Can anyone be creative?
Is creativity a trait of one’s character or is it something improvable that anyone can achieve?
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I went to art school in uni and I had different teachers who taught very differently from each other. In my opinion, that is very good because it shows the students that the world is more than the bubble you live in. It’s important to connect and listen to people who think differently of the world (obviously excluding people whose opinions violates the freedom of others) so you can grow yourself as a person. Having said this, I want you to know that I will discuss two perspectives of the same matter and I’m not implying one is better than the other, just because I have an opinion on this.
My journey on art university was very similar to anyone else’s in my class. I was enchanted by all the possibilities at the beginning, by all the freedom. Then, I realised my freedom was just an illusion and I had no choice whatsoever. After that, came the denial phase. I was praising the academic way of life and its pressure while doing something that supposedly comes from my passion and my heart. I pressured myself and beat myself up for not being good enough, believing some teachers words. Then, slowly I became numb, until I realised I couldn’t give two fucks anymore and rejecting academic way of life (in the art section) was the way to go. After that, everything was okay and I started liking my own art. The school was a bit pretentious, I will say that. There was an invisible pressure and judgement if you weren’t the film bro or the photography bro. You had to be good, you had to prove you were someone worth remembering in the next century. Good like Stanley Kubrick and good like Vivian Maier, but I digress. I couldn’t give a fuck and I made a videogame in a degree full of cocksucking film bros and elitists. Mind you, this was not a film degree. It was an audiovisual degree that was just film oriented due to the professors. Everyone was totally free of doing any project as long as it involved sound or image in any way. You had performance artists, installations, animation movies, movies, photography, music albums and because of my project, videogames. That’s the beauty of it! All made by students. And if this much diversity in one class doesn’t prove enough of a point, I don’t know what does. It was full of beautiful artists. Some people would disagree with me on this, but I’m including the ones who made comedic pieces and non serious experiments. Not everything you do has to be a mind blowing, heartfelt mute film captured in 4:3 talking about a subject you don’t even know enough about. I’m getting carried away.
Anyway, I had a professor who believed that creativity was an innate quality. Not everyone had it and not everyone was good enough or interesting enough to make a living or being appreciated. He made people believe they were in the wrong course, that they were not creative at all and not interesting and they would be better in a technical brain dead degree. I don’t really know if he 100% believed in this because I started ignoring him at some point. But I know he definitely believed that people who weren’t already creative enough weren’t worth the time and the hassle. Only the ones with enough “background”, as he often said, were good enough to stand out. Meaning, if you already came from a privileged background, you’re good to go. If you didn’t, then don’t even bother.
A year later, another professor told us in the beginning of the semester that we couldn’t wait until some brilliant idea crashed into our heads. We needed to feed our brains most days with things that inspire us. We needed to be a bit creative everyday even if we didn’t feel like it, just like going to the gym. We needed to be consistent to see results. Being creative is not a magic trick that only some can master, it’s a skill that everyone can improve. Some quicker, some slower. That’s what she believed in. And honestly, with that mindset, it was the best semester of my life. I started making book binding, I sewed as a form of entertainment and not only a skill to fix some clothes, I made an entire videogame and I started drawing more. It’s no secret that I completely agree with her.
Creativity is a major characteristic that defines us as human. I believe anyone can do creative things, big or small. I also agree that your background plays a pivotal role in all this because, after all you are your experiences as a child. And so, there are obviously people who feel more comfortable being creative than others. But that does not mean they are better or better artists. There is no bad art or good art. There is no high culture and there is no low culture. There’s just culture. There’s just art. It’s all subjective. I don’t think being creative is being a genius and doing absolute masterpieces every time you think of making a project.
What would you do if someone said you’re not creative enough or at all? Would you believe them?
Cheers
mai
"Only those with enough 'history,' as he used to say, were good enough to stand out." What a way to completely destroy the diversity and fun of art...
It's really sad how creativity is treated as a gift for a social class.
I attend a more popular graphic design university, nothing pretentious about it. Most people simply work all day, have bills to pay, and just want their diploma to move on with their lives. No way to nurture creativity is given to the students. Most classes are blocks of slides with very basic notions of design, without references and without reflection.
I only had one professor who tried very hard to bring out a more artistic vision in the students, and several times he was treated as "the weird guy."
Meanwhile, one of my best friends attended the best university in the country. So, so expensive, that he will probably be in debt for the rest of his life. But, even so, it was great for him. He made documentaries, met artists, atend really good college lectures with brilliant people. While my university is full of online classes to cut costs.
There, it became clear to me that art is about class. Nothing new under the sun. To nurture creativity, you need a full stomach. Some people simply can't stay in unpaid internships for the "experience," and unfortunately, working at McDonald's six times a week doesn't help with inspiration (even if it can be a source of strength to nurture great short stories, but that's not encouraged either).
What your other teacher said is true. Creativity requires effort. It requires access and time. And many people may not have that, but they have rich experiences, and they would probably create incredible things if they could have the space. In fact, many are already doing it.
It's frustrating to see popular and street art thrown in the trash when people in the power do everything to prevent access to any type of "renowned" reference to begin with. It's like giving a child modeling clay, watch they make a beautiful sculpture, and then throw it in the trash because it's not made of marble. Nobody gave them marble in the first place!
this is such an interesting and also beautifully written post! I agree with the point that everyone is creative in some way but obviously if you practice creativity in your everyday life, you’re going to have more of a creative brain than someone with an average job because we’ve learnt how to train our brains to be more engaged and creative with the things we produce or observe. I think everyone has a little bit of creativity in them, particularly as kids but it’s definitely a skill. I love this piece SO MUCH🫶🫶❤️🩹