Yay, all of us "crafters" who've been at it for decades now get to call ourselves "artists." ;)
1
If you're really going to be an artist, you're going to have to ask some pretty hard questions about your life -- like why you are wasting it working for a frozen foods company.
5
The opposite of creativity is when someone sells you the idea of your creativity.
16
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“A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.”
Nietzsche
“A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.”
Nietzsche
2
Art is something we do for ourselves. Never stop.
2
Enjoy life. Be creative. And Don't Quit Your Day Job!!!
8
I've no problem with folks trying this or that. I think it's always great when we challenge ourselves and use other parts of our brains. What's always bothered me about he 'artist' thing is how hip it's become. Either you are an artist or you're not. It's not something you should 'strive' to be or want to be able to 'call' yourself.
This is my biggest issue with hipsters, who immerse themselves in all the accoutrements of what they think are the trappings of being an 'artist'...you know...living in certain Bk neighborhoods or else some of the Upstate towns reclaimed by hipsters, having a bunch of tats, enjoying craft beer and farm-to-table food, shopping at thrift stores, and then deciding this makes them an 'artist'.
To me a true artist marches to their own beat, not to the beat of their entire self-made little community of other people just like themselves, and who they deem cool.
This is my biggest issue with hipsters, who immerse themselves in all the accoutrements of what they think are the trappings of being an 'artist'...you know...living in certain Bk neighborhoods or else some of the Upstate towns reclaimed by hipsters, having a bunch of tats, enjoying craft beer and farm-to-table food, shopping at thrift stores, and then deciding this makes them an 'artist'.
To me a true artist marches to their own beat, not to the beat of their entire self-made little community of other people just like themselves, and who they deem cool.
12
Two words: Burning Man
1
Every every creative professional—architect, designer, chef, writer — has encountered a client who has so much desperation to express creativity for once in their lives, to erase the tedium and drudgery of their own work and personal lives, that they have to spend most of their time detangling and demonstrifying their terrible talentless efforts. This must stop. Either you make a bargain to forego material comforts and security at a young age to train as a creative professional, or you confine your creative outputs to scrapbooking, pottery painting, fabricating winter woolens, gardening, repairing old cars, or model trains. Your creativity is NOT required. Pay for it the way you book passage for an airplane flight or arrange to get a dental crown. Unless you actually can fly your own jet or do your own dentistry, none of these jobs is for amateurs.
6
Creativity isn't a fad and reading self-help books about it isn't going to change who you are. The creative urge comes from something deep inside of us and not from some phony new-age movement.
12
Perhaps a better title would have been "We all can be artistic now..." A slightly different emphasis. Art has always been accessible to everyone - it stems from the universal creative urge inherent in our biology. But to be an artist is slightly different than being artistic. Just ask Picasso. Or Matisse. Or Calder....or Banksky for that matter. A little different than the average person with a can of spray paint. But...someone who is artistic occasionally stumbles on, and creates, great art. Being able to predict where art comes from is a losing game but the axiom "create a body of work" is something which cannon be abandoned. So doodle away and when you get your ten thousand hours in, have a show.
2
Where is the "now" part of this analysis, i.e, what about any of this has to do with some recent change.
People have long made 'art' purely for their own enjoyment and without any care that anyone else thought it was good. But that doesn't make such people 'artists' in any meaningful sense, anymore than attending to your own medical problems makes you a doctor or nurse, or making/altering your own clothes makes you a tailor or seamstress, or doing your own yard work makes you a landscaper.
So yes, in a very broad sense , we are all 'artists' now, but when *weren't* we?
People have long made 'art' purely for their own enjoyment and without any care that anyone else thought it was good. But that doesn't make such people 'artists' in any meaningful sense, anymore than attending to your own medical problems makes you a doctor or nurse, or making/altering your own clothes makes you a tailor or seamstress, or doing your own yard work makes you a landscaper.
So yes, in a very broad sense , we are all 'artists' now, but when *weren't* we?
4
"Visionary" was once used to describe apocalyptic poets like Blake, Shelley, and Whitman. Harold Bloom wrote a study 50 years called the "Visionary Company," a phrase from Hart Crane, to describe such Romantic poets. Now anyone with a business plan will be called a "visionary." Since "Visionary Company" has the sound of a slightly musty start up helping people to be "creative, some "genius" there would be sure to point out that VizComp! would be much better.
This kind of "art" is like knitting. It is calming because it engages your mind at a level where deeper stuff can work itself out. In a sense, it is mindless.
But art? Seems like the very opposite of art to me.
But art? Seems like the very opposite of art to me.
4
Reading this, I wonder whether we're on the verge of a return for communes and tie-dyed t-shirts.
Far out.
Far out.
Whether they create jewelry, pottery, paintings, drawings, poetry, stories, or anything else you can think of... what the artists really do is curse their fate all day, then run out the door as soon as possible to their classes, workshops, study groups, lessons.. making it very clear that their art, not their jobs are the focus of their lives.
And given the nasty work environments they inhabit every day - who can blame them.
And given the nasty work environments they inhabit every day - who can blame them.
3
Stain glass and bagel making....Last year I started the Buckman Bagel Institute in PDX and began teaching bagel making classes. The creativity is embedded in the process. The art of bagel making is being lost and I wanted to preserve it. The stain glass has been a lifelong passion which lay dormant for 40 years.. Last year a friend was flipping a house and discovered a cache of sheets ( hundreds of them) of bulk glass...opaques, opalescent, dichroic, ....the colors in the 20X40 inch sheets are absolutely magnificent. So, he gave them to me and I had another form of art to work on...We mus express ourselves through art...it is like a drug.
2
Everyone can be artistic or create art, but that doesn't make everyone an artist. The word dilettante was invented for this reason.
16
In the last few years, we seem to be particularly "creative" with how we take up creativity. Most of the examples discussed in this article are nothing more than promises of happiness and productivity—navel gazing neatly wrapped. "Useful" forms of navel gazing, of course, because heaven forbid we did things for reasons other than self-improvement, self-marketization, etcetera etcetera.
5
I enjoy applying color to Basford note cards. I do not consider this art although there is a modicum of creativity in choosing and arranging colors. I have a coloring book by another artist, and I may cut up some pages for my collaged note cards which may be art—or not.
Maybe I'm growing old and cynical. Why is it that when a new group thinks they have discovered something, it suddenly becomes the latest path to self fulfillment and enlightenment? My parents' generation (50 years ago) called this arts and crafts.
On the other hand, I guess if you can publish a book or create a website or app to cash in on it (Oops, excuse me; I think the correct term today is "monetize"), more power to you.
On the other hand, I guess if you can publish a book or create a website or app to cash in on it (Oops, excuse me; I think the correct term today is "monetize"), more power to you.
6
Just as long as they don't try to make money. Most artists can't make a living, so I hope they don't get their expectations up too high.
1
Ah yes art as a trivial pursuit. Finally we are all artists and the word and the avocation means nothing.
It is now entertainmaent.
" In it she argues that creativity is not dropping everything to pursue a career as an opera singer or painter. "
Yes you should!
It is now entertainmaent.
" In it she argues that creativity is not dropping everything to pursue a career as an opera singer or painter. "
Yes you should!
