This
piece was inspired by a profoundly uninspired photograph I saw at Banbury
Station, of a boat on a pebbly beach (not the one shown - I wanted to somewhat protect the original photographer). It
was, like so many pretensions, in black & white, and the tone was
moody, and very darkly processed even though it was a daylight shot. Probably some attempt to suggest layer of
meaning not actually present in the picture.
But I had seen this all before,
many many times. It was a
technically perfect image, but not at all creative. And yet it was on the wall.
Photography is an art form split in a similar way to film making and I explain
how it works in a previous rant here.
So - how
do you become creative?
Well - in my experience, there are three types of creative person.
1. The real deal.
This
person is going to do it whether you pay her or not. The only pain greater than her having to make
art is the pain of NOT making art. And by art I mean anything from pottery to
marketing. You should seek these people out. They will expand your mind and
make you better.
2. The Faker
This guy
THINKS he is a creative. He consumes the media and art he thinks creative
people consume (he's basically a cover band) and almost never takes risks,
though he'd fight this point to the death. They are the dad dancers at the
school disco of life.
3. The Realist
This is a
person who has a degree of self awareness and is pretty sure theres no
creativity in them. They are wary of creatives although they know they will
need to trust one at some point in their lives.
Problem is they are unable to tell the difference between 1 & 2.
I can
help 1 & 3. If a no.2 asks me for
help - they just became a 1 or a 3. So there.
How can
they become creative? Another list of three things. We love threes...
1. Know thyself. Developing self awareness
helps you understand what moves you, and will broaden your outlook. The ability
to step back deeply enhances your experiences with art, and encourages lateral
thought over literal thought ("Why are we here?" vs "Why are
there no bagels left?").
2. Know the other stuff. Other than you.
Your life. Your level. Your world. At least once a month do something that
"isn't really you". I was
recently on a con call with some people, one of whom admitted to being
"not really into comedy". I pressed asking - you don't like to laugh? She said she did of course, at which I
suggested a diverse list of OTHER comedians she might like. It made me sad that
she had bailed at the first live gig she'd ever been to.
3. Ask why. By asking why (about the good and the bad
stuff), we develop our critical thinking faculties. These teach us to
appreciate the art much more, which is important if we are trying to buy creative services
(or...er...Art, for hat matter). My
basic understanding of music means I can really appreciate a really wide canon
of musical genres, and also chuck out the crap more quickly to make way for the
good stuff.
4. Remember you're a Womble. I know -
there were supposed to be only three things. See what I did there? I thought of something else AND I BROKE THE
RULE previously self imposed. Someone once said: "Rules are for the protection
of the stupid, and the guidance of
wise". Or it might have been me, just now.
The Womble thing? Wombles are scavengers - they gather ideas and stuff
from everywhere,and they recycle (Yes - it's OK. Just don't claim credit).
Do we
really need another "Boat on a Pebbly Beach" Picture?
There's
so much new stuff out there, why would you want to go with the same old safe
stuff? Stop buying your art from IKEA.
White rice goes with everything, but who wants to live on that? You have a duty as a communicator to connect
with whatever it is your audience is doing and seeing, but not be constrained
by it. They will love you for the passion and intimacy that a great idea
engenders. And once you've done it a few times, you'll be hooked, and it gets a
lot less scary.
For
practical way this can solve your problems at work, email me here.
No comments:
Post a Comment