DESRIST 2022
Keynote: Kim Macuare
“The Canvas to Our Imagination”: Using Art to Shift Perspectives and Enhance Creativity
Creativity starts with observation. As we take in the world around us, we perceive
both the challenges and opportunities for improvement as well as the sparks that may
ignite our next big idea for meeting those challenges.
In order to take full advantage of the power of observation, we need to confront
two important questions. First, how is our vision limited by our own experiences as
well as our brains’ mental shortcuts? Then, what habits and skills can we adopt and
hone that will allow us to disrupt this seemingly automatic process in order to literally
and figuratively see more?
To do this, we will turn to art as a tool for innovating what we see. As noted critic
Jonathan Fineberg suggests, “If you want strong abs you do a lot of sit-ups, but if
you want to increase the agility of your brain to respond to the unexpected, art is
a great form of exercise.”