4
We are quoting Elizabeth Gilbert? Really? I may be wrong but I had read somewhere she "financed" her world tour that "led" her to write Eat love and Pray with the advance of the book idea. Not as much an honest reflective essay on growth as a very crafty commercial venture don't you think? And quite self-involved might I add. How about referring the reader to page 197 "Final Thoughts" of "Notes on the death of culture" by Llosa? Can we at least distill real authors from the "self-proclaimed" ones in the article itself? Not everyone is an artist, nor should be, but by all means, take a ceramics class on Mondays and display it on your mantle, as long as you leave it there.
6
Ok, it's very nice that people can get some pleasure from making something. And it's no doubt good for one's mental health. But calling it "Art," now that's mostly a stretch.
8
that last sentence pretty much says it all.
To paraphrase the painter Chuck Close: Inspiration is for amateurs - the rest of us just get up and go to work.
The best advice I ever received was to just work, even when you are clueless or uninspired. I try to always have at least one thing going, because almost always the work and act of attempting something, even if you don't know what it is yet, precedes anything close to the transcendent or inspired.
The best advice I ever received was to just work, even when you are clueless or uninspired. I try to always have at least one thing going, because almost always the work and act of attempting something, even if you don't know what it is yet, precedes anything close to the transcendent or inspired.
1
Yeah... and we're all art critics too. My daughter has great, native artistic talent. (I'll qualify that by saying that her father and both his parents went to RISD, so really there is some talent there).
We used to live in Tivoli, near Bard College. When she was 3, she got an easel and set about on an abstract series that was very Rothko-esque. A friend who went to Bard adored her, and really liked her paintings and put a couple up in his apartment. When his college friends came over, invariably they'd remark on the art on his walls and he'd let them opine about the subtle underlying messages, the use of color and its meaning, its political and social comment, and so on. Then he'd tell these budding art critics that the artist was his 3 year old neighbor.
We used to live in Tivoli, near Bard College. When she was 3, she got an easel and set about on an abstract series that was very Rothko-esque. A friend who went to Bard adored her, and really liked her paintings and put a couple up in his apartment. When his college friends came over, invariably they'd remark on the art on his walls and he'd let them opine about the subtle underlying messages, the use of color and its meaning, its political and social comment, and so on. Then he'd tell these budding art critics that the artist was his 3 year old neighbor.
21
I taught drawing at York College in PA. Many students came into my classroom believing they were not artists and could not draw. It was hard to overcome their fear of inadequacy. I taught the Nicholaides method and every student learned to draw quite well by the end of the semester. Only a few went on to become professional artists. It strikes me that many of the readers comments are overly defensive about what a real artist is. Many people play sports for fun and pleasure without becoming NFL grade players. Does that insult professional players?
What I learned over all the years of teaching people to draw is that it can be used as a form of meditation to calm the mind. I taught drawing to cancer patients at U of MD hospital. One patient was in constant pain. I taught him how to draw his face using a mirror and the contour line drawing method. When I returned he had filled the pad with his portrait, page after page. He told me none of his pain meds gave him relief but when he did the drawing exercise the pain ceased.
In many countries art is recreation and everyone participates in creative endeavors rather than sitting passively watching TV. This does nothing to take away from professional artists. After reading the responses I believe many professional artists need to chill out.
What I learned over all the years of teaching people to draw is that it can be used as a form of meditation to calm the mind. I taught drawing to cancer patients at U of MD hospital. One patient was in constant pain. I taught him how to draw his face using a mirror and the contour line drawing method. When I returned he had filled the pad with his portrait, page after page. He told me none of his pain meds gave him relief but when he did the drawing exercise the pain ceased.
In many countries art is recreation and everyone participates in creative endeavors rather than sitting passively watching TV. This does nothing to take away from professional artists. After reading the responses I believe many professional artists need to chill out.
39
Your article touched my heart in a wonderful way. I am an artist and I know how important and difficult it is to be in touch with one's inner kid. It is vital. It has been lost. Yes, everyone is an artist if they want to express themselves freely and it's a beautiful thing. Nothing wrong with coloring books for big kids, it's a novel idea, and helpful. Why not for adults? Even Picasso can be seen to be the big chimp that he was, with his inner child ever at the ready and guided by artistic grace and an elegant and disciplined hand. Social media networks, postings and sharing keeps young and old in the flow of the moment, and it's great fun and inspiring. I loved reading this article, and I love the movement for newbie artists of all ages expressing themselves perhaps like never before. There is plenty of room in the pool so splash on in, and enjoy yourself to the maximum, your art is the best that ever was.
1
Embracing creativity is worthwhile for any and every individual. Finding something creative you love to do, be it coloring or knitting or pottery, will improve any life; I have no doubt of that. But there are a few big caveats.
The first is that primarily, it's an option for those of of a privileged class. If a person works two jobs to support a family, there isn't much time for drawing or writing, even if the innate skill is there. This is one reason we need to increase arts education in schools, starting early.
The second is directly related to the first. Every single possible creative endeavor requires a base skill. You can't write a poem if you don't have rudimentary language skills. You can't knit if you don't know the basic stitch. You can't make jewelry, an increasingly popular pursuit, if you don't know some basics. So once again, childhood education can teach fundamental skills that will later give adults creative outlets, possibly interest them in creative careers, and certainly enable them to appreciate the work of others.
The final caveat is one of persistence. It's said that a person's first 100,000 words are their worst, and that a person's first 10,000 photographs are their worst. As a writer and photographer, I'm of the opinion that these are low estimates.
Anyone can pick up a smart phone and take a picture, and people should. Take pictures of your friends, of interesting rocks, or shadows, or of flowers. And if you want to make art, keep doing it.
The first is that primarily, it's an option for those of of a privileged class. If a person works two jobs to support a family, there isn't much time for drawing or writing, even if the innate skill is there. This is one reason we need to increase arts education in schools, starting early.
The second is directly related to the first. Every single possible creative endeavor requires a base skill. You can't write a poem if you don't have rudimentary language skills. You can't knit if you don't know the basic stitch. You can't make jewelry, an increasingly popular pursuit, if you don't know some basics. So once again, childhood education can teach fundamental skills that will later give adults creative outlets, possibly interest them in creative careers, and certainly enable them to appreciate the work of others.
The final caveat is one of persistence. It's said that a person's first 100,000 words are their worst, and that a person's first 10,000 photographs are their worst. As a writer and photographer, I'm of the opinion that these are low estimates.
Anyone can pick up a smart phone and take a picture, and people should. Take pictures of your friends, of interesting rocks, or shadows, or of flowers. And if you want to make art, keep doing it.
3
(Sigh) the struggle continues, albeit in a changing form defined by the market.
2
Another conflation of art vs. craft. Making art requires continuous intellectual decisions, ever questioning quests and lots of very hard work. Making crafts, not so much. "Ooh, what should I buy? Oils or acrylics?" Nothing intellectual there.
