At school creativity wasn’t really a thing. The art department seemed, as I remember it, to be split between an emphasis on accurate rendition or self-expression regardless of form. I had no interest in the mindlessness of copying by rote and even less interest in art as self-expression. It was just so messy and artless. Neither of these approaches suited me, and I was left with the notion that I wasn’t really creative. Therefore, I lost interest in art as a subject that I could involve myself with very early on. The only person to take any interest in my drawing skills was my physics teacher. After turning in one particularly bad bit of scribbling for an assignment he suggested that my drawing skills required more effort and attention. I think now that he was was trying to be helpful but the 11 year old me came across as, “you’re useless, so don’t bother.”
But I had creative urges, which writing and photography seemed to fulfill for a while but I just didn’t understand what I was doing and was thus suspicious not only of the quality of my efforts but also of the ideas that lay behind them. But for a few months now I have been thinking about creativity both in general and in my own personal context.
Just to be clear - I have no concrete assertions of any kind to make about the nature of creativity. All I can say is that it is an observable phenomena that clearly exists. The why, what, where, and how of what constitutes creativity as an experience, an event, or an object is what I am going to try and explore here on this platform. I am not interested in providing literal definitions nor am I interested in categorising creative work in an arbitrary way. So, what I want to write about are the things that really grab me. That I feel some sort of connection to. That speak to me of things beyond our normal understanding.
I am not interested in good taste or bad taste. Aesthetic concerns are not of much interest to me. Some things are beautiful and radiant either by arrangement or accident but most things aren’t. That is all I have to say about aesthetic issues.
I am interested in meaning of a kind that is both universal and particular at the same time. I think a good modern example is the music of John Frusciante. I wasn’t all that interested in the music of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I knew they were good but they just weren’t my thing. But one afternoon in the summer I found myself completely caught up by the intro of “Under the Bridge.” I had not listened to it properly before, and I was intrigued by a certain ethereal quality. Not so much the melody itself but the way it was played. So, I did a search on YouTube and I found John’s live version of The Ramones song, “Havana Affair.” A song that I really do love. His interpretation was so simple, so pure, and so absolutely right. Not in terms of being correct but in John’s ability to capture the essence of the song. It was like it was coming through him rather than from him. I was amazed.
I then found this utterly amazing interview on creativity and inspiration that summed up so much about all the loose thoughts that I had about those very ideas. It is well worth a listen. It is very special.
Anyway, as a direct result of the interview, and after many, many years of keeping myself to myself, I decided to go public with my writing, my thoughts, and my observations. Maybe there is the odd one or two of you out there who understand what I am trying to do and could perhaps share your own understanding of something so universal yet so particular.