
The Role of the Arts in Complexity Sciences
...science is looking for answers and art is looking for questions.
British contemporary visual artist
Quinn’s writing echoes John Vervaeke's evoking an awakening from the meaning crisis, and call for how we need to seek meaning 'in' (vs. 'of') our post-modern material lives.
Photo: Autoportrait by Tyler / John Oliver
Qu'est-ce que les artistes peuvent apporter au domaine de la complexité sociale humaine, de donner un sens dans notre monde en constante évolution avec le développement technologique exponentiel, à la transformation des conflits sociaux, aux questions plus existentielles de notre objectif ?
Les artistes sont des experts pour naviguer dans le paradoxe, joindre des fragments brisés dans de nouvelles formes et remarquer ce qui est nécessaire pour rendre les choses entières . Leur travail génère des conversations et des questions. Cela ouvre des possibilités de connexions et de relations qui étaient auparavant inédites.
Les artistes incarnent la créativité et l'espoir, même au milieu d'un conflit, d'une tragédie ou d'un déclin.
Mon propre parcours personnel ayant travaillé dans des domaines qui croisaient la technologie (par exemple le développement à l'étranger) au développement organisationnel et à la culture, a créé une passion pour l'intégration des sciences aux sciences humaines (anthropologie, sociologie), le développement le plus récent a été pour moi d'étendre cette enquête avec une pratique artistique, qui oppose mon sens analytique de la perception, à une intégration syncrétique des disciplines et à la capacité de sentir ou ressentir le 'tout'.
Il existe bien sûr un vaste paysage de pratiques artistiques et créatives, allant du théâtre d'improvisation aux installations d'art conceptuel, en passant par les arts thérapeutiques communautaires. De cette diversité, il peut cependant y avoir des qualités essentielles des changements de conscience qui se produisent pour ceux qui participent au processus créatif - une qualité de conscience qui peut ajouter des capacités significatives pour ceux qui travaillent avec la complexité.
Vous trouverez ci-dessous une liste évolutive des qualités clés qu'une pratique artistique peut apporter au domaine des sciences appliquées de la complexité - c'est-à-dire dans la création de sens social, le changement et les théories du développement (par exemple dans la psychologie du développement individuelle et collective).
My own personal journey having worked in diverse sectors across technology (e.g. aerospace and satellite communications), overseas development aid, and organisational development, has inspired a passion for integrating the sciences with the humanities (anthropology, sociology), The most recent development has been for me to extend that inquiry within an artistic practice, that contrasts my academic interests and analytical education, to a syncretic integration of disciplines and capacity to sense or feel the 'whole'.
I see this as my developmental edge as I cross the age threshold into my 50s, and explicitly connect my artist experiments with my spiritual inquiry over the past 30 years (e.g. attending a religious schools until 16 years old, then learning mediation at 18 from my ordained Buddhist brother and continued exploration of the Eastern wisdom traditions),
There is of course a vast landscape of artistic and creative practices, ranging from improvisation theatre to conceptual art installations, to community therapeutic arts. From this diversity, there can however be essential qualities of the shifts in consciousness that occur for those participating with the creative process - a quality of consciousness that can add significant capacities for those working with complexity.
Having established a first phase of contrasting artistic practices (in video, painting, sculpture) since 2019, I am now passionately drawn to how as an artist I can engage in the application of the artistic principles to individual, organisational and societal development, and connecting the arts to my professional experience in Sensemaking.
Below is an evolving list of the key qualities that an artistic practice can bring to the field of applied complexity sciences - speaking to a conviction of mine that:
"agents and facilitators of change, especially those leveraging the complexity sciences
practices such as in Sensemaking (using for example frameworks such as Cynefin, Integral Theory and
developmental psychology), should all have an artistic practice"
Exemples de compétences complexes tirées des arts

L'ESPRIT DU DÉBUTANT
Les artistes vivent à la frontière entre l'expertise et la non-expertise... pratiquant «l'esprit du débutant» où les questions naïves peuvent dévoiler des hypothèses profondes et ouvrir le champ de la perception.
L'esprit du débutant est très efficace pour révéler d'éventuels angles morts ou préjugés.

LA RECONNAISSANCE DE FORMES
Les artistes mobilisent tout leur champ sensoriel, intégrant de multiples Détection de signal faible... tailles d'échantillons... indicateurs avancés ou retardés

NAVIGUER DANS LES TENSIONS
Les systèmes complexes se définissent par leur dynamique constante, dans la négociation et l'adaptation aux tensions internes et externes. Ils peuvent être entre des valeurs ou des perspectives concurrentes (mais tout aussi valables).
Les artistes exploitent ces tensions au cœur de sa pratique, invitant la propre enquête des observateurs.

WELCOMING DISCOMFORT
The creative and artistic experience leads us to welcoming those opportunities to go out of our comfort zone. Discomfort is a source of insight, self reflection, challenging what our biases and habits might be hiding from us.