5
Does all that artistic creativity make for short, breathless sentences? I was exhausted before I reached the end. If I took up digital storytelling would it improve my reading stamina? Maybe it was all that Hallmarky positivity, that blue, blue Zen-mind sky, without the slightest passing cloud of doubt to grace the horizon. Maybe I just should have had my morning coffee before attempting to cross this patch of The Great American Desert of Upbeat. I take my coffee black: rich, dark, and chocolaty bitter. I take my mental landscapes a la Brontë: gray, chilled, windswept and misty, with a dash of unnamed terror. Guess I won't be joining a creativity club any time soon.
7
Please save me from "creative" people. It seems like every neighborhood has someone who thinks they are an artist so they plant a bicycle in the earth or throw an orange against the wall and call it "art."
3
My deceased partner, Tom, created almost every day a collage, a photo-transformation at his computer, of a Cornell-like box of curious objects that appealed to him. When a local paper discovered this trove of hundreds of works, he said, "I'm not an artist. I'm really more of a collector. I can't really draw, or paint, or sculpt. But I know that by doing this, I see better when I go to a museum or a gallery." I've rarely heard anyone express it better, and more modestly and appropriately. Taking up painting did not REALLY make Churchill, Eisenhower,or George Bush "artists". And certainly no Hitler. But, becoming even tangentially and marginally aware of what those who DO devote their lives to the world of art wrestle with.... I think it's a good thing.
4
I'd like to be an artist and examine questions deep;
I'd like to be an artist on the subject of good sleep.
I'd nap away the hours like a Rembrandt or Degas;
Snoring so I'd be compared to Klimt or old Renoir.
My expertise on snoozing just might bring me a Grand Prix,
a Nobel Prize for Forty Winks or Sawing Wood -- whoopee!
I'd teach a master class on shuteye policy and craft,
and students would be lining up to give me their bank draft!
O, I can just imagine the intense artistic throes
when I am creating a siesta or a doze.
Forsooth, the mundane ebb tide of this life I soon will chouse
by focusing on slumber as I pursue a drowse!
I'd like to be an artist on the subject of good sleep.
I'd nap away the hours like a Rembrandt or Degas;
Snoring so I'd be compared to Klimt or old Renoir.
My expertise on snoozing just might bring me a Grand Prix,
a Nobel Prize for Forty Winks or Sawing Wood -- whoopee!
I'd teach a master class on shuteye policy and craft,
and students would be lining up to give me their bank draft!
O, I can just imagine the intense artistic throes
when I am creating a siesta or a doze.
Forsooth, the mundane ebb tide of this life I soon will chouse
by focusing on slumber as I pursue a drowse!
1
To echo the others, not everyone is an artist. Instagram, etc have made that painfully clear. However, lots of folks have suppressed very real artistic talent. Also, art is a fundamentally human way to process the world. In our hyper specialized and rational world, it's a good thing that adults are re-discovering their right brains.
I've wanted to be an artist since 1960 but wage slavery intervened for over 40 years. Then, I began by myself and later took a class. There are people of far greater talent in these classes but I don't compare or compete with them. The first time I made something that I truly liked, I felt fulfilled for the first time in my life. I would never fit in with these latest fads. I am happy doing my own thing. Spend the money on art materials, not on schemes for instant art.
2
The spread of creativity is both overdue and underdone. From the 17th to the 19th century at least the upper classes educated themselves (well, maybe more girls than boys) in specific creative skills. Amateur musicianship, water colors and drawing, and theatrical presentations filled the time now occupied by media. And the skill set acquired could be very impressive; so could the ambition. Toward the 20th century the artist as genius, academically trained specialist, and half-mad oracle took root, and this idea of the artist tended to discourage and even exclude the amateur. It's past time to promote the acquisition and serious use of artistic skills by everyone, and the rather juvenilized ways of going about it described in the article are not enough. Just because we admire those who scale the pinnacles, we should not be reluctant to make a climb of some sort ourselves.
1
The most interesting people most of us know have a creative side. The sad part of the last 30 or so years has been the institutional devaluation of such activities while competition or economic success was more valued. Bond traders are not more interesting with their spreadsheets on a Saturday night than someone who plays a musical instrument.
3
Not very long ago, men and women made things at home - sewing clothes, building shelves, or a shed in the yard. Or growing food in a garden. Children had visual art and music experiences almost every day at school. In the middle school years, "industrial arts" for the boys - how to build stuff and "home economics" how to cook and how to make clothing were required subjects for several years of school. We decorated our own cakes. We made our own cookies from scratch, we painted our own walls, we did our own plumbing and light electrical work, we mowed our own grass, we shoveled our own snow.
We learned how to wield a hammer. We learn how to use a pocket knife. We whittled wood, we carved wood - -
We made our own kitchen curtains using linoleum block printing. We learned caligraphy. We sang and played instruments at home - no one cared if it was in tune or sounded like a recording.
All these activities unleashed our creativity - - every day. None of this was about selling "products" or actually being a professional artist.
I feel very sorry for today's young people who have never had the opportunity to learn to work with their hands and imagination. There is an enormous amount of creativity, skill and knowledge that has disappeared from young people's lives and they will never know what has been lost to them.
Taking some pictures with your phone and putting them on instagram is not being creative or artistic.
We learned how to wield a hammer. We learn how to use a pocket knife. We whittled wood, we carved wood - -
We made our own kitchen curtains using linoleum block printing. We learned caligraphy. We sang and played instruments at home - no one cared if it was in tune or sounded like a recording.
All these activities unleashed our creativity - - every day. None of this was about selling "products" or actually being a professional artist.
I feel very sorry for today's young people who have never had the opportunity to learn to work with their hands and imagination. There is an enormous amount of creativity, skill and knowledge that has disappeared from young people's lives and they will never know what has been lost to them.
Taking some pictures with your phone and putting them on instagram is not being creative or artistic.
8
While I'm sympathetic to people finding the need to work on creative projects outside the soul-crushing drone work that has become the American workplace, most of these examples seem to be about the 1%ers like Gilbert finding yet another way to spend the time and money created by worker bees, poorly compensated, beneath them. The outrageously wealthy have always had the money and the time to schedule cotillions, remodel their fourth house, start their own clothing lines, go on painting retreats, or buy and toy with an expensive camera. If their relentless real estate acquisitions, Botox runs, and mergers have made their lives seem meaningless, small wonder they are looking to art classes to fill the void. What's the alternative - volunteering to help the teeming masses struggling to breathe free and put a meal on the table?
6
In my early years I thought "everyone can be an artist." Then later it became clear that no, everyone is not the same, and artists are artists not by choice, but by fate. Artists usually have no choice but to create. Most artists in the U.S. can't afford to support themselves as artists so they take on work to pay the bills, but continue, as if without choice, to create.
I once owned an art gallery where I exhibited emerging artists. As galleries tend to do, we received many, many slides from people who wanted to show their work. I admire the risk taking, that is exposing your work and yourself to the public, but in my estimation, very little of the work that I saw could actually qualify as art. Much of it was self-expression, but not art.
Art makes us think and feel. Art allows us to complete our gestalt. Art draws us in and asks us to open ourselves up. Art takes years of commitment. Creativity is not necessarily art. Because art is subjective, it doesn't mean that everyone is an artist and anything is art. I think it's great that people are doing creative things, but calling it art is demeaning to the actual artists who are working at trying to make a living at something they are compelled to do.
