Check out the two short videos below. Watch
both of them.
USE the "Add a comment" feature at the bottom of this posting to write a response about either one or both. Tell us what the content has to do with who YOU are creatively OR about how YOU view the creative process. Feel free to upload something else that conveys your view of creativity.
This one is by the woman who wrote "Eat, Pray, Love." It talks about "genius" and creative inspiration: www.youtube.com/watch
USE the "Add a comment" feature at the bottom of this posting to write a response about either one or both. Tell us what the content has to do with who YOU are creatively OR about how YOU view the creative process. Feel free to upload something else that conveys your view of creativity.
This one is by the woman who wrote "Eat, Pray, Love." It talks about "genius" and creative inspiration: www.youtube.com/watch
This one is by Larry Lessig and is about how
creativity is being strangled by the law:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q25-S7jzgs&feature=PlayList&p=A9BCE1B83A6DFC96&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q25-S7jzgs&feature=PlayList&p=A9BCE1B83A6DFC96&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2
PLEASE put
your name on your post.
Due by midnight Friday this week - 1/11/13.
Due by midnight Friday this week - 1/11/13.
I watched the Larry Lessig speech and found it very informative and effective. I enjoyed his use of technology and internet material, he presented what he was speaking about visually and in real time. I view the world today very much like Larry. The world is at our fingertips, information and entertainment is one click way. Creativity today is not as easy it once was. With copy-write laws and hundreds of thousands of takes on one topic, it can be difficult to be original. For me, I see all the information and all the material as food for thought. Stuff to munch up in my brain and regurgitate as new and as mine. We live in an exciting time where we can make our own TV shows and music, we have the resources to create new material that is backed and formed from the world around us. It is up to us to make the most of our resources, information and brains. YAY!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed the presentation given by Elizabeth Gilbert. Never have I ever thought about creativity in a way that's bestowed upon us by a 'magical' entity. I agree that for those of us who are creative minds, although others may define us by our life's work, it should never discourage us from doing what we love to do most. It almost makes me wonder, if at all possible, if we should ignore any criticism/perspectives of outsiders. Would we be better off or happier that way? Perhaps some would. For me, creative projects are usually a step-by-step process that sparks from something that happened/occurred to me earlier in my life or a recent bit of inspiring interest. Can't say that I'm anything like Ruth Stone grabbing a poem by the tail as it's about to 'pass through her.' Ideas or inspirations don't tend to just come to me like that, where I can suddenly latch onto them. It usually requires more thought, intention, and purpose (most likely since I'm almost always creating things for an audience).
ReplyDeleteNicole Egan
I watched the Talk given by the author of "Eat, Pray, Love." I could really connect to a lot of what she had to say about the creative process, in the sense that I have definitely experienced "waves" of creativity that have hit me in obscure, inopportune moments that surprise me. And most times, I feel like there's too much for me to capture.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I didn't quite agree with her interpretation of creativity and its source. I felt like in some ways she kind of presented an argument that said that either creativity comes from you, OR it comes from a more mystic, grander place and simply passes through you. I didn't really like this idea, because I believe that creativity (at least I feel it is this way in my own creative process) is sort of a culmination of the two. In some ways, yes, you don't always know where an idea came from or why it came to you so suddenly at an often random time. I think this influence is often at a very subconscious level that is a combination of the songs you've heard, the books you've read, maybe even a particularly interesting color you've seen in the day. However, I think you internalize all of these outer stimuli and make them into something of your own and hence the same thing could never be produced by any other person (unlike in the example of the poem, where it was said that the poem if not caught may just move on to someone else).
What I think I related to the most was this sense of angst of when you have a great idea, and you know it's great, but you just have no means of articulation. That tip of the tongue feeling, except maybe not having to do with words. For instance, I have composed songs and choreographed ballets in my dreams, and even when I wake up I can remember having had those thoughts and maybe can still hear the melodies and see the dance in my head but because I'm not trained I have no means to document or express these ideas. To me this is really what it's like to have a wave of creativity come, but to feel as though you've missed it. It's not because it's some entirely external thing just waiting for the right person to snatch it up, but really because you just have no adequate way of creating anything tangible and therefore, the thought (as they all are) is fleeting.
