The Creative Process. A Case for Meaning-Making

Authors

  • Phokeng T. Setai Phokeng T. Setai, Jan K. Coetzee, Leane Ackermann - University of the Free State, South Africa
  • Jan K. Coetzee
  • Christoph Maeder University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • Magdalena Wojciechowska University of Lodz, Poland
  • Leane Ackermann University of the Free State, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.14.4.06

Keywords:

Art-Making, Creative Process, Intersubjectivity, Lifeworld, Lived Experience, Meaning, Meaning- Making, Signs, Symbols, Typifications

Abstract

Since the beginning of time art-making has been a tool to express, preserve, and challenge the extant knowledge in society. Artists do this by finding or creatively constructing new understandings in society. An artist is able to do this through the medium he/she uses to relay the message of the artwork. The medium that an artist uses to express his/her artistic concept has an impact on the character that the artwork will take. The medium of expression forms but one of the many considerations that go through an artist’s mind when creating art. In the process of art-making, an artist seeks to create new meanings or re-imagine old ones by organizing materials and concepts. In so doing, he/she discovers novel ways to get ideas across, and thereby creates new interpretations of social phenomena. In this article, attention is given to meaning-making as a conscious and iterative component of creating art. From a series of in-depth interviews, the authors analyze the inward processes that occur within six artists’ creative praxes and how these lead their construction of meaning. Attention is also paid to how the artists manipulate concepts and how they construct and deconstruct their understandings of these concepts in the course of their creative endeavors.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Phokeng T. Setai, Phokeng T. Setai, Jan K. Coetzee, Leane Ackermann - University of the Free State, South Africa

Phokeng T. Setai obtained his Master’s degree in the program The Narrative Study of Lives, Department of Sociology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Jan K. Coetzee

Jan K. Coetzee is a Senior Professor of Sociology and Director of the program The Narrative Study of Lives in the Department of Sociology at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. He specializes in qualitative sociology and serves on several international advisory boards.

Christoph Maeder, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Christoph Maeder is a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Magdalena Wojciechowska, University of Lodz, Poland

Magdalena Wojciechowska is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology of Organization and Management, Faculty of Economics and Sociology at the University of Lodz, Poland.

Leane Ackermann, University of the Free State, South Africa

Leane Ackermann is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

References

Alvesson, Mats and Kai Sköldberg. 2009. Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Google Scholar

Berger, Peter and Thomas Luckmann. 1966. The Social Construction of Reality. London: Penguin Books.
Google Scholar

Clandinin, Jean D. and Michael F. Connelly. 2000. Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative Researchers. San Francisco: Library of Congress.
Google Scholar

Dreher, Jochen. 2003. “The Symbol and the Theory of the Lifeworld: The Transcendence of the Lifeworld and Their Overcoming by Signs and Symbols.” Human Studies 26:141-163.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024014620368

Flick, Uwe. 2009. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. London: Sage.
Google Scholar

Hickson, Helen. 2016. “Becoming a Critical Narrativist: Using Critical Reflection and Narrative Inquiry as Research Methodology.” Qualitative Social Work 15(3):380-391.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325015617344

Koppl, Roger. 2010. “The Social Construction of Expertise.” Institute for Forensic Science Administration 47(2014): 220-226.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-010-9313-7

O’Leary, Zina. 2004. The Essential Guide to Doing Research. London: Sage.
Google Scholar

Rand, Ayn. 1957. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Penguin Group.
Google Scholar

Rose, Gillian. 2012. Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Research with Visual Materials. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Google Scholar

Spector-Mersel, Gabriela. 2010. “Narrative Research: Time for a Paradigm.” Narrative Inquiry 20(1):204-223.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.20.1.10spe

Thought Co. 2017. The Meaning of Ubuntu: Connectedness Between People. Retrieved March 03, 2017 (https://www.thoughtco.com/the-meaning-of-ubuntu-43307).
Google Scholar

Vogler, Christopher. 1998. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Venice, CA: M. Wiese Productions.
Google Scholar

White, Tabitha R. and Anne-Marie Hede. 2008. “Using Narrative Inquiry to Explore the Impact of Art on Individuals.” The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society 38(1):19-35.
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.3200/JAML.38.1.19-36

Downloads

Published

2019-01-08

How to Cite

Setai, P. T., Coetzee, J. K., Maeder, C., Wojciechowska, M., & Ackermann, L. (2019). The Creative Process. A Case for Meaning-Making. Qualitative Sociology Review, 14(4), 86–99. https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.14.4.06

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 > >>