I once owned an art gallery where I exhibited emerging artists. As galleries tend to do, we received many, many slides from people who wanted to show their work. I admire the risk taking, that is exposing your work and yourself to the public, but in my estimation, very little of the work that I saw could actually qualify as art. Much of it was self-expression, but not art.
Art makes us think and feel. Art allows us to complete our gestalt. Art draws us in and asks us to open ourselves up. Art takes years of commitment. Creativity is not necessarily art. Because art is subjective, it doesn't mean that everyone is an artist and anything is art. I think it's great that people are doing creative things, but calling it art is demeaning to the actual artists who are working at trying to make a living at something they are compelled to do.
10
The artist as model worker in the new global economy is a long, deep point of ongoing discussion. Ms. Holson's text makes no reference to the many important contributions to these current discussions around artistic autonomy, the creative entrepreneur, and cultural production. Boltanski and Chiapello's book "The New Spirit of Capitalism" and the critical reception of this book within the artworld would have been a good starting point for Holson's research in writing this text. Over the past three decades, the role of the artist has come under increasing scrutiny for providing a model of the unfixed, itinerant, and flexible worker—a creative entrepreneur perpetuating neo-liberalism. Certainly, it is not purely coincidental that many of the terms used to describe contemporary artistic labor are interchangeable with the most inhospitable working conditions of the new globalized economy.
Holson's text completely elides the problem:
“The emergence of a creative and mobile sector has minimized reliance on the welfare state while also relieving corporations of the burden of being responsible for a permanent workforce. As such, the population is increasingly required to assume the individualization associated with creativity: to be entrepreneurial, embrace risk, look after their own self-interest, be their own brands, and be free of dependence on the state.”
–Claire Bishop, Con-Demmed to the Bleakest of Futures: Report from the UK, 2011
Holson's text completely elides the problem:
“The emergence of a creative and mobile sector has minimized reliance on the welfare state while also relieving corporations of the burden of being responsible for a permanent workforce. As such, the population is increasingly required to assume the individualization associated with creativity: to be entrepreneurial, embrace risk, look after their own self-interest, be their own brands, and be free of dependence on the state.”
–Claire Bishop, Con-Demmed to the Bleakest of Futures: Report from the UK, 2011
5
We are all born Creative as children. We live in a world of imagination and possibility, we are making up stories, building empires and flying across the lawn with arms and mind open wide.
Children ask lots and lots of questions, are curious and inventive and living in what seems to be akin to a parallel universe compared to the conformist, linear reality of the adult world where millions spend a large part of their life sitting sedentary on couches and relying on television and keyboards for entertainment.
It is quite possible that all of the sitting still for years on end, creating only between slithers of allocated hours at school, hours that may that may not match the creative impetus as it follows the "one shoes fits all" educational paradigm, might be the reason why so many of those once magical children are now an adult Magical Child in Exile.
The Magical Child in Exile:
https://carolom.wordpress.com/2007/01/02/the-magical-child-in-exile/
Children ask lots and lots of questions, are curious and inventive and living in what seems to be akin to a parallel universe compared to the conformist, linear reality of the adult world where millions spend a large part of their life sitting sedentary on couches and relying on television and keyboards for entertainment.
It is quite possible that all of the sitting still for years on end, creating only between slithers of allocated hours at school, hours that may that may not match the creative impetus as it follows the "one shoes fits all" educational paradigm, might be the reason why so many of those once magical children are now an adult Magical Child in Exile.
The Magical Child in Exile:
https://carolom.wordpress.com/2007/01/02/the-magical-child-in-exile/
Last year, I taught myself to paint large abstract acrylics so I could fill the house with my own art. My canvases (see my profile photo) will never end up at MOMA or Art Basel, but who cares. I enjoy the process, and the end product is much better than I ever thought it would be.
7
We are getting ready for the post-work economy, successor to post-industrial, post knowledge economy, post-robot workforce. With our high levels of endemic unemployment or underemployment, more and more of us are living the nightmare of "nothing to do." But there is liberation here if we would only embrace it--not having to go to a workplace, finding our own living. After all, the industrial world we thought was all-in-all was just a 2 century interlude in an otherwise timeless, bucolic existence: mankind the gardener, the husbandman. Garden of Eden. So, instead of someone dictating what you have to do all day and laboring in someone else's vineyard (or cubicle), we are left to our own devices. This is frightening. We are used to deferring, to need direction, to default into a robotic existence. And left to our own devices, we find we those devices woefully un-tuned, un-sharpened, the thing that makes us most human, stunted. The future of leisure is endless bliss if we have the courage to embrace it.
(Apologies for so many mixed metaphors.)
(Apologies for so many mixed metaphors.)
One could say we are all scientists as well, because we all collect data and deduce conclusions.
At some point if we are using the same word for hobbyists/amateurs and professionals, we may want to find distinguishing words.
At some point if we are using the same word for hobbyists/amateurs and professionals, we may want to find distinguishing words.
3
Art is not a "make-it-and-take-it" (MITI) process. Any artistic medium is a discipline, requiring dedication, commitment, skill, and yes (let's not be afraid to say it), talent. Fostering individual creative expression is a worthwhile endeavor, just let's not confuse it with art.
17
Yes, we are all artists in our heart of hearts. It is a way of being that some of us are more in touch with. Every single thing we do requires artifice of some kind. Even folding the laundry can involve esthetics. Living our lives in gratitude is another form of it. It opens the mind's door to what is possible. The honest search is required combining skill with the art spirit to get there. And the journey never ends until you die.
4
About a dozen years ago in my mid-40s after sinking into a long low-grade depression, I decided to resume something I'd not done since my late teens: write songs and record versions of them. My first efforts were halting and unremarkable. But in time I learned to expect to invest several months to write an honestly good song and then many recorded takes to get each of the various instrumental parts down adequately. I continue to write and record today. I share them with a tiny scattered handful of people by the old means: U.S. mail. The striking thing is that over the years of doing this I've become far more contented in my job; I no longer expect it to meet any need except pay the bills. I've become more passionate in my conversations with people. I've ended up with a greater sense of individual value. I've become more encouraging to others. I'm more focused on possibility rather than limits.
It's easy to ridicule the silly commercial exploitation of people's creative urges, but Americans work too hard to be productive. They have allowed themselves to become drudges. Drudges do not solve problems very well. They are not inventive in any sense of the word. The pursuit of creative efforts can reverse this decline.
It's easy to ridicule the silly commercial exploitation of people's creative urges, but Americans work too hard to be productive. They have allowed themselves to become drudges. Drudges do not solve problems very well. They are not inventive in any sense of the word. The pursuit of creative efforts can reverse this decline.
25
A number of commenters express the idea that while everyone is creative, only a select few, with something to say, are real artists. This is a modern, FIrst-World view -- it was not always thus. In many Native American tribes, for instance, art does not involve unique self-expression, or making something new. It involves copying patterns and images that were developed collectively, over time, in that particular tribe.
