The Dark Side of Creativity

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!!

My eternal tryst with Charels Bukowski

The Post Office was my first Charles Bukowski book, I remember being caught in a confusing whirlwind of emotions at the time,it was blunt,honest and at times crass even. I felt a mixture of awe at the refreshing  honesty in his writing and somewhere this underlying sense of macabre and ghoulishness it left me with when i done with the book.It was one of those book i read through the night from start to finish.I've been hooked ever since.

Here's are a few of my all time favourite poems [if it sounds familiar its probably because you seen it in  the Levis-Go forth campaign,a brilliantly shot ad that capture his words so beautifully]

THE LAUGHING HEART

Your life is your life
Don't let it be clubbed into dank submission.

Be on the watch.
There are ways out.
There is a light somewhere.
It may not be much light but
It beats the darkness.
Be on the watch.
The gods will offer you chances.
Know them.
Take them.
You can't beat death but
You can beat death in life, sometimes.
And the more often you learn to do it,
The more light there will be.
Your life is your life.
Know it while you have it.
You are marvelous
The gods wait to delight
in you.

-Charles Bukowski

This is another one that struck a chord,


SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER

If it doesn't come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don't do it.
Unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
Don't do it.
If you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
Don't do it.
If you're doing it for money or
fame,
Don't do it.
If you're doing it because you want
women in your bed,
Don't do it.
If you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
Don't do it.
If it's hard work just thinking about doing it,
Don't do it.
If you're trying to write like somebody
else,
Forget about it.
If you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
Then wait patiently.
If it never does roar out of you,
do something else.

If you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you're not ready.

Don't be like so many writers,
Don't be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
Don't be dull and boring and
pretentious, don't be consumed with self-
love.
The libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don't add to that.
Don't do it.
Unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
Unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
Don't do it.
Unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
Don't do it.

When it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
It will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.

There is no other way.

and there never was. 

-Charles Bukowski



NO HELP FOR THAT

There is a place in the heart that
will never be filled

A space

and even during the
best moments
and
the greatest times
times

We will know it

We will know it
more than
ever

There is a place in the heart that
will never be filled
and

we will wait
and
wait

in that space. 

-Charles Bukowski

Creativity is Madness-Shots of Awe by Jason Silva

I'm a huge fan of the philosopher,visionary and media artist Jason Silva.If you haven't seen his work i urge you to check out Shots of Awe a wonderful series with delightfully engaging quote,little anecdotes and a beautiful montage of eye catching visuals.He talks about everything from Love,death,technology,pain,creativity...This is one of my favourite films-Creativity is Madness

"We might say that both the artist and theneurotic bite off more than they can chew, but the artist spews it back out again and chews it over in an objectified way, as an ex­ternal, active, work project..." 
- Ernest Becker