-- Jolee Main
I thourghly enjoyed the Elizabeth Gilbert Ted talk. She gave me a new perspective about the creative process. For instance, I love making jewelery and coming up with a way to make something rather than buy it, except I always make a few earrings or a necklace or a dream catcher and I get so frustrated because its not coming out how I want or how I had envisioned it. And so I get really frustrated and put it down for a while and lose interest. And I always think its because I'm not good enough. Even in my art classes freshman year I would get so nervous for the critiques because I never thought anything I did was good enough, and thinking about the creative process the way Elizabeth Gilbert explained has given me a new outlook on my creative process. I even sometimes experience waves of creativity, and ill gt really motivated to make something and Ill have something envisioned in my head. But then when I do go to make it I can never seem to get it right. Thinking about creativity in a way that is different for me will hopefully help my creative process. The thought that there is some kind of higher power that roams around with creativity is really interesting to me and I will continue to think about creatviity in this way.
ReplyDeleteHannah Goldman
Elizabeth Gilbert brought up something in her talk that I'd never really thought about before--the idea that as an artist, at some point in my life I may very well have to deal with the assumption that my greatest work is behind me. Admittedly, right now it's hard to put myself in those shoes and imagine what that must feel like, but that's part of what scares me--I have no idea what it'll be like, so I don't have any way to prepare for it. I think the only thing that would keep me sane in that situation is uncertainty. There'd be no way of knowing if my one great work will actually be my greatest, so it's possible I'd be able to just keep chugging along, welcoming the possibility that I have something greater in me.
ReplyDeleteThere's a possibility that that won't happen, though, and I'll have to accept that realistically, it's all downhill from that point. Fortunately, I'm pretty good at rethinking my life based on the circumstances. I don't write because I want to become great. Mostly. It'd be really sweet if I were totally famous, but that's not what I'm planning on. I've chosen to give my life other purpose than glory, and I think if I don't lose track of that, I'll be okay.
After viewing both videos I really appreciate my own abilities to be creative and the future I have in store. Elizabeth Gilbert explained her own fear about continuing to write and a follow-up to her huge success Eat Pray Love and these fears almost anyone can feel especially in a more creative environment. This fear of already achieving your best, and "what else is there to live for" notion. No one should ever live feeling or thinking this way cause it will lead to an anxiety and disheartened filled lifestyle. Instead be excited for the future and what you have to offer the world with your creative mind. For me personally I know that I don't want to live with the idea that I will never creatively accomplish anything else in my life after I hit a certain point. Instead I want to keep pushing and hoping for even better.
ReplyDeleteI watched Elizabeth Gilbert's talk as well, and found it very thought provoking. Like Jolee, I also didn't really agree with the notion that creative genius is either a completely intangible 'thing' that works through/just uses an artist, OR that the artist IS the creative genius. I think those who are called creative geniuses usually experience a combination of both. I think the passion for a certain form of creativity must be present inside the artist. I don't think your average person could "hear a poem coming down through the mountains" and try to catch it and write it down before it completely passes through them. For me, at least, I think there must be some kind of creative 'bug' inside a person. An itch of sorts that makes you look at the world differently.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, creativity isn't something artists can just turn on or off. Inspiration isn't a constant, humming state of being, it's more of a tidal wave crashing over you. Like Elizabeth Gilbert mentioned, when she was in the midst of writing her book, there were times when things just weren't working quite right. The book wasn't coming together, even though she worked countless hours every day. Often, I won't start a project until some kind of inspiration 'hits' me. Sometimes I'll try muddling through a design piece without any direction, just trying to get it done. Generally, those are the pieces that come out the worst. The best ideas come to me randomly, out of the blue. It's hard to describe that feeling, so I can understand why Elizabeth Gilbert chose to use the ancient idea that creative genius is some kind of mythical creature. I can see where she's coming from, I just think that perhaps maybe 'creative genius' is much more connected to the artist. Living inside the artist's mind, rather than hiding out in their attic.