Creative expression is no trivial thing, not something to be merely relegated to a mere "hobby" as some readers would have it. Whether in photography, writing, visual arts, music, dance, or other, creative expression allows satisfaction of a real need in the psyche, which is more intense for some than others. Creative expression can heal wounds, offering therapy for injuries to the psyche, and it can also be part of the soul's growth. I have experienced this sort of healing countless times, such as by creating cartoons about being stuck in stressful situations, or by doing poetry or paintings to express my sadness over the death of a friend. Creative expression helps us recognize deeper meaning, such as when we identify themes experienced during a certain part of our life by creating a collage to tell the story in images.
One of the mantras involved in creativity by non-professionals, is that it is the PROCESS that is important, not the product. THere's more to this process than one would imagine, and one discovers it by doing.
Creative expression is no trivial thing, not something to be merely relegated to a mere "hobby" as some readers would have it. Whether in photography, writing, visual arts, music, dance, or other, creative expression allows satisfaction of a real need in the psyche, which is more intense for some than others. Creative expression can heal wounds, offering therapy for injuries to the psyche, and it can also be part of the soul's growth. I have experienced this sort of healing countless times, such as by creating cartoons about being stuck in stressful situations, or by doing poetry or paintings to express my sadness over the death of a friend. Creative expression helps us recognize deeper meaning, such as when we identify themes experienced during a certain part of our life by creating a collage to tell the story in images.
One of the mantras involved in creativity by non-professionals, is that it is the PROCESS that is important, not the product. THere's more to this process than one would imagine, and one discovers it by doing.
16
The pathway to art, and that begins with the appreciation of beauty in others and things outside ourselves; it is the pursuit of truth, and we cannot manufacture truth, a thing is either true or it is not. The next requirement is craft. Craft provides structure, and without structure, there can be no atr, only the banging of a child on a piano.
1
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'” Isaac Asimov.
Our country has always had an anti-intellectual bent, coming from our Puritan background and then later, "All men are created equal..." from our Founding Fathers. That we are all equal is not in question, we are, but not always intellectually. This empowers people to denigrate any one they perceive is smarter than they are as "uppity," to protect their rightful right to their ignorance, or narrow mindedness.
Because of our history, we have become a nation of narcissists, where everyone can be an artist and clever people at merchandising create this myth.
It's a complicated issue, but anyone who can create what Rembrandt did doesn't have a chance with the overly sensitive lesser artist, who sniffs out his or her betters and needs to denigrate it to protect their mediocrity. An accomplished opera singer, for example, doesn't have a chance against an adolescent imitator on American Idol, because the accomplished singer who has trained for years intimidates the casual listener, who will celebrate the mediocre.
Is everyone an artist? It seems like in a democracy, everyone is.
Our country has always had an anti-intellectual bent, coming from our Puritan background and then later, "All men are created equal..." from our Founding Fathers. That we are all equal is not in question, we are, but not always intellectually. This empowers people to denigrate any one they perceive is smarter than they are as "uppity," to protect their rightful right to their ignorance, or narrow mindedness.
Because of our history, we have become a nation of narcissists, where everyone can be an artist and clever people at merchandising create this myth.
It's a complicated issue, but anyone who can create what Rembrandt did doesn't have a chance with the overly sensitive lesser artist, who sniffs out his or her betters and needs to denigrate it to protect their mediocrity. An accomplished opera singer, for example, doesn't have a chance against an adolescent imitator on American Idol, because the accomplished singer who has trained for years intimidates the casual listener, who will celebrate the mediocre.
Is everyone an artist? It seems like in a democracy, everyone is.
6
In this ongoing creation we call the universe, many people work for years training to be artist, many with degrees and often large bodies of work but are unable to sell it. In the early recorded years artist worked as apprentices in the workshops of "masters" some becoming the real Masters, the ones who weathered the ages and are still admired and considered master works.
Most of us will never attain the acclaim found by Picasso or Rodin, but many will in fact plum the depths of their own abilities and produce works considered art by some. Recent reports suggest that the Gladwell proclaimed magic 10,000 hours of practice works well for those with special gifts but not for all.
Surprise, surprise, we are not all equally gifted. It would be a surprise if indeed we were. We are not but that does not mean that we cannot take pleasure and achieve greater perfection and magic in our own creative pursuits.
This article belittles such efforts while noting that, again surprise, surprise, entreprenuers are publishing books on becoming more creative in order to SELL BOOKS. Wow that is really a surprise.
But for the aspiring creative actor, go for it. Enjoy and keep at it. You will find your efforts worthwhile but don't count on the world offering up a red carpet to MoMA/
Most of us will never attain the acclaim found by Picasso or Rodin, but many will in fact plum the depths of their own abilities and produce works considered art by some. Recent reports suggest that the Gladwell proclaimed magic 10,000 hours of practice works well for those with special gifts but not for all.
Surprise, surprise, we are not all equally gifted. It would be a surprise if indeed we were. We are not but that does not mean that we cannot take pleasure and achieve greater perfection and magic in our own creative pursuits.
This article belittles such efforts while noting that, again surprise, surprise, entreprenuers are publishing books on becoming more creative in order to SELL BOOKS. Wow that is really a surprise.
But for the aspiring creative actor, go for it. Enjoy and keep at it. You will find your efforts worthwhile but don't count on the world offering up a red carpet to MoMA/
8
I have been an artist and teacher my whole life. The old cliche used to be: 'those who can do; those who can't teach'. In today's digital world in which 'everyone is an artist', the opposite can also be argued that 'nobody is an artist'. The cold hard facts are, that most so-called 'art' is not worth bothering with. A lot of modern art is propped up by theory expounded by critics and dealers. The rest falls into the category of 'artsy-fartsy' feel good craft made by retirees 'discovering themselves' or primitive 'true believers' in the hinterlands. The real artist put their money where their mouth and jump into the art scene- wherever it is happening i.e New York, Paris, Berlin, Detroit- testing their mettle against others with similar aspirations. In fact, the only real original art is made by tribals, the insane, and children, and everybody knows this. The rest is just fashion and eye wash.
2
"Of course, seeking a more creative life is hardly a new idea."
And yet this article to a certain extent and many of the people featured in it seem to act as if it is. Every generation apparently has to go through and document this moment as if it was the first to experience it.
And yet this article to a certain extent and many of the people featured in it seem to act as if it is. Every generation apparently has to go through and document this moment as if it was the first to experience it.
5
We are all artists. Some are more expressive than others. The funny thing about it is, the people that study art can never truly be artists, because they know too much, they are tarnished, by all of the work that came before them, therefore they can not be original in their own expression.
When we hear Rachmaninoff we are given the gift of a mans insights through music, that he could never share verbally, now that is art. Try coming up with a new concept and technique for art in the 21st century. I did. Vip-artfair.com
Check it out. And to all express yourself! Everyone has something to say!
When we hear Rachmaninoff we are given the gift of a mans insights through music, that he could never share verbally, now that is art. Try coming up with a new concept and technique for art in the 21st century. I did. Vip-artfair.com
Check it out. And to all express yourself! Everyone has something to say!
Tapping in to the need to create speaks to our alienation as a society. Working with your hands is more gratifying than sitting at a desk all day. We suffer from a lack of meaning in what we do, a lack of seeing a task through to completion, to seeing the end product of our efforts.