NOUVELLES COUCHES D'ABSTRACTION
Le but évolutif de l'art réside dans son pouvoir de créer de nouvelles couches d'abstraction.
L'abstraction est au cœur de la façon dont les humains comprennent leur environnement et font des choix.
L'art peut fournir une représentation visuelle ou sensuelle unique (en combinaison avec l'analogie, le symbolisme, les métaphores) par rapport aux descriptions intellectuelles ou verbales.

CYCLING EGO
Related to the practice of 'beginner's mind' is the separation from one's ego - not to disown it, but as a dynamic of opening oneself up as a channel, and later reintegrate ego. Many artists related to their works in the 2nd person, creating a dialogue where the artist feels that the creativity came from something beyond them.

SENSING DEEP TIME
Accessing deep time - - Sense of timelessness... Kairos and Chronos
- Sense of the ongoing infinite future
The central practice of wasting time, and unproductive time.

IMPERFECTION AND ERRORS AS FUEL
John Berger's quote here is probably all that needs to be said: "Art is a constant process of error correction".

PENSÉE ABDUCTIVE
Alors que le raisonnement déductif ('de-' = de) découle toujours nécessairement de prémisses générales ou universelles et que la pensée inductive ('in-' = to) forme une généralisation basée sur ce qui est connu ou observé, abductive ('ab-' = loin) la pensée est une inférence de compréhension à partir d'un ensemble d'observations.

COMPRÉHENSION DE L'ENSEMBLE DU SYSTÈME
Les systèmes complexes ne peuvent pas être compris en analysant les pièces puis en les réassemblant. La création de sens utilise les récits comme l'un des moyens les plus puissants d'observer les systèmes en contexte.

SEEING FROM THE FUTURE
Artists are unique in their capacity to work from a place where the future already exists. They take leaps that are not constrained by the present.

CONSTRUCT AWARENESS
The creative process engages all senses, and therefore reveals the relationships and tensions between the emotional, the rational; the intuitive, the logical; the spontaneous, the planned. Each step in the creative process therefore invites us to be aware of our constructs. The rational, the logical, the planned - as "constructs" - are all under scrutiny from their opposites.
Films de John Oliver dans les arts et les sciences de la complexité

Dr Steve Marshall
Les arts dans la création de sens : signification des récits, interprétation et action d'information
La méthode du sensemaking a un positionnement révolutionnaire, grâce à son ensemble de principes clairs sur la façon dont nous pouvons comprendre les systèmes humains ou les écologies complexes. Vous trouverez ci-dessous un extrait de certains des principes. Avec ses origines dans le développement organisationnel, les sciences sociales et anthropologiques, il existe désormais une large base de recherche et de littérature des 50 dernières années de son émergence. Vous trouverez ci-dessous des références à certaines publications clés en matière de création de sens.
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Les artistes vivent à la frontière entre l'expertise et la non-expertise... pratiquant "l'esprit du débutant" tout au long de
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L'art défie nos perspectives - invitant à une pensée transgressive et contrefactuelle
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L'acte créatif, les œuvres d'art jouent avec notre sens du temps.
Jouer avec la mémoire, la projection et l'interprétation
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Les artistes font l'expérience d'un processus de changement de perspective entre zoom avant et zoom arrière, embrassant les différences de paradigme à chaque niveau
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Arc herméneutique entre expert et non-expert
L'arc de zoom avant et arrière
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CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING: Art offers us powerful ways of observing systems in context - by shifting and experimenting contextual representations.
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WORKING WITH THE ASHES: Artists often are the first to work with the broken, the disenchanted, the marginalised. We tend to run towards the burning edifices (as do journalists, activists etc.), than run away. Evoking the phoenix from the ashes.
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Le but évolutif de l'art réside dans son pouvoir de créer de nouvelles couches d'abstraction
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Jouer avec les polarités, les tensions, les dynamiques
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L'artiste est particulièrement bien placé pour intégrer des connaissances interdisciplinaires
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L'art naît d'une profonde curiosité et d'un questionnement... Et si ?
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ART AS A 6th SENSE: Artists a deeper sense of knowing, beyond the verbal - towards a pre-cognitive sensing. Beyond the mind-body dualism.
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UNDERSTANDING THE WHOLE: Complex systems can't be understood by analysing the parts and then reassembling. Art helps us capture the 'syncretic' sense of the whole.
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MAKING THE UNCONSCIOUS CONSCIOUS: Research in consciousness challenges the fundamentals of how we understand our world and all living matter. Art is a powerful domain in which to access the 'pre-cognitive' consciousness, and bring our non-verbal senses and intelligence into our rational reflective domain - creating new conversations..
Edgar Schein on the role of art and the artist
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Why is art relevant to other elements of society like business or government?
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Why should managers learn anything about art and the role of the artist?
Edgar Schein, as former professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, is a formidable thought leader in organizational development culture, and has thought deeply about the role of art in our society. Here are his six key insights, as summarised in his paper in the Journal of Organizational Aesthetics.