After watching Elizabeth Gilbert's Ted talk, I've thought a lot about both sides of what she was saying. I had never heard the suggestion that creativity was something that was out of your control. As she put it, just a fairy who got your case, and either messed it up or made it absolutely amazing. Upon thinking about it further, I think that would make sense in an odd way. Whenever I am working, creativity does tend to come in waves. Sometimes it is a process but sometimes it all just hits me at once (maybe with the help from a genius!). On the other hand, I think that creativity is something that people take pride in. When I create something that I think is great, I don't necessarily want to think that the only reason it is great is because a genius was having a particularly good day.
ReplyDeleteI think, after listening to her talk, that creativity is a mix of a bunch of different things. It could be a combination of creative geniuses, natural born creativity, and some part that can be learned and fed over time. It is definitely interesting, seeing how all different people view creativity and the process of creating something.
The thing that stuck with me from the TED talk video was the idea of that fleeting creative idea. The idea that comes to us from seemingly thin air and if we don’t write it down, its gone forever. What is this brief moment of ingenuity where everything comes together at once? I have those moments all the time and if I don’t have a way of recording the idea, I loose it. This is important to know about yourself because it tells you that you always need to be prepared. I always have something on me that can help me remember what idea I had, whether it be my phone, ipad or piece of paper.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching both of these videos, one idea really stood out that I can relate too. In the Elizabeth Gilbert talk, she mentions the act of ideas appearing out of thin air. This is something that happens to me quite frequently and at times tends to be overwhelming. This is where my creative process starts; a constant flow of random, sometimes ridiculous ideas. For me, if I don't write these ideas down, they come and go without ever being investigated. Throughout the years, I've tried my best to stat writing things down in a notebook, so that I can visit the idea when I have the time. Usually, my ideas become reality when I've weeded through the impossible ones and stick with the ones that I can start to move forward with. More often than not, I will explore my ideas in different mediums until something clicks. Once I have a good idea of what works and what doesn't, I'll refine what I've accomplished up to this point, until have have something that I am happy with. Since I'm quite critical of myself, I can't say that I have many things that are"finalized". My creations are always being revisited and tinkered with.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Gilbert and Larry Lessig talked about creativity in forms I can relate to on a daily basis. Some examples from Gilbert would be that I had times when ideas come from the sky and for a moment flood my mind with perfection. I get one great idea after another and all to perfectly fit the needs in which I was pursuing. Other times however much like in Lessig's point is that I use ideas others have developed and created a new version. I do not copy work as parodies but as general ideas. If I am able to turn old ideas into new ones then is that not in fact creativity? I also believe that creativity can come from nowhere and everywhere, but when it does you better be prepared to write everything down, or find ways to memorize it. Ultimately no matter the origins of inspiration creativity comes from the heart.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching both videos, I kept thinking about my creative process and how I view the creative process and nothing was coming to me, nothing was clicking. Then I realized, I lost my creativity, kind of. I used to be so creative when I was younger, designing and creating clothes, writing songs, poems, and short stories, along with other hobbies of mine. But now, I've gotten so caught up in life. I've become too busy for the things I love and the things I enjoy doing, I've lost a touch of my creativity. At the end of the Elizabeth Gilbert video she talks about continuing to do your job no matter what and "don't be afraid, don't be daunted." And I realized, I let go of my creativity and lost my creative process after coming to college and being afraid, I was afraid of what others would think of me and I became subdued in my creativity. But after hearing those encouraging words, I realize now that I did give up and I need to reestablish a creative process. I see this class as a beautiful opportunity to me to reignite my passion and love for creativity and to use my creativity in new ways.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching the videos I thought about how Elizabeth Gilbert told a story about how when this one woman got inspired with a poem she would have to stop what she was doing and rush to get a pen and paper so she could write it all down before the creativity and poem escaped her. That reminded me of all the times that I would be inspired by something and have this burst of creativity, but more often than not I wouldn't write it down. The result would be a loss of creativity and what ever ideas I had would be lost, no matter how hard I tried to recapture that inspiration. Larry Lessig spoke about recreating things from sounds and images that have already been created. Most people use the internet to pull things that inspire them and put them into something new and different that they create from certain inspirations. There are so many laws that restrict creativity so when you get inspired you are limited by the things you can create and publish by copyright laws. Technologies immediately pull down anything that includes copyrighted information whether or not it is justifiably being used by the creator.
