, but prefer to be confronted
with an existing tool, and take advantage of the extensive design effort put in by the
tool maker. He helps transport me a fair way towards sophistication, through using
his tool. A well-known risk is that the tool steers users towards similar results. But
given that the tool is complex enough, i.e. it provides possibilities of considerable
user-controlled variation, and that I spend a decent amount of effort on my work,
the tool might not limit my artistic contribution.
Each tool defines a virtual space of possible results. It also defines a
topology
within this space. A topology is a set of neighbourhood relations within the space,
determining which points are near each other, and consequently how we can tra-
verse the space. A neighbour point, in this case, is another point that you can reach
with a single application of the tool. These topologies defined by tools are very im-
portant, since they correspond, in different ways, to how we think about the work.
First, we naturally think about ideas in terms of how to realise them, using tools.
Second, I believe the realm of our imagination is to a large extent constructed from
our knowledge about existing tools, from practice and studies, and what we have
