2. Theoretical Framework
To clarify the relationship between aesthetics and creativity, our project draws upon the 4P's Model of Creativity proposed by Mel Rhodes (1961), which defines creativity through four interrelated components: Person, Process, Product, and Press.
We used this framework to interpret the life cycle of an aesthetic; how it emerges, spreads, and becomes established through these four categories.
- Person: Individuals such as creators, influencers, and consumers who actively participate in shaping and redefining aesthetic trends.
- Process: The methods and activities involved in the creation and dissemination of aesthetics. This encompasses the collaborative practices that facilitate the rapid evolution and reinterpretation of aesthetic concepts.
- Product: The tangible and intangible outputs of aesthetic practices, such as visual elements, fashion, music that embody the principles of a particular aesthetic.
- Press: The media and other environmental factors that influence the development and reception of aesthetics. This includes cultural, social, and technological contexts that shape how aesthetics are perceived and valued.
In addition, building on Aldo Gangemi’s integrated ontology of creativity theories (CreOn), we also adopted the notions of personal creativity phases and meta-convergence frames to conceptualize how aesthetics evolve as creative processes.
In this perspective, the diffusion of an aesthetic can be understood through three creative phases:
- Divergence: The initial stage in which an aesthetic is born and expands. It involves inspiration, serendipitous encounters, and the creative recombination of existing elements, products, and media. On fast-moving social platforms, divergent activity manifests through abundant, experimental content creation.
- Convergence: The subsequent phase where an aesthetic starts to solidify its identity and gain wider recognition. This includes the establishment of communities, the selection and refinement of characteristic elements, and platform-specific adaptations that stabilize the style
- Metaconvergence: The elaboration phase that refines aesthetic expressions into culturally recognizable and contextually meaningful creative products. It introduces a reflective or evaluative layer, where an aesthetic is reinterpreted, reconstructed, or reproduced within its cultural environment.
By framing these stages within within aesthetics, our ntology conceptualizes the emergence and transoformation of aesthetics as a creative process.