ReplyDeleteCreativity, to me, cannot be measured. I found both videos particularly interesting but can't help but think about my own definition of this word. I've always thought creativity to be a touchy subject; bringing out a myriad of different trigger words in all different minds. For a while now I've believed creativity to be based off of life experiences. Given my creative major, graphic design, I find myself constantly basing my creativity off of past memories and experiences I have had in the last 20 years. With that said, creativity is different for everyone. I believe that creativity will mean something different to each person in this world, given the fact that everyone has their own unique and diverse backgrounds. Creativity will always be a touchy subject and a difficult word to define easily; but thats sort-of the beauty of it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the video by the author of Eat, Pray, Love the most. I had never heard anyone say that maybe creativity is a sort of entity that exists in a different realm within your body, or just near you. I feel that this could describe me because I am, in general, not an extremely creative person no matter how hard and try, but sometimes I will just get some great inspiration of something I feel I "have" to do. I am impressed by her ability to not be completely overwhelmed or depressed by the fact that her greatest product may be behind her. I am not completely sure how I would feel in that situation, but I don't think I would be as hopeful as her, at least not at first. It would be hard for me to not compare my current project to the amazing one that came before. I know there has been times that I have written short stories for a class and was told it was very good, and the next time I tried to right one, I would constantly be erasing things or throwing out what I had written. It is very difficult for me to separate projects in my head, and not make those comparisons.
ReplyDeleteI would say the thing I liked most from this video is the idea that maybe this entity that is helping you with the amazing creativity is only with you for a short period of time and then moves on. While it may be frustrating to lose that, it is nice to know that it can move on to someone else and help them do something amazing. Everyone should have that feeling at least once that they did something amazing and memorable.
-Sammie Beebe
Out of both of the videos, I have to say Elizabeth Gilbert’s was the best. When she gives the example of what Tom Waits saw through his mind, it made me realize that it is much easier to think with a clear mind and let yourself go rather than holding down to one specific thing. I have found that just like Elizabeth and many others in the world today I have had this almost superior thought pop into my mind, but instead of thinking that I will be tied down by a certain set of rules (to an extent) I let my mind flow freely. That is creativity at its finest.
ReplyDeleteAs I watched Elizabeth Gilbert's "Your elusive creative genius" TED Talk, I did not find that her creative process was similar to my own in any way, although I loved her fluency, wit, and poeticness in her speach. I don't believe that I am a creative genius, or even original from time to time. So I never find myself scared to try. There was nothing I had done in the past that cemented my reputation, or defines my genius, that I have to live up to today. The only thing that I could relate to was at the 16 minute mark where she talks about transcendent performances. I remember in high school when I was big in the music program, our director always told us to "slip away" and to get so captured in the moment that you can almost watch yourself from outside your body. I remember when I was on stage, performing as Mother Abbess in the Sound of Music during my senior year, I experienced a little bit of this feeling was I sang 'Climb Every Mountain.' I was walking towards the edge of the stage under the spotlight, and I can't remember the rest until I was looking into the face of my friend who played Maria and hearing applause from the audience. I was on auto-pilot and slipped away; I later joked that the big operatic voice was not my own, it's like it came up through my feet. So as a performing artist, but not a creator, I can relate to having and harnessing an outside creative genius in a way. In Gilbert's TED Talk, I really enjoyed how she said that "No one should be affraid of the work they feel they were put on this earth to do." To believe that there is an outside genius in order to maintain a protective psychological construct and manage the inherent emotional risks of creativity is fine, but you also need to accept the responsibilty of harvesting your own genius. I still believe working hard is important, or at least going out and doing things to gain new perspectives - not everything can just come to you while doing nothing. What I loved most about this TED Talk was her conclusion; in my own terms she shared, 'don't be affraid of success or of praise (thinking that your peak is in your past, instead of the best is yet to come), keep doing what you love to do and have the "sheer human love and stubborness" to keep doing your thing.' Hataz gonna hate.
