Decoding; Art; Design

The present article will say a few things on the kind of thoughts we are involved in – when it comes to the process of purposeful creativity –

Decoding: This is the base for creative output. Simply means, it is to go beyond the ‘object’ of sight and to understand the context of its existence or purpose/meaning of its existence. Further decoding of the purpose/ issue or concern of the object brings us to the realm of ideas – that may have got nothing or partial connection with the object. The decoding of ideas finally brings us to pure ‘Space’. This decoding implies several things:

a)      Object’s relevance is more than its external ‘form’

b)      Object is a container of many ideas/ issues/ concerns/ experiences

c)       Object is a representation of a context (people, place, time)

d)      The link between idea and object is not just mathematics, but may be lateral, fuzzy, ambiguous, intuitive and many more dimensions.

e)      Object is not absolute, but relative to the Subject.

f)       The meaning of the object lies with the Subject.

As a habit, decoding takes one beyond the identity of the object and one is not attached to the object as such. If ideas are revealed from the object, those can be applied in some other context and a new object can be generated. Decoding represents articulating the characteristics of the phenomenon, the interlinking of disparate situations and the relationship of phenomenon with you. It may lead one to question the nature of existence itself!

Creativity and the role of art: This represents a form of Expression (manifestation of an idea). This may start from decoding a phenomenon and expressing pure ideas/ feelings through a suitable medium of art – sculpture, music, drama, photography etc. I like to consider this as something that deals with ‘feelings’ – of consciousness. One feels deeply about ‘something’ and expresses it in a particular medium of art. This expression can have a universal appeal and hence can transcend geo-political boundaries. When we say that a particular theatre play (such as Hamlet or Yayati) was appealing, we indicate it’s potential to touch the feelings of all mankind. Most of the inspiration for this kind of art is intuition and it doesn’t rely on “outside” physical context. The outside world is only a trigger for the realm of feelings to be expressed in a suitable ‘form’ of art.

Contextual creativity: This is where ‘design’ appears. We have a situation to deal with – a context to respond. Context may mean people (and all their existential issues), place (climate, material) and time (perception). From the context, one may choose to address an issue or a concern or generate a suitable environment accordingly. The main value that is required to be exercised here – is the value of being ‘relevant’ or ‘appropriate’ to the Time at hand. Thus, the form of expression usually has a utility (function or practical basis) but should also appeal to the senses or feelings. The importance of the designed product is based on how appropriate was it to the context and what seem to be its far reaching implications for the entire humanity. Hence the product should address a particular situation but strive to be universal in its value. We have examples of architecture, product design, furniture design, industrial design, music direction and so on to represent this category of creative output.

Since architecture deals with ‘Space’ as a medium for its expression, it is considered as a Mother of Arts. An Architect is required to deal with history, culture, memory, philosophy, art, science and technology. Having known these realms, he still needs to remember that ‘Space’ is not only his prerogative to comment on – everybody deals with Space. He may be aware of the potential of Space, but that does not entitle him to take a dominant position in its discourse and its handling. Hence, Architect’s role is tricky, challenging and requires enormous patience and humility to generate a capacity of designing in Space.