Sorry for the post title modeled after “Friends” episode titles. I just couldn’t help it.
My Aesthetics of Faith class has definitely been very interesting and insightful. This particular course seems to be trying to answer the question as to why we create art. This is not the same as exploring religion and faith in art, as I’m sure many thought it would entail. Anyone who thought that surely must not have thought about the fact that art history survey courses cover that subject very extensively.
The current unit is on objects of power and how we create them in order to strengthen or affirm our personal beliefs. Part of the student work for this unit was, to say the least, one of my more unusual assignments. We had to, first thing every morning, write for 15 minutes our thoughts on creative, creativity, and creation. We had to this before doing anything else, although we were given permission to have a cup of coffee if necessary. We had to do this for two solid weeks for a total of 14 entries. This exercise proved to be interesting. Now, I am going to share my journal entries with you. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on Creative, Creativity, and Creation (all 14 entries)
28 Sep 2012
Well, we were told to write first thing after getting up, so here I am, writing. I’m still trying to burn through the fog of sleep, so I can’t promise anything in terms of quality. We are supposed to ponder the terms “creative,” “creativity,” and “creation.” I’m guessing he wants us to do this writing first thing each morning (before coffee, before email, before Facebook, before televsion, etc) so that our minds are uncorrupted by other influences. That makes complete sense; although now I’m going to have to slightly adjust must my schedule in order to give myself time to complete this assignment. I’m interested in seeing where this goes. As for the terms themselves (the point of this assignment), I will admit that I am not thinking about them at all at this point any further than the fact that they are the point of the exercise. Although, this entry is a creation… how about that for getting started already? At this point I need some serious help cutting through the fog of sleep, so I will cut this first entry short. I wonder if I will post this to my blog.
29 Sep 2012
It’s the second day of this experiment and I find myself once again cutting through the fog of sleep. I still haven’t looked up the definition of the words we are supposed to be pondering. Perhaps I can start with giving my take on their definitions. Creation is simply the acting of creating something… i.e. making a tangible thing from the concept. This essay is a creation – the concept for its content was in my head and now it’s on paper. Creative, to me, is the formation of the genesis of a new concept. The concept of this assignment was creative on the part of the professor, while the concept of this particular entry was creative on the part of myself. Creativity, to me, is the degree of originality possessed by a concept or its creation. In the previous unit we all had to give a presentation on how an artist used space, however, one person approached it differently and talked about a particular installation used space. Although he did not follow the directions (and honestly I don’t think he really answered the questions posed by the assignment), his approach to it was very original, thereby having a high degree of creativity.
At this point I’m pondered how I’m going to create the pile of wood that was planned for today (I was going to start trimming a tree today). It’s raining and I guess I’m going to have to wait. Hopefully later today I will get a chance to start that task. At this point, I will close this entry and, hopefully, cut through the fog of sleep a little more.
30 Sep 2012
I do so desperately want to go back to bed. It’s Sunday morning and I was up late last night working on some photos from the UH football game yesterday and the fog of sleep is pretty thick right now. Creation happened last night – I created a set of photographs that helped tell the narrative of the UH win over Rice yesterday. As far as creativity, well, people have been doing this for years. I suppose you could say that my narrative is unique from some of the others that were there doing the same thing. Creative? Forget about it. Unless I was trying to weave a tale of corruption and such, there was not much really creative about it.
It’s just as well I haven’t looked up the dictionary definitions of the three words at this point.
My wife is creating a pot of coffee right now. I don’t even drink the stuff and I find myself wanting some. Well, I’m stopping this entry now. One of my dogs wants to come back into the house.
1 October
I’ve been racking my brain to come up with thoughts, but this is the best I can do right now. I need to be able to refer back to these definitions in order to give myself an unhindered basis.
Creative –
1. having the quality or power of creating.
2. resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative: creative writing.
3. originative; productive (usually followed by of ).
4. Facetious . using or creating exaggerated or skewed data, information, etc.: creative bookkeeping.
Creativity –
1. the state or quality of being creative.
2. the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
3. the process by which one utilizes creative ability: Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.
Creation –
1. the act of producing or causing to exist; the act of creating; engendering.
2. the fact of being created.
3. something that is or has been created.
4. the Creation, the original bringing into existence of the universe by God.
5. the world; universe.
2 Oct 12
It turns out I wasn’t too far off in my assessments of the words. There exist, however, some nuances to the definitions that change them around. It’s hard to think right now, especially since I overslept and now have other things on my mind. This is it for today’s entry as I have other things to do.
3 Oct 12
I’m running late. I’m just entering this now in order to let you know that I’m not skipping the assignment. Let’s hope I can make it into class on time.