ReplyDeleteFrom watching Larry Lessing's TED Talk, "Creativity strangled by law," I feel pretty badass because I live against the law. Laws limit us, and as a liberal, I believe in progress, innovation and adaptation. With time, creativity will help to make things current. Myself and my peers, being born in the early stage of the millenial generation, dervive inspiration more from outside influences than pure imagination or a genius, as Elizabeth Glibert spoke of. When I draw, I need to look at something for reference; I cannot simply draw something accurately from an image in my head, and I don't feel comfortable creating abstract/surreal work (but that's just me - because I love looking at it, just not making it). No matter how people create content, today people are usually doing it as a hobby. User generated content is when people produce content for the love of what they're doing, not for the money. All the parody videos you find online start out as fun projects, and if they get popular enough - end up bringing in some extra revenue thru advertisments. I'm getting off-track. Anywho, using other peoples' work and making something new with a different purpose (remixing) should be fine. It is not piracy, and I believe that this is our generation will always think. We should not have to live against the law to do what we love, and express our creativity.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed both TED Talks, but I related to Lessing's more. The format of his presentation was great for visual learners like me, and he used the media tools I learned in Media & Society freshman year (http://medialiteracyproject.org/language-persuasion) . My creativity works as a process like that - a checklist. When I know my task, a specific assignment, I check off all the important pieces to include to make it stellar, and BOOM! I'm done. I hate open-ended assignments with no direction or rubric, because I can never harvest an original idea, let my mind run free, and take pride in the outcome. I'm a task and results oriented person, and a polisher of incorporating a group's ideas into one congruous product. So in conclusion, I view the creative process as a chronological checklist, deriving ideas from various sources.
I applaud Larry Lessig for promoting a new system of content management that is centered on improving the availability and ease of manipulation of creative work. I completely agree that copying is unfair, but also agree that manipulating or building off of an idea is not the same as stealing it. I truly believe that in this modern, media-centric age, it is nearly impossible to devise a concept that is 100% unique - I believe that new ideas are simply a reorganization of various sources of inspiration.
ReplyDeleteWith that, I feel that there is certainly a connection between Lessig's message and that of Elizabeth Gilbert. Gilbert spoke of creativity as being a sort of mystical force that comes, at least in part, from an outside source rather than from within the mind of the creator; I interpreted this belief as a sort of metaphor for finding inspiration in the world around us. To me, Gilbert's story of finding creativity through a muse or genius is a way of expressing how we must learn to actively listen for sources of inspiration all around us.
To me, creativity is being able to take something great and make it better. Like Lessig's story of BMI and competition, Gilbert spoke of how the fear of being unable to match something amazing and well-established can stifle greatness. Creativity is seeing what has worked so far, and then having the courage to take it a step further and improve upon the status quo.
The idea of a quick, passing idea from Elizabeth Gilbert's TED Talk is what really stuck out to me above everything else. The concept of an idea appearing in your mind or coming barreling down a hillside towards you whether you're ready or not spoke to me.
ReplyDeleteAs a musician, I've had some ideas, both musical and lyrical, come to me at a time when I've least expected it. I've had lyrics suddenly come to me while eating lunch in the school cafeteria. I've had guitar hooks suddenly hit me while I'm in the shower. All I can do at those times is hold on to the ideas the best that I can until I can write them down somewhere (which is why I'm SO thankful that cellphones exist so I can jot down lyrics in my phone). Whether I'm ready for it or not, when an idea comes to me, I either need to record it down somewhere as soon as possible or most likely lose it for good. It's certainly both a blessing and a curse.
