Method or madness?

Oxford Artweeks may mean the chance to look at not just the art but at the artist at work, but the annual Art Forum has also become an important part of the festival.

The forum provides an in-depth and always entertaining debate, focusing on one aspect of the creative process.

As in previous years, the evening kicks off with a generous helping of Concha y Toro wine, which always helps to inject a little South American energy into the atmosphere and relax the audience, who are expected to supply taxing questions for the panel.

This year's forum, sponsored by Carter Jonas and Bonhams, goes straight for the jugular, with the subject The Creative Process Method or Madness?

The four speakers are Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (David Fickling, £6.99) and of many children's books, Oxford's own Matilda Leyzer, aerial performer, Anke Loewensprung, artist, and Dr Jan Schnupp, neuro-scientist at St Peter's College, Oxford.

Radio Oxford's Bill Heine is the brave man once again taking on the task of chairing the discussion. As those who listen to his afternoon show on the radio know, he is particularly adept at ensuring a debate doesn't turn into a monologue, which is always a risk with energetic speakers and audience.

So where is the art in a work? Is it in the method, or in a moment of madness?

There is no denying that a work needs a method, by which it can be communicated. That can be paint or words, or musical notes, but, also, as in Matilda Leyzer's work, it can be something unexpected, like a piece of rope. Matilda uses a rope to perform her arial works, and was recently in performance at the Oxford Playhouse.

Matilda was up a rope when I got together with the organisers of the art forum, but I talked with two of the other participants, Jan Schnupp and Anke Loewensprung, to get some idea of where their views on method and madness might take the discussion.

It would be easy to ask why bring in Jan Schnupp, the scientist, to a discussion about art? But early on, Jan, originally from Munich but living and working in Oxford for the past 15 years, has already livened things up by telling us that artistic thoughts are simply electric salts passing in and out of small bags of fat. That floors us for a second or two, before we surge back with comments about artistic spark and inspiration.

After all, science is all about measuring, about ordering knowledge, whereas art is about expressing knowledge. Or is it?

Groundbreaking scientific theory, just like truly inspired artworks, both require a subjective element, an element of projection, where the scientist or artist takes what is there, what they know, and imagine what might be. That is the moment that is often seen as a kind of madness.

The greatest scientists, like Einstein, can have a mad' element to their personality, just like the greatest artists, such as Mozart, Van Gogh or Pollock.

As Jan also reminds us, it is only recently that art and science have been thought of as opposites rather than allies.

"Both need method, but the creative spark arises when you bend the rules, when you shift them, or apply a rule that belongs somewhere else."

According to Jan, a computer could be programmed to generate new stuff that could be called works of art, which brings a sharp intake of breath from the artists round the table. Out-numbered, six to one, Jan is a brave man. But as soon as one brings computers in to the debate, it also emphasises the value element in art is it good or bad art? Is it art at all?

Anke Loewensprung, multi-media artist and director of the Art Greenhouse in Headington, Oxford, believes that what computers are capable of producing is not art at all.

"A truly creative process is based on one person pursuing that process, living it in their life, making a link between their life and their creativity think of Rembrandt, Edison, Marie Curie."

And even Jan has to admit that computers are not yet able to learn from a process and react to it not yet.

Organic humans are still superior to inorganic computers in our ability to be influenced by our environment, surroundings and experience, and to bring that subjectivity to our work. For some, it is only a short step from experience to madness.

Having seen the fun we had with only Jan and Anke round the table, it promises to be an entertaining evening with the addition of Mark Haddon and Matilda Leyzer to throw their fuel on to the artistic fire.

Art Forum 2006 is on Wednesday at 7.30pm at 25th May?, Oxford University Museum of Natural History., Chaired by Radio Oxford's Bill HeineSpeakers: Mark Haddon, Matilda Leyzer, Anke Loewensprung and Jan Schnupp Tickets are available from the Artweeks office on 01865 861574 or the Wiseman Gallery, South Parade, Oxford, call 01865 515123.