The only real difference between standing at a conveyor belt on a factory floor and sitting in a cubicle is the setting. Oh, and the clothes. If your shirt collar is not blue, you can't possibility be just another cog in the machine.
The only real difference between standing at a conveyor belt on a factory floor and sitting in a cubicle is the setting. Oh, and the clothes. If your shirt collar is not blue, you can't possibility be just another cog in the machine.
1
Everyone is born with some curiosity and creativity, unfortunately this is not valued by most of our educational systems because it can't be measured via a test, so it mostly just fades away.
1
Yeah, like we're all journalists and photographers and drone pilots now, too. Creativity is a great human legacy, but there's a world of difference between painting a mug and living the often difficult life of an artist on a daily basis.
20
Horribly depressing. I'm an artist, I've been writing and making films most of my life with bouts of recognition. However, the internet, and many bored people, have destroyed the field where an artist actually gets paid for his talents. Artistic talent is rare, it's a compulsion not an ambition. When funds are low, I self publish a smaller book of poetry, when I can afford to do more complex projects, I do. But this piece makes art out to be a vocation for the spoiled and bored. Companies take advantage of this by luring these fake artists to submit images with the reward of "maybe we'll choose you" The world has become a popularity contest and no one pays any longer. That's because the internet has flattened it out with the defense of giving greater access to everyone. Well, everyone is not a real artist. In fact very few are. Where I was once well paid to come up with words for advertising companies, now the receptionist and her boyfriend come up with a lame slogan, they begin calling themselves copy writers and for salary, between their menial tasks at the office they also they manage to come up with a banal slogan. Guys like me who truly had and have original fresh ideas, are out. No one will pay. Mediocrity rules. That's the divide no one speaks of. Art should be elitist, one should have to work at understanding it and creating at. The responsibility of art is not to entertain you, or keep you busy from an otherwise boring life.
20
I notice that many of the comments pooh-poohed the "creative/artistic" side of us all. I suspect it is because we tend to thing of "creative" or "artistic" as being a talent-based perspective. The quote about "every child is an artist...." is an apt one, because the real practice of "art" or "creativity" lies within the realm of childhood. It is something many of us seem to lose as we grow older and are faced with the challenges of the worlds we inhabit...and that is the sponge-like curiosity of a child that is not inhibited in any way by value judgments, fear of ridicule or failure, and the lack of a social environment that has boundaries.
Perhaps if we all would take a few moments each day (or week, or month) to let go of our adulthood and travel back to that magical place that assumes that there COULD be unicorns, we could save a lot of money and time on psychiatrists, self-help gurus and books...and instead revel in the "creativity" and "art" that is on a shelf in our memory of childhood.
Perhaps if we all would take a few moments each day (or week, or month) to let go of our adulthood and travel back to that magical place that assumes that there COULD be unicorns, we could save a lot of money and time on psychiatrists, self-help gurus and books...and instead revel in the "creativity" and "art" that is on a shelf in our memory of childhood.
6
Higher ed at elite schools now requiring courses in Creative Expression and the like, so this is only going to grow.
Creativity and self-expression are wonderful and open to all. Art, for better or for worse, is still a rare bird.
Creativity and self-expression are wonderful and open to all. Art, for better or for worse, is still a rare bird.
3
The snobby comments on here are incredible. Sure, painting some mugs, drawing and coloring, taking a beginning painting class - these are not fine art. So what? These things are often enjoyable and invigorating, especially since many jobs involve cognitive and social skills almost exclusively. Making things should be to fine art what home cooking is to being a professional chef: something a great many people take pleasure in without taking themselves too seriously.
That said, I think doing things from scratch is more interesting and satisfying than following a pre-made template, in art and in cooking. Coloring books are like slice-and-bake cookie dough!
That said, I think doing things from scratch is more interesting and satisfying than following a pre-made template, in art and in cooking. Coloring books are like slice-and-bake cookie dough!
17
Creativity, making something new out of raw materials, whether light, sound, words, paint or stone, can be a great escape from the omnipresent media and the passive consumption of packaged "entertainment." But I object to calling this sort of activity "art" and the people who indulge in it "artists." Genuine art is revelatory. It concludes an arduous journey of discovery and transformation. It's a full-time occupation (though, yes, Charles Ives and Wallace Stevens were also insurance executives). Great art, whatever the medium, is ultimately an act of profound, sometimes disturbing communication that illuminates something of the mystery of our shared internal and external universe. It is not a hobby.
15
Truly we are not all equal. Not everyone can produce art that lasts. Indeed few can and do, even most of those who graduate college with Art majors can produce lasting art. But to assume that only great artist have something to say is equally ludicrous.
Art therapist have long known that their clients have something to say and when they can articulate it through art their well being improves.
Many are talented in the use of computers but few, none other actually, attain the prominence of Bill Gates. So too in the arts, musicians, poets, authors, singers, comedians, weavers, postal clerks, BUT all have a voice and many attain a level of performance that is great to encounter and worthy of praise.
Those who would reserve the term artists to those whose name and works last a hundred years after their death can easily dismiss almost everyone who pursues one or more of the "arts." But for me, listening to those who struggle to produce does lead to discoveries of interest and fascination. And occasionally a purchase.
Art therapist have long known that their clients have something to say and when they can articulate it through art their well being improves.
Many are talented in the use of computers but few, none other actually, attain the prominence of Bill Gates. So too in the arts, musicians, poets, authors, singers, comedians, weavers, postal clerks, BUT all have a voice and many attain a level of performance that is great to encounter and worthy of praise.
Those who would reserve the term artists to those whose name and works last a hundred years after their death can easily dismiss almost everyone who pursues one or more of the "arts." But for me, listening to those who struggle to produce does lead to discoveries of interest and fascination. And occasionally a purchase.
8
I have always said that when it comes to art and literature everyone thinks they are an expert. No one would dare tell an engineer or scientist that what they do is not valuable, that they don't know what they are doing, or that their child or themselves could do the same thing.
Yes, I have witnessed the calming effects of drawing and coloring in classrooms with difficult disruptive students when asked to illustrate the subject taught.
However, I have a problem with those that engage in art as a hobby and believe they have the authority to judge the art of those who engage in creativity as a profession full time with many years of experience. They think they are on the same level.
This article, therefore, trivializes the importance of art for those who have dedicated all their lives to the practice by giving up conveniences others thought more important. Those that engage in arts and crafts in middle age or later certainly can enjoy the activity as something they do with their hands when they have nothing to do.
Art is not just about skill. Hence, the importance of Conceptual Art.
Yes, I have witnessed the calming effects of drawing and coloring in classrooms with difficult disruptive students when asked to illustrate the subject taught.
However, I have a problem with those that engage in art as a hobby and believe they have the authority to judge the art of those who engage in creativity as a profession full time with many years of experience. They think they are on the same level.
This article, therefore, trivializes the importance of art for those who have dedicated all their lives to the practice by giving up conveniences others thought more important. Those that engage in arts and crafts in middle age or later certainly can enjoy the activity as something they do with their hands when they have nothing to do.
Art is not just about skill. Hence, the importance of Conceptual Art.
