In 2022 the economic theorist Richard Florida published The Rise of The Creative Class which took the arts organization world by storm. In a nutshell he suggested that "the arts" are good because they are good for the economy. He suggested that in the new creative economy, creative people run the gamut from creative artists to creative art publishers, to creative accountants who do the accounting for arts organizations, creative graphic designers who do their publications, even to the creative catering for art openings. My little 'creative' word salad is intentionally used here to suggest that thanks to Florida the word 'creative' has become as ubiquitous as the word "natural" in the food world.
The problem, in my mind, becomes when the word 'artist' is replaced or at least watered down with the idea that everyone is creative is some way or that all creativity is somehow the same. I don't think it is, and certainly not everyone is.
I think there is such a thing as creativity and it applies in all areas of human endeavor. Some people are genetically and temperamentally inclined this way, and some are not, for the most part. Incidentally, I don't think that creativity is somehow reserved for artists. In fact I don't think the majority of artists are really that creative. Picasso said "most artists are like bakers making a cake. Once they have the recipe, they make the same cake over and over". Perhaps most people are creative in little ways at certain times, but their character and living style are not largely defined by creativity. Most people like and choose a safe and repetitive path. And there are some people who certainly do NOT do this.
I guess it begs the question then why should anyone buy your paintings? After all, you are just like a baker making the same cake over and over and creativity can be found in "all areas"? I'm being facetious but you get my point. If every has it then we don't need artists?
Just because creativity is found in all areas, doesn't mean it's common. It is a characteristic that is sometimes there, and often not. Jordan Peterson has a good basic analysis of what it is, and isn't. Picasso was saying that the best artists were NOT baking repetitive cakes, but the lesser ones were.
And then there is also a good defense to be made for repetitive tasks. The baker, making a few desired but repeated products, over and over, is providing a very valuable service. And the same goes for the mechanic, who encounters similar problems with similar solutions over and over. Is there creativity involved in their activity....yes, some, to a degree. But the work is not largely creative once the tasks are learned. But they are valued none the less.
Harry, interesting post, love your paintings you included. Thanks for including the Saul Steinberg drawing. Way back I saw a show of his work. The pristine nature of the originals was amazing with beautiful color, such a high aesthetic. I was always a fan of the drawings of his in New Yorker covers- when I was in high school. In relation to creativity itself, something that comes to my mind was a letter from Henri Matisse to the students of my art school. I guess he had visited the school while he was painting his mural at the Barnes foundation in Marian Pennsylvania. The letter which was handwritten in French was in a small frame and next to it was a typed English translation in another frame. Basically it said something like he hoped students wouldn’t get the wrong idea about his work or theirs to think there were any shortcuts in the process.
Thanks, Jane. I love Saul Steinberg and I used him in my MFA graduate thesis. I also saw a huge show of his work years ago, but now I can't recall exactly where it was. It had to be in either Washington DC, Chicago, or New York. Yes, Matisse struggled with all the dilettante copyists of his work, and naive ideas from his students, especially shortly after the fauve period. Turns out that paintings with flat patches of color looked real easy, but it wasn't QUITE as easy as many thought :)
Harry, this is a beautiful post. I like your thoughts about *doing* as a creative force in itself.
I was in Art College around the same time as you, in Nova Scotia.
I’m going 5o have a look at the links you posted. I wanted to be a painter, I tried to have a go at it, but finally I succumbed to full time work. I’m retiring this year. I’m terrified of trying again, because I have a hard time taking it lightly - I set the bar high and judge myself for not meeting it.
Thanks, Miranda! Enjoy your retirement and put absolutely NO pressure upon yourself with your creative work. Do it to the best of your ability, enjoy it, and let it refresh you. That will be enough....and remember, everything ends up as dust in the geological record anyway. That's not a depressing thought....that's just the way of things. What you do with intensity and desire will be enough.
In 2022 the economic theorist Richard Florida published The Rise of The Creative Class which took the arts organization world by storm. In a nutshell he suggested that "the arts" are good because they are good for the economy. He suggested that in the new creative economy, creative people run the gamut from creative artists to creative art publishers, to creative accountants who do the accounting for arts organizations, creative graphic designers who do their publications, even to the creative catering for art openings. My little 'creative' word salad is intentionally used here to suggest that thanks to Florida the word 'creative' has become as ubiquitous as the word "natural" in the food world.
The problem, in my mind, becomes when the word 'artist' is replaced or at least watered down with the idea that everyone is creative is some way or that all creativity is somehow the same. I don't think it is, and certainly not everyone is.
I think there is such a thing as creativity and it applies in all areas of human endeavor. Some people are genetically and temperamentally inclined this way, and some are not, for the most part. Incidentally, I don't think that creativity is somehow reserved for artists. In fact I don't think the majority of artists are really that creative. Picasso said "most artists are like bakers making a cake. Once they have the recipe, they make the same cake over and over". Perhaps most people are creative in little ways at certain times, but their character and living style are not largely defined by creativity. Most people like and choose a safe and repetitive path. And there are some people who certainly do NOT do this.
I guess it begs the question then why should anyone buy your paintings? After all, you are just like a baker making the same cake over and over and creativity can be found in "all areas"? I'm being facetious but you get my point. If every has it then we don't need artists?
Just because creativity is found in all areas, doesn't mean it's common. It is a characteristic that is sometimes there, and often not. Jordan Peterson has a good basic analysis of what it is, and isn't. Picasso was saying that the best artists were NOT baking repetitive cakes, but the lesser ones were.
And then there is also a good defense to be made for repetitive tasks. The baker, making a few desired but repeated products, over and over, is providing a very valuable service. And the same goes for the mechanic, who encounters similar problems with similar solutions over and over. Is there creativity involved in their activity....yes, some, to a degree. But the work is not largely creative once the tasks are learned. But they are valued none the less.
Harry, interesting post, love your paintings you included. Thanks for including the Saul Steinberg drawing. Way back I saw a show of his work. The pristine nature of the originals was amazing with beautiful color, such a high aesthetic. I was always a fan of the drawings of his in New Yorker covers- when I was in high school. In relation to creativity itself, something that comes to my mind was a letter from Henri Matisse to the students of my art school. I guess he had visited the school while he was painting his mural at the Barnes foundation in Marian Pennsylvania. The letter which was handwritten in French was in a small frame and next to it was a typed English translation in another frame. Basically it said something like he hoped students wouldn’t get the wrong idea about his work or theirs to think there were any shortcuts in the process.
Thanks, Jane. I love Saul Steinberg and I used him in my MFA graduate thesis. I also saw a huge show of his work years ago, but now I can't recall exactly where it was. It had to be in either Washington DC, Chicago, or New York. Yes, Matisse struggled with all the dilettante copyists of his work, and naive ideas from his students, especially shortly after the fauve period. Turns out that paintings with flat patches of color looked real easy, but it wasn't QUITE as easy as many thought :)
Harry, this is a beautiful post. I like your thoughts about *doing* as a creative force in itself.
I was in Art College around the same time as you, in Nova Scotia.
I’m going 5o have a look at the links you posted. I wanted to be a painter, I tried to have a go at it, but finally I succumbed to full time work. I’m retiring this year. I’m terrified of trying again, because I have a hard time taking it lightly - I set the bar high and judge myself for not meeting it.
Thanks, Miranda! Enjoy your retirement and put absolutely NO pressure upon yourself with your creative work. Do it to the best of your ability, enjoy it, and let it refresh you. That will be enough....and remember, everything ends up as dust in the geological record anyway. That's not a depressing thought....that's just the way of things. What you do with intensity and desire will be enough.