Creativity in a New Era
Creativity in a New Era
  • Oh Se-Ik (News Editor)
  • 승인 2016.03.25 16:40
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It is hardly deniable that creativity is essential these days. ST introduces
creativity examples in companies, production of Goods, education, architecture
and ar t , relating to current t rends. . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E d
 
Creativity
 
   The concept of creativity has yet to be clearly defined. Although there are many ways of describing it, there are still many theories that are trying to explain the concept. Creativity’s whereabouts — that is, what part of the brain is particularly involved in the process of developing or increasing one’s creativity — is still a mystery for experts.
   If there is one fact that most people agree on regarding the notion of creativity, however, it is that creativity is the ability to create something new or valuable, be it an abstract thing like an idea or theory or a tangible thing like an architectural structure or invention.
In the past, people were almost indifferent to the notion of creativity. Many focused on the ways of using the left hemisphere of their brain by concentrating on factors such as mathematics, language, and logical reasoning.
   Nowadays, people are starting to fix their attention on the right side of their brain which is in charge of the art-oriented skills, such as creativity, imagination, and artistic and music awareness. Further, this use of the brain is showing bizarre and extraordinary outputs by a variety of people in different fields.
 
Creativity in motion
Companies 
www.shutterstock.com
 
   Most companies want to make profits and dream of perpetuating their business. To achieve these goals, they constantly try to satisfy their customers. Also, some people say that the market is becoming a battle of wits rather than of scale because already the computer and IT (Information Technology) have developed greatly. What then is the basis of companies’ competitiveness? Hwang In-gyeong, a researcher at LG Economic Research Institute, says that it is “creative intuition.” Hwang also claims that “creative intuition” does not happen in a flash but results from one’s going to great lengths to realize it. Then she presents outcomes of research that support her opinion.
   Amy Wilkinson, the author of The Creator’s Code, concluded that “companies that have a dream will succeed.” This was what she concluded from a study that she conducted about 200 successful startup companies. In other words, startup companies have a strong chance of becoming a disruptor and of creating a new value or a value that did not previously exist.
   A company with a dream, as mentioned above, has already set its future direction and hopes. Whoever has concrete directionality and inner confidence can become successful even
www.google.com
after many failures. The previously mentioned researcher Hwang added one more thing to this. Among those who show “creative intuition,” few are not absorbed in their work.
   For example, the serial entrepreneur Richard Branson had started and quit companies 400 times before finally succeeding with Virgin Group. Additionally, Harland David Sanders Alva Edison hit upon the electric bulb only after making 10,000 prototype glass tubes. Other examples are Steve Jobs of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Larry Page of Google, and many others. All these famous leaders were workaholics, exerting endless efforts. This shows how important endeavoring to concentrate on creative thinking is.
   South Korea topped Bloomberg’s 2015 list of the world’s 50 most innovative countries. Actually, it has been first in this list for the third year in a row. This shows that South Korea has a conspicuous achievement with regard to creation and innovation. The country is not perfect, however, in this regard. As such, greater efforts on the part of the people are needed for South Korea to maintain
and further develop its “creative intuition.”
 
 
Production of Goods
   “Producing” is an activity that is being done in many areas up to the present time, such as in the fields of movies, games, or new goods. As with these things, something new is made in the process of production. The production activity is based on people’s ideas from beginning to end. As such, creativity is also regarded as an important part of it. Many people worldwide are already actively engaging in creative production.  
   The following paragraphs offer some examples.
www.kaffeeform.com
   There are some creative cups made with recycled wastes. One of them is the “Kaffeeform coffee cup” that Julian Lechner, a German designer, made with coffee grounds. He began his coffee recycling project in 2009. Eventually, after making various attempts and experiencing many failures in period of five years, he completed the project. The Kaffeeform coffee cup is made using environment-friendly glue and wood residue that had gone through an eco-friendly process. Also, it is very durable and does not break easily.
   There are even more surprising creative attempts. C2Renew, a biocomposite formulation development company, succeeded in making PLA (Polylactic Acid). This is created based on coffee grounds and a raw material extracted from cornstarch. PLA does not damage the environment because it is biodegradable. Additionally, C2Renew teamed up with a company specializing in 3D (Three-Dimensional) printing and together made a filament using PLA, which can be a material for a 3D printer. Moreover, they successfully developed plastic coffee cups called “C2 CUP” with such filament.
   These two examples show that creation is possible by fusing new materials or utilizing wastes. It is a process of thinking not just for the sake of creativity but for giving shape to an idea of creative goods, just as the people mentioned above have done beginning with for achieving sustainability or recycling wastes.

