Illustrations by Agata Wierzbicka
Came across this article by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic who a Professor of Business Psychology at University College London, and a faculty member at Columbia University.Reading this article took me back to the conversation I had with a friend of mine a while ago,he being a film maker,artist and writer we were talking about the the creative process and what elicits those moments of creative ecstasy. and how sometimes in your darkest hour if you are able to channel your creative energies positively you can reach a state of creative epiphany.
I've always been attuned to my creative side and thanks to Pyjama Party have been able to channel it into a platform to showcase my work and also share the same with so many people commercially.Speaking solely for my self I think creativity is a double-edged sword ,to be able to conceptualise,create and execute a creative thought is like a potent cocktail of ecstasy and a draining of your mental,emotional and physical resources.Sometimes you hit road blocks and many a time what you visualise changes constantly when you get down to the paint and brushes stage.Over the years I've learnt what works best for me, is to have a fluid idea and concept and just go with the flow once you start the actual artwork and most importantly, to not second guess your choices and have faith that the end result will be wonderful.
Like everyone out there life has swung more than a couple of hard punches my way,some harder than the others,some I saw coming and didn't duck and some like lighting bolts I wasn't quite prepared for.Through the ups and downs of it I've seen a pattern of change in the art that I create during these phases of turmoil that's honestly quite mind boggling,it's bolder more risqué and at times so not the style I'm comfortable doing.
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic's article delves into these negative states,it's true if you are going through a rough patch and your mood swings are so erratic or you feel so low, this is not a state of mind to be able to creatively channel your negativity,its definitely counterproductive to the creative process.
I think the quote by one of my favourite philosophers Nietzsche captures it beautifully
“One must have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”
Another interesting point the article covers is how creative people tend to have poor impulse control,which everyone who knows me well will vouch for,this probably stems from the fact ,that to be able to create sometime unique we need to be able to think "abnormally" or to put it more eloquently harness out of the box thoughts, irrelevant thoughts and more often than not this leads to more impulse behaviour.
In a post I'd written earlier Art is a lie as the title suggests, it talks about how art is a distortion of reality or what we make of reality,as the great artist Pablo Picasso put it
"Art is a lie,that makes us realise the truth"
This also ties into the personality traits of creative people ,wherein they get bored easily and are constantly on the look out for mental stimulation be it visuals,art,music,interesting conversations or articles,new perspectives, all in an attempt to ignite or at times create unusual patterns of thinking that then transcend into creative expression be it through any art form.
The article also talks about artists being narcissistic,I dont quite agree with this point,in fact I think I'm quite the opposite,theres not a single art piece I've done which I can look back and gloat about.I have strong emotional connections with some pieces for strange reasons,lets leave the reasons for another post,but I definitely dont think artists or creative people are narcissistic infact to me it would be the death of creativity if one thought no end of themselves.That said as artists we need to value our time,creativity and skill and command a price befitting our efforts,if that makes us narcissistic I think that a misrepresentation and wrong useage of the term.
Another trait mentioned is non-conformist,my very colourful life stands testament to that.Every creative piece is a risk,its an expression of you and to be able to reach a state of creative ecstasy artists need to not conform,they need to risk takers,they also need to have the strength to accept failures and start and go back to the drawing board and start from scratch.To end this post on a positive note, personally I've in a way made peace with 'the unknow',looking at each day as a opportunity to creatively inspire and express myself. To all the artists,creative souls out there throw caution to the wind and enjoy the now!!
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