The nature of creativity in the modern world
We hear so much about the importance of creativity. In our huckster world it is difficult not to read or hear about the need to develop the creative spirit in each of us. There is something about the way this message is delivered that smells.
First, how is creativity being defined? By definition the verb create is defined as to bring into existence: make out of nothing and for the first time. If you take this definition to heart, when you create, be it an object or an idea, you are going to be challenging the existing order in some way. The act of true creation has the potential to change the existing order of things and that can be very uncomfortable for some people and institutions.
Part of the resistance to creative ideas is natural and built into the evolutionary process. Survival of the species is still at play and the very forces within evolution look with a wary eye on anything new lest it threatens the existing order. How then do we know where what is instinctively natural ends and the need to embrace the new begins? And who in the creative process is the prophet and not the demigod?
Truth is we don’t know. In our American culture where being creative has sales value, everyone with something to sell ties it to the marketing strategy of their product or idea. This not only limits what is creative, but reduces creativity to an artifact that we can obtain by buying a product or service. What is alarming is this process is accepted by many as being creative.
To begin with the creative act does not begin by the adaptation of an old form. The creative person knows the old form is dead even though no one else has reached that conclusion. To the creative person the compulsion to discover the new is what drives the creative process. Creation requires vision, courage and the passion to see a difficult process through. You may be the only believer, but that is enough.
Creation at this level belongs to very few. Most ideas or projects we label as creative are excellent examples of good craft - well done, enjoyed by most, necessary, and occasionally enlightening, but truly creative, not in any way. We can all have great respect and admiration for acts of great craft, but let’s know the difference between them and true creativity.
Since this limits the creative experience, where does this leave most of us? I hope willing to work at being creative. But, enter the arena with eyes open and knowing the risk. Which brings us back to Carl Sandburg and the opening line: “One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude.”
Brother Giovanni
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