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Art and artists stimulate us to see more, hear more, and experience more of what is going on within us and around us.
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Art does and should disturb, provoke, shock, and inspire.
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The artist can stimulate us to broaden our skills, our behavioral repertory, and our flexibility of response.
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The role of the arts and artists is to stimulate and legitimize our own aesthetic sense.
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Analysis of how the artist is trained and works can produce important insights into what is needed to perform and what it means to lead and manage.
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The artist puts us in touch with our creative self.
ScheinE. (2013). The Role of Art and the Artist. Organizational Aesthetics, 2(1), 1-4.
Full PDF of the article available https://oa.journals.publicknowledgeproject.org/index.php/oa/article/view/16
Art, Narratives, Sensemaking and Complexity Research References
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Articles/Papers/Dissertations
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The Aesthetic of Cognitive Mapping: An Approach to Arts-Based Research and Critical Artmaking Noura Shuqair, King Saud University/North Texas University, Synnyt / Origins | 2 / 2019
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The arts in organisations and coaching by Berit Sandberg:
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"The artist glasses - What and how leaders can learn from artists" Berit Sandberg and Dagmar Frick-Islitzer: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH 2018 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-17056-1_2
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"Project management with an artistic mindset" (Keywords | art, creativity, Cynefin, uncertainty, sensemaking, improvisation, embodiment) Berit Sandberg Orcid ID 0000-0002-2097-0368
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"Art Thinking: Turning an Ill-defined Phantom into a Paradigm for Intrapreneurship". Berit Sandberg University of Applied Sciences, Treskowallee 8, 10318 Berlin. ISPIM Innovation Conference – Innovating Our Common Future, Berlin, Germany on 20–23 June 2021: ISBN 978-952-335-467-8
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"Art Thinking: Amplifying the ‘R’ in R&D", Peter Robbins and Berit Sandberg Journal of Innovation Management Vol. 11, 1 (2023) p. IX-XXI DOI: https://doi.org/10.24840/2183-0606_011.001_L002
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Fancourt D, Finn S. "What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? A scoping
review." Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2019 (Health Evidence Network (HEN) synthesis report 67). -
"The Effects of the Expressive Arts on Decision-Making: Sensemaking in Situations of Complexity and Ambiguity" The Faculty at the European Graduate School EGS Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) By Lorena B. Fernandez July 2012
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Your Brain On Art: The Case for Neuroaesthetics Susan Magsamen, International Arts + Mind Lab, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
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"Wait, what? Sense-making & sense-breaking in modern art" Web article by Suspended Reason (Columbia University) on how we can use a cognitive science lens on what any form of art can offer in its process of integrating and challenging perspectives, through to pattern recognition.
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“A Place for the Creative Imagination as Never Before”: David Edgecombe on Theater, Film, and New Media in the Caribbean
Erika J. Waters and David Edgecombe: World Literature Today Vol. 88, No. 1 (January/February 2014), pp. 21-25 (6 pages) (Cited by Claire Dougherty, founder of 'Situations' art curators, Bristol. -
"Acts That Amplify: Ann Hamilton on Art, the Creative Value of Unproductive Time, and the Power of Not Knowing - It is the task of the artist to lead the leaders by staying at the threshold.” Article on the creative principles of Ann Hamilton, By Maria Popova, The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)
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Schiavio, A. & van der Schyff, D. (2018). 4E music pedagogy and the principles of self-organization. Behavioral Sciences, 8(8), 72.
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Books:
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Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. Simon & Schuster; 1st Edition (October 17, 2017)
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Peggy Thayer: The Experience of Being Creative as a Spiritual Practice: A Hermeneutic-Phenomenological Study: 27 (Revisioning Philosophy) July 2003
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Snowden, D. and Rancati, A., Managing complexity (and chaos) in times of crisis. A field guide for decision makers inspired by the Cynefin framework, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2021, ISBN 978-92-76-28843-5, JRC123629.
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Web Resources:
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Acts That Amplify: Ann Hamilton on Art, The Creative Value of Unproductive Time and the Power of Not Knowing - The Marginalian
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10 Steps of the Creative Process - The Marginalian and Tiffany Shlain
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Resolutions for a Life Worth Living: Attainable Aspirations Inspired by Great Humans of the Past – The Marginalian
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Marina Abramović’s manifesto for the artist’s life
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Georgia O’Keeffe’s kindred-spirited advice on what it means to be an artist
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Mary Oliver on the artist’s task and the central commitment of the creative life.
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Videos
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Sensemaking:
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"What is "Sensemaking" — How the Liberal Arts Thrive in the Business World, Christian Madsbjerg" - Speech at the University of Chicago, July 2017
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Dave Snowden: Lean WX presentation, 2015 NYC Complexity Informed Design Thinking
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Art and Sensemaking:
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Christian Monjou (in French) Art's Source In Meaning Making: "De l'intérêt de déchiffrer des tableaux : un exercice pratique - Christian Monjou, à l'USI" 2014
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"Science helps us understand the world, while artists create a world that we can understand" - How artistic and creative people see the world: Jordan Peterson in Conversation on Art
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"Artist teaches us to see" Jordan Peterson Opens Art Gallery Exposition by Tadeusz Biernot
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Intersections Art/Science
For the Francophiles among us, a supersonic voyage through a vision of the collisions/collusions between the sciences and arts by the eminent Aurélien Barrau - a French physicist and philosopher, specialized in astroparticle physics, black holes and cosmology.