Abstract
Moving beyond instrumental rationality that treats materials as passive objects, this study operationalizes the Art of Making (AoM) by proposing a three-dimensional degeneration approach. Degeneration disrupts object fixity, reframing objects as materials in a state of in-betweenness that invites co-creative dialogue. Adopting drawing as a universal making practice, we empirically grounded this proposition through five workshops with ten participants from diverse countries and design backgrounds. By degenerating sensory, bodily, explorative, and social dimensions of drawing products and practices, the resulting state of material-in-between invited participants into dialogical engagements. Findings reveal that this state sparks curiosity, transcends preconceptions, activates subconscious exploration of self-identity, and reshapes human-material relationships from hierarchical to co-evolutive. As an initial exploration, this study is confined to drawing practices and participants came predominantly from art-based design backgrounds; further research should examine its application across other materials, practices, and user groups, as well as its long-term effects.
Keywords
Making; Material Agency; In-betweenness; Discursive Design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2799
Citation
Yang, Y. (2026) Fostering human-material co-creative dialogical relationship: Operationalizing the Art of Making through degeneration, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2799
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Fostering human-material co-creative dialogical relationship: Operationalizing the Art of Making through degeneration
Moving beyond instrumental rationality that treats materials as passive objects, this study operationalizes the Art of Making (AoM) by proposing a three-dimensional degeneration approach. Degeneration disrupts object fixity, reframing objects as materials in a state of in-betweenness that invites co-creative dialogue. Adopting drawing as a universal making practice, we empirically grounded this proposition through five workshops with ten participants from diverse countries and design backgrounds. By degenerating sensory, bodily, explorative, and social dimensions of drawing products and practices, the resulting state of material-in-between invited participants into dialogical engagements. Findings reveal that this state sparks curiosity, transcends preconceptions, activates subconscious exploration of self-identity, and reshapes human-material relationships from hierarchical to co-evolutive. As an initial exploration, this study is confined to drawing practices and participants came predominantly from art-based design backgrounds; further research should examine its application across other materials, practices, and user groups, as well as its long-term effects.