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*Warning* Rant Ahead: Part 1; Creativity For All!
Creativity. It's a great word. When you read the word, it evokes so many great visions and ideas. I mean, just look at it, Cre•a•tiv•i•ty, it's got so much depth that it's almost romantic the way the word fluctuates as it rolls off the tongue. It's a beautiful word.Just thinking about the word, made me actually think about the word. And what it is, what it means, and how it's defined. It also made me think about the word art, what it is, what it means and how it's defined. Now the dictionary tells us that creativity is "the use of the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work." And that art is "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power." And as an artist, I have an appreciation for all things artistic. I love to see abstract and random ideas surface. I love to see someone who's passionate about what they do, to the point that you see that passion bleed through to their work.
However, lately I've been bothered with the common perception of art and creativity. People seem to have a shallow and limited view of art as well as creativity. We live in a society where information is more free flowing than ever, where you can put your soul on display for all to see within just a few keystrokes. This is a great time to be an artist, is it not? Yes and no. Yes, being that artists can get their names out there to people that are thousands of miles away, no longer do you have to worry about them coming to your gallery because you can bring the gallery to them. No, being that everyone is an expert. People have gone from appreciating an abstract thought to reciting quotes from their favorite website that tells them what creativity is supposed to be. And it annoys the (where the devil lives) out of me.
Why? Because people are increasingly less willing to express themselves, for fear of retribution from people who don’t necessarily get it. The other reason is because people are too lazy to push themselves to their mental edge to find out what new levels they can take themselves to. I've had conversations with a good number of people who all have said the same thing when I tell them that I'm a graphic artist, "Oh wow, that's awesome. I wish I could do that type of stuff, but I don't have a creative bone in my body." I used to chuckle and give a modest "thanks" to people when they said that. Notice that I said the word "used", meaning past tense. Lately, I've become more aggravated with people saying that. Maybe it's because I've had multiple people say it, and not only say it they actually believe it too. So now my new thing to say in response is, "I don't believe that." Most people are shocked when I say that, because it’s an obvious challenge to their creative belief, or lack thereof. But the fact of the matter is, I don't believe that anyone lacks creativity, it's not possible. Human beings ... actually I'll go even further than humans, all animals are creative. It's intrinsic in our nature. Creativity is everywhere. It seems that people have forgotten that. It seems that people believe that creativity is only for a chosen few, and they are left to live a cold desolate non-creative life. I mean, who chose to tell us who had the creativity gene and who didn't? And how come I didn't get the memo?
Creativity is a part of our everyday life; people just neglect to acknowledge it. Creativity is all about stretching yourself, and finding something that you didn't know was there. It's about that special moment that you have where you're grasping for straws and coming up with air, but at the last possible second your fingertip accidentally gets caught and you pull the most random yet beautiful solution out of seemingly nothing. Creativity can't be decided and it can't be conjured up. It just happens. Sometimes you don't know how it's all working together, but one thing you do know is that it's working. You're in what people in sports call "the zone".
Creativity manifests itself in many ways. It can be in the common manner; painting, graphic design, music, etc. But it can also be found in the more unlikely settings, such as an accountant figuring out a better way to report your taxes so that you get a better return or even coming up with the best excuse to give your boss for why you were late to work that day. As the definition told us "the use of the imagination or original ideas", that's all creativity is. It's you turning off your mind, relaxing and floating downstream and letting whatever ideas come to mind help you find a solution that you would have never thought of before. So don't tell me that you don't have a creative bone in your body, because no matter what line of work you're in, you've had to use creativity more times that once.
So, where does art tie into this? Well for starters, Art is the child of Creativity. Art suffers from the same issues as its father, Creativity. People don't want to be stretched emotionally, imaginatively or mentally anymore. People want to be told what they are to believe, what they should feel, and what they should imagine. That way it's much easier for them to post the footnotes on their LiveJournal page as opposed to searching within to find their own interpretation.
Just like Creativity, Art can be found anywhere. Art to me is anything in which a person placed a piece of himself or herself into what they are creating. Passion is art. Just because someone is not drawing, or painting or designing, doesn't mean that they aren't creating a work of art. Take Dr. Robert Moog for example. Now right off the top you may not know that name. But when you think about modern music you should think of him, because he was the man who invented the synthesizer. When you think artists you don't tend to think about the scientists, and engineers, but why not? Was the synthesizer not a work of art? I mean, sure he built an electronic device, but going further than that, it came from an imaginative idea, that once bred with his knowledge and passion for what he was doing, turned into the synthesizer that helped form music as we know it. So how can you tell me that what that man did was not art?
I’ll end this “rant” with a conversation I had with my buddy, Chris, over the weekend while we were in New York. We ventured into the Modern Museum of Art Design Store, where they have art ranging from paintings to books to furniture for sale. Well apparently Chris came across a necklace that was made out of zippers. It was selling for $150. And while I could understand his dismay over something so seemingly simple as a necklace with zippers on it being so expensive, our conversation turned into a bit of an artistic debate when Chris said that art had become pretentious, because certain things just shouldn't be considered art. I begged to differ. Stating that I think we're the pretentious ones, we're pretentious for having this conversation. Because who are we to decide if something is art? To decide that something is not art, to me, is to take someone's heart and soul and tell them that it's not sufficient by your standards, and seriously who are we to say that?
Ultimately, art and creativity is a window into a person's heart and soul, and to trivialize someone's way of expressing themselves because we don't feel the same is a bit of a slap in the face to all things creative. And to restrict yourself by saying that you’re not creative is a disservice to yourself. So stop doing that! Otherwise, I'll be forced to make more long-winded rants, like this one.
Long-winded rant or not, it's the truth. Getting people to understand the true meaning of creativity isn't easy. Even more so, people don't attempt creativity as much as they could these days and go with the flow. Everyone wants the hottest trends that everyone else has instead of going for the one thing that everyone else DOESN'T have.
Funny sidenote to that, just tell people they're creative everyday in matching their own clothes, it gets fun looks because people can't decide if you're saying they can't match or complimenting them :-P
~Nicole
Posted by S_Nbuckholz
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Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
...and a big Amen.
amy
Posted by alloyd
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