Generative tensions

In graduate school my arts in education professor, Jessica Hoffmann Davis, framed our analyses in terms of "generative tensions." As I listen to artists and engineers and environmental educators and entrepreneurs negotiate what form our kinetic sculpture might take, I can hear how generative - how creative - such tension can be. The artist has been asking questions primarily about engineering and the engineers ask about the form the art will take. Does form follow function, or vice versa? Will the spectators understand our theme of sustainability (our "up cycle")? How will we interact with the crowd? Can the sculpture also serve as a musical instrument as well as a sculpture and a pedal powered cycle that can float?