For many years three key aspects of creative processes have been glossed over by theorists eager to avoid the mystery of consciousness and instead embrace an implicitly more formal, computational vision: autonomy, phenomenality and the temporally embedded and bounded nature of creative processes. In this paper we will discuss autopoiesis and creativity; an alternative metaphor which we suggest offers new insight into these long overlooked aspects of the creative processes in humans and the machine, and examine the metaphor in the context of dance choreography.

Key words: autonomy, autopoiesis, creativity, dance, improvisation.

Open peer commentary on the article ““Black Box” Theatre: Second-Order Cybernetics and Naturalism in Rehearsal and Performance” by Tom Scholte. Upshot: This commentary adds historical perspective to the use of improvisation and conversation as models for the promotion of naturalism in acting. It wants to denaturalize naturalism and the concept of embodiment in support of Scholte’s reconceptualization of the naturalist theatre, and concludes with a reflection on the societal function of art and theatre today.

Open peer commentary on the article ““Black Box” Theatre: Second-Order Cybernetics and Naturalism in Rehearsal and Performance” by Tom Scholte. Upshot: My aim is to show that “truthful” acting that emerges through improvisation is equivalent to the development of mutual forward models in the actors. If these models match those of the audience members, this is perceived as “truthful.”

Inspired by Heinz von Foerster’s notions of observing systems as a merging of second-order and first-order understanding, we explore the multiple senses of observing frames. We draw organically from ethnographic observations of visitors in a regional science center to reconceptualize processes of meaning construction in designed learning environments more generally. Von Foerster’s ethical and aesthetic imperatives are used to develop an understanding of science learning as an emergent co-improvisation between designers, researchers, interactors and visitors. Links are drawn with Luhmann’s paradoxy of observing systems, while implications for design processes are considered.