After listening to Larry Lessig I really looked at things in a new way. We think of our generation, the things we have made and we find them unique. In reality though or as Lessig shares w ith us it is all built on the old and yet at the same time the old constrains the new. we find that we are able to create faster than the world around us can adopt yet we continue to move forward. I find that this is 100% true in game design. People come up with ideas or features that todays computers cannot handle. at times there are games that come out which no computer can even run yet we still go on to improve upon that expecting the world to catch up. I firmly believe that if we don't continue to iterate on what is already out there and really push the law along we may lose some of that creativity. Now Lessig never really talks about any downsides to this other than the fact that sometimes the law takes too long to catch up but really I find that downside to be an upside. If we don't push the law into this generation how can we expect to move beyond that new point. we cannot wait for things to happen we must push for them ourselves.
ReplyDeleteJodie Foster's goodbye speech at the Golden Globes tonight reminded me a lot of Elizabeth Gilbert's TED Talk - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agqEuFIQjYs
ReplyDeleteShe talks about an artist (actress) maintaining her psyche, but instead of meddling through anymore, she wants change - privacy and happiness. "From now on, I may be holding a different talking stick. Maybe it won't be as sparkly. Maybe it won't be opening on 3 thousand screens. Maybe it will be so quiet, and delicate, that only dogs can hear it whistle. But it will be my writing on the wall..." She wants to be seen, to be understood - deeply, and to be not so very lonely. She is proud of her accomplishments of the past, but she did admit to facing the hardships of an artist.
I watched both of the videos and found them both very interesting and informative. Elizabeth Gilbert's creative process is similar to mine. It comes and it goes, sometimes I am on a role, and other times I can't even think of anything, let alone something creative. I thought the part about the woman who was a poet and her creative process was very funny (she would be in a field, and have to run home in order to get a pen and paper to quickly catch the poem before it left her... and sometimes she could pull it by the tail back into her if it was already almost out of her mind.
ReplyDeleteThe other video was entertaining mainly through the way he presented it. He used clips of videos that helped his presentation seem more interesting and easy to comprehend. The video of Jesus Christ was very funny and entertaining... All i could think of was how funny it would have been to see that get filmed
After watching the video by Larry Lessig, I see some valid points about the suppression of creativity. The most interesting part, I thought was there might be a program put out that will automatically take down any video submitted with any sort of copyrighted material. I find this to be somewhat alarming and unrealistic. Larry did a good job of explaining that using someone else's material and putting your own spin on it really isn't copyright infringement, but an expression of personal believe. even on the home page for this class their is a quote saying that everything new comes from bits and pieces of things that are already around. Making this program wpuld ruin that.
ReplyDeleteMy idea of creativity is that creativity is random. Creativity is something that just shows up when you’re alone or when you’re surrounded by hundreds of people. It can be when you are sitting quietly or when you are mid-conversation. After watching Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED Talk I’ve realized that people feel creativity in different ways. Some people feel like creativity is a force that goes through them that they have to catch. I feel like creativity is just a random thought that, unlike most thoughts, happens to be creative. Instead of the thought, “I need to get some milk” a creative thought would be, “Is there a way to fuel a car using milk?”. And like what Elizabeth Gilbert said, the thought has to be caught. If you don’t catch the thought quickly enough it could be lost forever, but it’s ok because another creative thought could come along at any moment. I didn’t learn until college the value of recording creative thoughts because I didn’t ever think it was important to do. But now as soon as I get a creative thought I think of how I would love to take it further. So now I try to write it down in a note on my phone or in my schedule book.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these videos explain important aspects of a person’s creative process and where the actual creative work originates. Gilbert has the idea of imagining that our creativity comes from a “genius”, or outside source, which we can rely on for great ideas. Although she doesn’t mean it in a literal sense, she does explain that these ideas and creations seem to come from somewhere unexplainable. Her way of making sense of that is to give it a form that she can understand. By doing this, it alleviates a lot of the stress she feels from the creative process. I can relate to this because a lot of times, trying to find the perfect idea usually doesn’t come immediately. Other times, it seems so clear and simple as if the idea was already there in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Lessig’s point of view on creativity and being limited by copyright laws. I think that taking others work as a canvas for your own is a great concept. Why not take art I love and add my own style to it? A lot of times, the results come out better than the original. If original art is limited, say by copyright, it then limits a person’s creative capabilities.