35
Yes, there is always that danger when everyone is encouraged to engage in aesthetic creation. True Western Art has long required a touch of the Classical and a dash of the Diaspora; that is to say, narcissism and chutzpah. (Mommy and Daddy's bankroll doesn't hurt either.) If everyone practiced art, whole legions of the lower echelons of Artistry would likely be decimated, even wiped out entirely. For who, if everyone practiced Art, could then tell the objective difference between the products of many a happy amateur hobbyist and those of most angst-ridden, long-suffering professionals?
Maybe some hobbyists are foolish enough to hold themselves equal to professionals, but I don't think that's usually the case. My observation is that when people genuinely engage in amateur art making, they become more -- not less -- appreciative of what the masters do. There was a time before the 20th century when amateur societies for music and art making thrived -- essentially people who played music, sang, and made pictures as hobbies. This in no way seemed to devalue what professionals did. It likely nurtured a knowledgeable, appreciative audience who then actively supported the arts.
Though I'm skeptical that posting pictures of one's dog is really "creative" as one of people in the article does -- she enjoys her dog and she enjoys sharing her enjoyment of her dog with photos: good for her, but there's no need to rationalize it or puff it up with the "creative" label. It would be great if the trend that the author writes about really does encourage a new flowering of amateur artists. But I do think we're going overboard on calling every thing "creative." Some of this stuff just seems like ways to remember doing something fun because your day job has made life a drudge. And that's okay, too -- fun is under rated and should warrant its own movement without the puffery of the "creative" label.
Though I'm skeptical that posting pictures of one's dog is really "creative" as one of people in the article does -- she enjoys her dog and she enjoys sharing her enjoyment of her dog with photos: good for her, but there's no need to rationalize it or puff it up with the "creative" label. It would be great if the trend that the author writes about really does encourage a new flowering of amateur artists. But I do think we're going overboard on calling every thing "creative." Some of this stuff just seems like ways to remember doing something fun because your day job has made life a drudge. And that's okay, too -- fun is under rated and should warrant its own movement without the puffery of the "creative" label.
3
The concept of the artist as the exceptional channeller of abstract beauty is capitalist (bourgeois) ideology, whose highest stage of development is what we call nowadays as "conceptual art".
Concretely, we are actually talking about two different things:
1) the biologic, genetic potential that every human being has to appreciate beauty on things. We do not need art to do this: one can see beauty in nature as it is; in the sing of birds, in the sunset, in the mountains, in another human being etc. On the other side of the coin, the natural impulse human beings have to, given the adequate material conditions, try to imitate or replicate such beauty through their work - which is the material base of art in the broader sense of the word (i.e., in the medieval sense of the word "ars").
2) Art itself, as a historically specific part of a historically specific kind of society. There's no "universal" kind of art: when we talk about art, we are always talking about production; when we talk about production, we talk about a specific society; when we talk about society, we talk about a specific process of social metabolic reproduction (in our contemporary case, the process of reproduction of capital). So the argument that in a given society not everybody can be an artist is as true as saying that not everybody can be a rocket scientist - it's evidently true, but not for individual genetic reasons, as some commenters here are stating, but for social reasons.
Concretely, we are actually talking about two different things:
1) the biologic, genetic potential that every human being has to appreciate beauty on things. We do not need art to do this: one can see beauty in nature as it is; in the sing of birds, in the sunset, in the mountains, in another human being etc. On the other side of the coin, the natural impulse human beings have to, given the adequate material conditions, try to imitate or replicate such beauty through their work - which is the material base of art in the broader sense of the word (i.e., in the medieval sense of the word "ars").
2) Art itself, as a historically specific part of a historically specific kind of society. There's no "universal" kind of art: when we talk about art, we are always talking about production; when we talk about production, we talk about a specific society; when we talk about society, we talk about a specific process of social metabolic reproduction (in our contemporary case, the process of reproduction of capital). So the argument that in a given society not everybody can be an artist is as true as saying that not everybody can be a rocket scientist - it's evidently true, but not for individual genetic reasons, as some commenters here are stating, but for social reasons.
11
Thanks. This is a wonderful comment. I agree totally.
Ps: I am a professor of studio art . . .
Ps: I am a professor of studio art . . .
1
I'd like to be an artist, I really would, but the most I can manage is crafts, like knitting, that can be just as relaxing as coloring and results in beautiful garments that last. My standards for art are such that I wouldn't want a mug I'd painted.
As for real artists, I do believe that you have true gifts the rest of us lack and that can only be honed, and not acquired through training. Would that I and most others of my class could afford your art.
As for real artists, I do believe that you have true gifts the rest of us lack and that can only be honed, and not acquired through training. Would that I and most others of my class could afford your art.
15
Artists or plagiarists?
18
A NAKED APE WITH A SELFIE? The eponymous book by Desmond Morris, discussed the unique characteristics of humans, disputations about the validity of the Theory of Evolution notwithstanding. Who would have imagined that a person with a smart phone could herald a wave of human creativity that started back in the height of the Sixties? What, with the decriminalization of pot, open acknowledgement of sexuality and ongoing popularity of rock and roll, we've got all the elements of a great party! You remember, Sex, Pot and Rock and Roll. Now it seems so quaint, even charming, while at the time it was viewed with great animosity by the more staid, self-proclaimed responsible members of society. To me the Life Well Lived is Art. That begs the question, though of whether all Art is Life? I think the Dadaists would say that art need not reflect a life well lived, but rather the absurdities inherent in it. To answer that one we'd have to get a true understanding of Marcel Duchamp's trouvaille, Fountain, morphed from a transmogrified urinal. Are the complex nests of the bower birds art? Or the plumes of the peacock? Or J. Alfred Prufrock's measuring out of days with coffee spoons, or lives of quiet desperation? Maybe Macbeth's meaning of life--the tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing? Tell me your art and I'll tell you your life. Or rather the great masterpieces of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven? Or the paintings of the Sistine Chapel? Errose Celavie.
8
ah yes, the artists who promote a rebranding of a frozen food line, use coloring books because paint by number is too hard, and who post it, like it, making it art. Save us.
58
As a creator and facilitator of the coloring process for over 20 years and facilitating the process sin high needs and marginalised settings, I respectfully disagree.
I wrote a blog article "There is a coloring revolution and there are very good reasons why:
http://www.carolomer.com/blog/?post_id=14&title=there-is-a-coloring-...
I wrote a blog article "There is a coloring revolution and there are very good reasons why:
http://www.carolomer.com/blog/?post_id=14&title=there-is-a-coloring-...
The semi-idle semi-rich are bored. Now that Art is dead, why not play with bits of its clothing? 'There must be some way outta here....?' Nope.
This should include programming.
7
Legal licenses lapsed. I am a photographer. I see the light.
5
Interesting article. I just wish you would leave out all those GIFs which are very distracting and annoying when you are trying to read. That's not creative.
59
Good grief.
53
I was going to post "oh my God", but you seem to have taken care of it.
“Art – the one achievement of man which has made the long trip up from all fours seem well advised.” ― James Thurber
32
Call me a grumpy elitist, but I am annoyed to find such a chirpy, blathering article about "unlocking one's creativity" by making art. While it's all well and good for people to have serious hobbies, everyone cannot be turned into an artist. To be blunt, some people have more visual acuity, or conceptual aptitude in spatial manipulation, or sensitivity to shape and color, or imagination in constructing images, or just plain raw talent, than others, and nothing we do can change this.
