Of all the endeavors that come from the human experience, there’s one that perplexes me probably the most. It’s the most essential thing we undertake; whether in creating, observing, or partaking in it. It is, at once, both the most powerful thing we do, and also the most absurd activity we endure and force upon others. We’ll pay for it, decry it, ban it, mock it, and wish we had more of it.
Creativity. Or maybe it’s just being creative? An artist?
However we look at it or express it, the mystery of creativity is an odd and deep subject. Why do we pretend? Why do we celebrate the pretend of others? Why does a musician orchestrate, in prose, feelings, woes, and jubilations? Why do we all start life doodling and storytelling and singing? Where does creativity come from; what combination of factors – both in the brain, and in the environment – trigger creative expression? And, the biggest question of all; why are most of the creative and artistic folks in the world – those mostly at the forefront of the arts – rather unhinged to some degree?
Being an unhinged creative person, myself, I can spend hours sitting in place considering these questions. Sometimes what I come up with can sound quite dismal to the poor pedestrian who wonders into my thought stream. Other times it can sound almost mystical, spiritual even. I guess it depends on what time of the day you catch me at, and how good my last sandwich was.
At its core, physiologically, it’s not hard to see how it comes about, I’d suppose. It’s taken eight million years for the human race to emerge from its primate ancestry into the powerhouse we are, today. Artistic expression, however, is relatively new by comparison; a mere two hundred thousand years by some experts estimates. And, then, it seems that it arose out of a need to express the mysteries that man saw in his world, around him. (No, we won’t squabble over exact definition of “man”, here. Just go with it.) So even though we haven’t been doing it long, we pretty much started out as using it as a tool of expression.
But why? I mean, we can see the physiological roots of it; enlarging brains, new specialized cognitive centers developing, becoming more complex; giving rise to new ways of thinking, social structures, and the creation of ritual and tool. But at what point did some cave man, somewhere, start banging rocks together thinking; “Ugh. Me like’em this noise. What now me do make formalized notation so cave man junior also make noise?”
Staying with our proverbial cave man, I happen to like Scott McCloud’s definition of art, the best...
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| Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, Paradox Press, 1993 |
Though, as an ironic observation, subjects of art can be, and have been, about reproduction and survival. So, there’s that, too.
As a storyteller and graphic novelist, myself, I have always been fascinated by the way we express our ideas and themes not outright, but by using parable, stories, poems, music, and other media to say with a level of creativity what could be otherwise be delivered bluntly and upfront. Moreover, despite the compelling forces in my head driving me to create and share, there’s been this inexplicable notion in the back of my brain that, somehow, for some reason, all this painting and writing, and singing, and stuff is just a little bit over dramatic. I mean, isn’t it?
No one recognizes this ironic absurdity of an “artist” (Which I’m not sure I even am.) questioning artistic expression like the way I do. Despite one whole half of my family being steeped in artistic talent there never was much of a notion in any of my predecessors that art could be a money making profession; let alone a reputable one. So they’ve gone about with real jobs and settled for art hobbies post retirement. (In those few times any of us have actually embraced the idea of actually retiring.) I will be the first one to actually switch gears and make a living directly from art. Or, an art like thing; I’m not sure the difference, here. And even then, my doubt in my own creations adds another level to the discussion of creative, artistic expression. What is art? What makes an artist; despite what form his, or her, art may take?
For me, I question the very nature of why I am compelled like I am to make up a world of stories, and then do everything I can to get you all to share in the tales I spin of that world. And since I do both produce and consume, it’s a double ended mystery for me. Why do I as much spin a world into existence as I will plunge into someone else’s make believe? What is trying to speak from inside of us, and why does it need to be this way? Does there even need to be a message? If we’re trying to say something, then to who? And why?
In at least as much the how, we know; mostly from interviews with contemporary artists, today, in
both the visual arts, as well as in music and film. They will often speak about utilizing motifs, imagery, and other themes to create moods and communicate specific feelings; to connect with the intended audience. So we know that, as a whole of a species, we share some commonality in creativity; whether it’s as its creator or its consumer. So whatever is going on, it’s going on at some level in all of us.
But then what about the other side of creativity? What about the darker side of the thing; all fits and malfunctions we, as the creative, seem more prone to than the average person? Why do we tend to be more melodramatic, more plagued by emotional instabilities, or haunted by other behavioral issues and mental defects? Why is it we are the ones who tend to act out more than others? Why do we feel compelled, above others, to really dish out a style of our own, to create ourselves as a brand? And why are so many who occupy the grand scale of art also walking train wrecks?
Of course, I’m speaking of the more outlandish among us, the more commercial and proactive. There are plenty of hobbiests, working illustrators and designers, and amateur performers who apply their skill and trade with little more consideration for their outward personality than a new tie, or a nice pair of shoes. So perhaps there’s something to the whole idea of creating a brand out of yourself…?
I imagine I’ll be wrestling with these questions until I can no longer hold pen to paper, and they have to pry my corpse from the art table. For me, all I can say is that I feel compelled to create what I do; for both the act of entertaining – because what more a noble cause than to bring a touch of adventure to the weary, right? – and to convey ideals and messages that can resonate and affect; both in how we conceptualize our world, and how we get along in it, and with others. And in the act of engaging in the act of being entertained, myself, I seek that out in others.
Because, after all, sharing is caring, right?
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