For me, creativity is having the ability to express your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and ideas in any way you desire. It may come from outside inspirations, or it may come from within our minds and personalities. As long as you enjoy doing it and you are happy with the outcome.
Liz brings up interesting points about the creative process was first marked in history by the Greeks who ironically called them Daemons. She talked with enthusiasm as if she did not live with the anxiety of The Artist she speaks about. The pressure of ‘falling off’ pressing on their mind.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard the story of your favorite actor/ess who’s pompous & arrogant? Or about your favorite musician who’s gone to rehab for abusing? I believe its because fame brings unwanted attention. The Artist instantly becomes this figurehead, a human with a dietetic status, whom people gawk at when seen in public. Like a king who has his servant test the food first for poison. Unless you have Munchausen syndrome that much attention is unhealthy. The said Artist did not want all of this. The Artist creates to escape from the anxieties of their current life. Whether it’s the sudden on come of fame and fortune or personal demons that put stress on the Artist’s mind. I now understand Gilbert’s position as she stands on that stage. She didn’t do it for the fame that was unexpected. She did it as a way to express whom she was. Not for the people whom read her book.
Some can create under pressure. Others are crushed by it's weight. For the one's being crushed, Elizabeth Gilbert says relax...
Both of these videos make very good points. I am writing about Larry Lessig talk. I had never thought of how Web 2.0 is bringing back creativity. I feel like when most people think about creativity they think of a person who can pick but a paintbrush and fill in a canvas.
ReplyDeleteI have been creative since a was a child. Weather that creativity was expressed through games of make believe, or telling stories. Now that I am in college I find that the way I enjoy being creative has shifted to computer based media. I still enjoy switching song lyrics, or telling a story but visual expressions of my creativity are usually expressed through Photoshop.
Creativity is part of what makes humans, human. If we ever stop creating our entire society will suffer. Even as new things come into the marketplace I find that the creators find it just as important that their product is beautiful and functional.
When Larry Lessig talks about creativity being held back by copy write laws I couldn’t agree more. Time and time again I have had to either stop myself or take a chance when making things because I am afraid of the consequences if I were to break a law.
While viewing these videos, I definitely connected more with Elizabeth Gilbert. Even though I am not a writer, I have dabbled in music over the years and am also majoring in radio and television broadcasting. Through my studies I have had to create and edit many pieces. Sometimes when presenting to a professor I feel as though I need to not show my best work, just in case I cannot top it the next time I am given an assignment. This world has put so much emphasis on the importance of growth and climbing up the ladder, that we sometimes forget what ladder we are even on.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the talks, the one given by the writer of "Eat, Pray, Love" really caught my attention with the idea of experiencing waves of creativity weather you want them to or not. I have no control of when these hit me and sometimes its at an awesome time and sometimes its not. There are two times where I want to be as creative as possible, and one of it is in my design work, and secondly in my skiing. I try to be as innovative and creative while skiing in terms of my style, and also in my tricks. Not only does this impact how people see me and what people think of me. Creativity to me is making a certain style for yourself and making a name for yourself that is connected to that certain style. It is the thing that defines you and will separate you among others. Not only that but it expands what you are able to do, you could do the same thing with a different style and it would change the look and the whole idea of the exact thing that you are doing which is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI watched the Elizabeth Gilbert TED talk and found it very enjoyable and entertaining. The concept that she was playing around with was fascinating to me. I had never thought about creative inspiration from coming anywhere other than ones own mind. Before watching this video I felt as though random thoughts would pop into my head and i would get inspiration or i would think long and hard, making connections in my head to arrive at a creative conclusion. But the way Elizabeth talked about inspiration made me think otherwise. Almost as if a muse or some higher power, whether be god or whatever you believe in, sends you an idea. Beams thoughts into your head and you need to put them on paper before they disappear. Im not sure Elizabeth's theory about all human beings having geniuses who send them creative ideas is good. I believe that we go through our everyday lives and as we experience new things each and every day, our brains make more and more connections, enabling us to think about things in a different light, do things we might not necessarily have been able to do before. These experiences change the way we think, and can be a creative driver for artists. I will use Cinse's story in class as an example. Cinse couldn't figure out the last two words in her crossword puzzle. So she went and did other things (getting her car towed.) And when she came back to the puzzle, she was able to think of the two missing words just because she had had that experience that changed her way of thinking.