The idea that "everyone is an artist" comes out of the philosophy of John Dewey, which emphasized individual experience over knowledge. Later on, it got an enormous push from the ironic art and musings of Andy Warhol. But the idea on its own manifests a profound ignorance of and contempt for what real artists, in every age, do. While hobbies make for great side activities, believing the mantra about the power of “unlocking one's inner creativity" invariably leads to self-delusion, and makes the many people who are not artists convince themselves that what they do in their art is more or less the same thing as what, say, Raphael or Cézanne did in theirs. This, in turn, makes what Raphael or Cézanne accomplished seem small.
An American faith in the idea of equality informs all this "unlocking your inner creativity." Europeans, living daily lives in the midst of great art, don't buy into it.
The idea that "everyone is an artist" comes out of the philosophy of John Dewey, which emphasized individual experience over knowledge. Later on, it got an enormous push from the ironic art and musings of Andy Warhol. But the idea on its own manifests a profound ignorance of and contempt for what real artists, in every age, do. While hobbies make for great side activities, believing the mantra about the power of “unlocking one's inner creativity" invariably leads to self-delusion, and makes the many people who are not artists convince themselves that what they do in their art is more or less the same thing as what, say, Raphael or Cézanne did in theirs. This, in turn, makes what Raphael or Cézanne accomplished seem small.
An American faith in the idea of equality informs all this "unlocking your inner creativity." Europeans, living daily lives in the midst of great art, don't buy into it.
174
I agree, I think self delusion is annoying and a weekend artist shouldn't be confused with a great artist. But there are so many other forms of creative self-expression besides fine painting that to believe "not everyone can be creative" I think misses the point of what it means to be human.
3
On the other hand, consider how many Europeans view and manage their diets and wardrobes - they invest a great deal of creative energy in how they eat and how they look.
2
When I watch people playing sports for entertainment and exercise, as well as a sense of community, I don't hear any of them claiming to be professional athletes. When I see people traveling to new cities or camping, I don't hear any of them insisting they are travelers and not simply tourists. When people take cooking classes, social dance classes, or classes in wood working I don't hear them claiming to be great chefs, modern dancers, or sculptors. Most people try new things for the sake of curiosity, and self-fulfillment. I've been an actor, director, poet, photographer, musician, and teacher. I've had some external success with each venture, and I've also known my limitations. Should I never do these things because I'll never be famous? Who are you not to call me an artist? If a little kid draws a photo of "mommy" and puts it on the refrigerator, and she loves it, it's an artistic success. It communicated to its intended audience. Perhaps someone will indeed become the next Raphael or Cezanne. We all know, the chances are thin, but so what? I don't see anything wrong with people trying creative artistic activities. And, if I may be bold, I don't find anything wrong with their self-esteem being boosted by the whole experience. We all need some dreams. So, lighten up. I'd rather have people doodling and hoping for the best than channel surfing and talking to their television sets.
4
“Every child is born an artist, the problem is how to remain one when they grow up” Pablo Picasso
I am an accredited Life Coach and artist in Adelaide, South Australia and have been creating colouring pages for women living in
domestic violence shelters, homeless refuges and prisons for over 20 years.
I am not at all surprised that the best kept secret in health and well being is now reaching a global audience!
Until you have seen a group of highly agitated and traumatised women sit in the colouring circle in a shelter and relax and breathe for the first time in a long time, you will not have witnessed the extraordinarily simple but powerful impact of what I refer to as a "medARTation".
For those who may be skeptical you might like to cast your mind back to when we were young and how engaging and all consuming it was when we were immersed in our colouring books.
I created a life coaching colouring book at the request of a group of senior public service women who encouraged me to make the training tools I had been using in colouring sheet form available to a much wider audience and in June The Big Girls Little Colouring Book was released in the U.S
The early feedback is the same as always "it is so relaxing" "I was able to process an issue that had been troubling me whist i was colouring down by the beach" "My friends and I are meeting weekly for a colouring circle, it's great to catch up regularly, we share food and fresh coffee together. "
I am an accredited Life Coach and artist in Adelaide, South Australia and have been creating colouring pages for women living in
domestic violence shelters, homeless refuges and prisons for over 20 years.
I am not at all surprised that the best kept secret in health and well being is now reaching a global audience!
Until you have seen a group of highly agitated and traumatised women sit in the colouring circle in a shelter and relax and breathe for the first time in a long time, you will not have witnessed the extraordinarily simple but powerful impact of what I refer to as a "medARTation".
For those who may be skeptical you might like to cast your mind back to when we were young and how engaging and all consuming it was when we were immersed in our colouring books.
I created a life coaching colouring book at the request of a group of senior public service women who encouraged me to make the training tools I had been using in colouring sheet form available to a much wider audience and in June The Big Girls Little Colouring Book was released in the U.S
The early feedback is the same as always "it is so relaxing" "I was able to process an issue that had been troubling me whist i was colouring down by the beach" "My friends and I are meeting weekly for a colouring circle, it's great to catch up regularly, we share food and fresh coffee together. "
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So much easier than a book club where one has to actually read a book
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Everyone is creative, but few have something to say and those few are artists.
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That's backwards. The fact is that everyone has something to say, but only a few of us are creative about it, in either ability or intent.
yes. thank you.
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Very good comment! I like to say about writers: We have so many who want writing careers, too few willing to teach themselves how to NEED to say something.
Gaining a satisfactory career often fills up the emptiness required to need.
Gaining a satisfactory career often fills up the emptiness required to need.
Technology has certainly made it much easier for people to express the creative part of themselves. This is particularly true of photography (everyone has a camera in their pocket). Yet that creativity is, in some ways, lacking in a certain authenticity. Much of the creativity that technology that technology comes untethered from the type of hard work, dedication and discipline that makes many creative outlets so satisfying. While an app on your iPhone may allow you to play a mini piano, it's unlikely that the technology-enabled dabbler will ever know the satisfaction of mastering a Chopin piece. How satisfying is the art you make going to be if you never overcome personal obstacles of learning how to mix paints, learn brush strokes, etc. I don't deny that expressing ourselves is a wonderful enterprise, but it rings a little hollow without that 10,000 hours of practice needed to truly attain real competence. It's as if we want the appearance of being creative without all the hard work that comes with it.
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It's called "instant gratification," a childish demand that nothing requires effort. It all springs spontaneously from the thin air. What sybaritic nonsense those poison us with when they ignore the real, very hard work that creativity demands.
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Much less compose anything as significant as a Chopin piece.
Agree! Creativity is about the practice, improving your craft. Technology like photo apps makes creativity about the RESULT, the "product." It's fun, but not the same thing as creativity.
Endowed with imagination each one of us is an artist in a way yet the way market has come to play custodian to the marketable art forms seems to have reduced creativity to a trivial pursuit in the name of self-expression and art.
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Conclusion: money is art, and art is money. Andy Warhol said art was 'business' which was probably correct fifty years ago. But now that funny money abounds, the correctly positioned don't even need the work part of business. Just buy a coloring book....