4 October 2012
So yesterday I saw a sculpture project on the grounds at the Fine Arts building. This particular project was a broken mirror lying on the dirt between the concrete sidewalk and the building itself. The pieces looked as if they were carefully cut, with each cut considered. I wondered from where the idea to do this came and how this related to creation. Concept aside, this is a demonstration that creation does not happen in a vacuum. In the larger physical universe there is a finite amount of material, and that creation of one thing requires the “destruction” of another. While creativity doesn’t involve destruction, it also cannot happen in a vacuum. This is where things start to get a little deep for the fog of sleep, and admittedly, I didn’t spend much time developing these thoughts yesterday. This is definitely something to think about and perhaps discuss in tomorrow’s entry. As for now I have things to do.
5 October
First off, it’s Friday. It feels good to not have to worry about rushing this morning, but I still have to do this. I’ve been thinking a lot about destruction and creation and how you can’t have one without the other. I’m having trouble breaking through the fact that it’s a back and forth thing… it’s almost as if I’m on the verge of a truth but can’t quite get there. I guess what I’m saying is at this point I don’t have anything new to add other than to reiterate what I’ve already said. I’ve been treating creativity and creative as components of creation thus far. I wonder if I’m missing something there as well. Let’s see how the day goes before I move along.
6 October 12
Saturday… college football is what I have on my mind today. I love football. I wish I could have played in high school. I got to play a little when I was in the Air Force (intramural… I played offensive line, even though I was short). The coaching was a good example of creativity. It was up to the coach to help us find ways to exploit the other team’s weaknesses within the confines of the game rules. Of course, the standard run, run, pass, punt if necessary, wasn’t going to win many games. It was up to the coach to devise formations and plays to help in the execution of the game. It was the product of his creative mind (the plays he created) that helped us create more opportunities to win the game. This is an example of how creativity can spawn creation. This also demonstrates how creativity can have a cascade on future events. Creativity also drives history. I realize these aren’t very deep thoughts, but it’s the best I can come up with right now. Time to move on to other things today.
7 Oct
Fuck! I just woke up from a dream that has me shaking a little bit. I dreamt that something had happened that set into motion a slow un-creation of our physical universe. Slowly, atom-by-atom, the universe was just disappearing, as in their existence was being erased. I was with my wife when the process reached us. My wife had her hand over mine as we watched the jar I was holding slowly disappear. I just remember saying I hope it doesn’t hurt. I woke up when the jar completely disappeared. I cannot write anymore today. I need to come down from this dream.
8 October 2012
I used to have contact with a record label called Creator/Destructor Records. I had always considered the dichotomy as a play on good vs evil and how one side built while the other side sought to destroy. Looking back at the past week and a half of thinking about this, my view on that is changing. When we think of creativity, there is a little bit of destruction involved in that process. One has to devise how they are going to destroy the original material in the process of re-purposing the same for their work. When we think of the visual arts, we can see this most readily in sculpture. Even in painting and drawing the materials used are transformed from one state to another, never to be reverted. This is the essence of destruction, really – the permanent change (often for worse) of something. It makes me wonder if people realize that this even happens in the digital realm. The destruction does occur, although it is more widespread yet very much more subtle than in the physical realms of creativity and creation. Well, it’s time to find a way to wake up a little more. See you tomorrow.
9 October
I really haven’t though about anything concerning creativity, creative, and creation in the past 24 hours. All I really want to do at this point is go back to bed.
10 Oct
Yesterday I said there was a bit of destruction involved in creation. I just adjust that and say that creation and destruction are constant. I believe I said the other day that creativity does not happen in a vacuum (as it is influence by our own experience). Creation also does not happen in a vacuum. Let’s look at the ultimate scientific theory of creation, ie the Big Bang. All matter in the universe was at once contained in and eventually sprung forth from a singularity. I wonder if it’s also the same for the void (for is not the void something as well?), but I’ll leave that to the scientists. The point is, that singularity, whatever its components, was destroyed in the process of creating our physical universe. Admittedly, I don’t know the prevailing theory of Intelligent Design, although I would venture to guess that it’s the story of Adam and Eve as found in the Bible. From there we were created from a vacuum. As for me, personally, I’m not sure what to believe. Evolution seems real enough, but I think we have had some help along the way.
11 October
So we have reached the end of the assignment. I honestly didn’t think I could keep this up. I’m a little proud of myself for what I did accomplish. As far as where I’ve gotten in my understanding of the three words, I feel that I understand them better, but still haven’t progressed. I realize that it makes no sense. I don’t know. The fog of sleep is still pretty heavy this morning, and I do have a bit of a headache. Perhaps I should continue this exercise? That’s going to take a little bit more. Let’s see how the rest of the week shakes out before I do that.
<End of Journal>
The dream was not added for dramatic affect. The dream I had really did occur. I was pretty frightened by it. In fact, it has unconsciously influence my vision over the past week. Where this goes is anyone’s guess. I will talk more about this as time goes one. For now, however, I will leave you with a creation/destruction event that I was able to capture. This was a sculpture from one of the basic sculpture classes (they all put their projects in the courtyard for about 2 weeks after completion). The sculpture has been removed, but it still plays with my mind.