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Larry about the first part of the machine killing creativity. The new music is no longer music at all, more of sounds that people enjoy, which you may argue as music but I believe are two different categories. It interesting the way he brings up some of his points about technology such as the airplanes trespassing. My view of creativity being shut down by law would be the educational system of the United States. Everyone is trained to be a machine the just spits out information fed to them. Even in higher education, the students are only able to be creative in certain majors and are frowned upon if they view differently from the normal. This kinda relates to the part of the speech about the segment of the speech that talks about user uploaded content. They are not doing the content because it is making them money or assigned to them the users are just trying to use their brains in different ways to create something new. The political music video is a great example of these remixes and my view of creativity. Something that is created for a purpose using different parts of the brain then normal to design something unique.
ReplyDeleteI found the TED talk by Larry Lessig to be very insightful. What he had to say about how laws have affected music and other creative content. I agree with his point that laws and government stifle creativity. Copyright laws among other things are responsible for a great deal of creative content to be produced for money rather than being produced out of passion for creating something. He went on to mention how the internet and other technology can embrace our generations creativity. I liked his point that while it has the power to create the "Read-write" society but government criminalizes many by calling them pirates when they should embrace the flow of creative content.
ReplyDeleteThe Larry Lessig speech was very interesting. I like how he talked about technology and how advanced we are today and are becoming. I also like how he talked about copyright laws in consideration to creativity because it is a huge problem today. In today's world, being the newest, weirdest, brightest, different thing is now the thing to be. Normal is longer in and we have the world at our finger tips. Creativity is very important to me, but it is so relative. Everyone is creative in their own way whether it be with colors, art, technology, etc. The extent of one's creativity is incomparable to another's.
ReplyDeleteI don't really assign any structure to creativity. I look at it as something that can be tapped into though. When I try to do something creative I just let it flow. I think of it as mental puke. I just let it go wild. I understand that everyone has their own tactic or creative process. My mind has always been very scattered. I may start from the end and work backwards or from the middle out. Depending on the situation, I work here and there and mash it all together. There is no real "Process" that I fallow or even attempt to define. I think once you describe your creative process it limits you in some ways.
ReplyDeleteCreativity is an essential part of my life, as it defines who I am. Growing up, I have always been drawing, painting, or creating something or another. My friends and family know of my artistic abilities, and therefore have come to me for my perceptions, or needing my help to provide them with something artistic that they need done (a sign for my parent's business, pieces of art for my mother's kitchen, etc.).
ReplyDeleteWhen I use my creativity I don't believe that it has any structural boundaries to follow. Creativity is about being free and doing whatever comes naturally when you're creating pieces of art, whether it be drawing, painting, writing, poetry works, etc.
After viewing these two videos, Larry Lessig's video portraying the Web 2.0 and how technology is what's becoming the new creativity source. I felt really connected to this piece because one of the major decisions I had decided a few years ago was in changing my major to graphic design & advertising (a technological creativity source).
When I started taking courses in the beginning of my studies, I chose a graphic design course, as an elective. It really surprised me, as I found myself not only enjoying it, but thinking that this could be the career I could visualize myself in for the rest of my life. It was at the end of that year that I decided on changing my major, and now that I am almost finished, I'm realizing that it was the best decision I ever made - aside from going to college in the first place.