 
 
 
 
Education 
   In the field of education all across the globe, people have come to focus their attention on creativity. One of the world’s most influential voices in the field of education, Ken Robinson, said in his TED talk, “My contention is that creativity is now as important in education as literacy is” while also presenting his view that the current education systems are making creativity out of the students’ reach. This notion of creativity being important is still popular at present even though 10 years have passed since he gave the talk.
www.ted.com
   The 21st century is known as the “Age of Intuition,” also known as the “Conceptual Age” is demanding people to be proficient in the fields where the right hemisphere of the brain is used, such as design, empathy, and meaning. Naturally, educators and teachers are looking in the same direction: looking for ways to enable the students to acquire creativity, and conversely, ways to enable the students to use the right side of their brain. Thanks to the efforts of educators or teachers, many experts agree that integration is becoming important in education at present.
   This perception has also led to various efforts to alter teaching methods so as to make the students “create artistic and emotional beauty, detect patterns and opportunities, craft a satisfying narrative, and combine seemingly unrelated ideas into a novel invention,” which are the abilities that Daniel H. Pink declares the Conceptual Age workers must have. Teaching methods such as the Pestalozzi, Montessori, and project-based learning methods are becoming popular nowadays.
   The Pestalozzi method requires students look for answers to their own questions by themselves, which can enhance the students’ observation, imagination, and logical skills. The Montessori method has shown much reliability through Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the Google founders. It aims to provide the students with enough time and space to develop their potentials on their own.      Lastly, project-based learning encourages students to combine various types of knowledge and to compress these into one large practical project.
 
 
www.google.com
    In almost every country, including South Korea, the Ministry of Education is also looking for ways to help the youths develop the abilities required of workers in the 21st century. For example, Singapore has declared that the primary and secondary schools in the country are free to set their own project tasks. China is making its schools “work with the parents to organize extracurricular activities and after-school assignments, including museum tours and library tours,” according to CCTV. In South Korea’s case, they are using the STEAM, and other new policies such as “creative and character building education.”
 
 
 
Architecture & Art
www.michael-hansmeyer.com
   Architecture and art involves the process of planning, designing, and constructing physical structures. And this field has been able to move forward due to the continuous development of science and technology. Science and technology has made it possible for the world of architecture
and art to utilize creativity in coming up not only with abstract ideas but also with tangible figures.
   As time passes, it is becoming possible to do what was impossible in the past. Due to technological advances, artists and architects are now able to make their bizarre and creative ideas a reality. Their creativity comes to life thanks to certain tools, and among these are 3D computer
www.michael-hansmeyer.com
modeling and simulation. Modeling and simulation are capable of grasping the ideas of people
and make it easier to adjust these if problems are seen. They also allow architects to know beforehand if their ideas can be made to come to life. In addition to modeling and simulation, the 3D printer is also a high technology that is making it possible for artists and architects to further develop their creative realm.
   A structure that shows how this kind of technology is helping architects and artists expand their creativity to a whole new level is Michael Hansmeyer’s, a post-modern architect and a programmer who explores algorithmic architecture techniques, generative art mentalities, and CAD software to generate complex architectural forms, creation, “Arabesque Wall.” The 3D-printed massive wall with ornamental details on the scale of millimeters has been made possible by modeling through computer systems and the use of the 3D printer.
 
www.echelman.com
   Apart from Hansmeyer’s post-modern architecture, there is another person who is making her imagination go wild. She is described as “the artist who defies categorization.” Janet Echelman is an artist who designs and creates sculptures that are transformed by wind and light. Her experiential sculptures are known for the use of fishnet as a material, and now atomized water particles. Thanks to years of study and experimentation, she was able to come up with a material from atomized water particles for creating dry mists that the wind can shape.
   Echelman shows the fabulous possibilities of the application of creativity in art combined with technologies from ancient crafts (mainly fishnets) and highly advanced technologies. At present, her work can be seen all over the world, such as in India, Canada, the U.K., and New York. Echelman has been named an “Architectural Digest Innovator” for “changing the very essence of urban spaces” and is known as one of the “greatest innovators in America today.”
 
   With the further development of science and technology, the life expectancy of humans is also increasing. The massive increase of the population along with the rapid development of science and technology means that the competition for work is much harsher, and mechanical technologies such as robots are replacing much of the work that humans did in the past.
 
www.google.com
    The skyrocketing rate of population increase has led people to pioneer new areas, such as designing or creating new fields by integrating unrelated fields. And such processes require an essential ability to link subjects together. This ability is what is called “creativity.” Experts in almost every field, be it education, architecture, art, or social studies, are assuming that this ability will be the essential factor in this new era.
   An important thing about creativity, however, is that we must remember that it is still a mystery. It is still an ability that requires study. How it can help us, where it can help us, why it started to get attention, etc. are still unclear. The concept of creativity that many are talking about, such as creativity contributing to the integration of unrelated subjects, seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. Creativity is an ability that shows massive potential, which is why so many experts are trying to get a handle on it. It seems important that now that creativity has shown much potential, the people who are just one step behind the door of the society, such as the university students, should also think of what it (creativity) might be and what they will be able to find at creativity’s door.
 
Oh Se-Ik (News Editor)
Choi Ga-Yeong (Culture Editor)

 


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