Exploring the X

How artistic research and practices can inspire the cognitive sciences

I am currently working on a book manuscript, tentatively entitled Exploring the X, which proposes an artistic research framework to inspire new methods of empirically investigating creative thinking, mind-wandering, and social emotions (e.g. empathy, intimacy) in the cognitive sciences. This manuscript is informed by my years of research and collaborations with artists in their studios and also as a lecturer in art and design universities in Europe and the United States. Through a series of interviews I unlock how artists approach themes such as control, connectivity, and resonance between psyche and design. I discuss with them their research methodologies and how these methods feed into creative ideation. This is a book to invoke new modes of creative thinking, of designing from a human-centered perspective, and to unveil the emotional and cognitive insights unique to artistic practices.

Related Links and Articles

The architecture of mind-wandering

Extending the web: how the spider artwork of Tomás Saraceno opens up a new perspective for the extended mind hypothesis

Excursion to the Tomás Saraceno Spider Lab I organized for my Mindwandering seminar