Hi, guys...Thinking more about creativity today. Want to toss it around a bit?
I was prompted by Shannah's comment on
this post the other day to look up the concept of
social sculpture. And oh, the places it took me!
But first, what
is social sculpture, you may ask (as I did)? You can read a whole bunch about it
here, but basically, for our purposes, it's the idea that human activity (art) can strive to create or structure the environment we live in. Propounded by Joseph Beuys in the last half of the 20th century, it emphasizes art or actions directed by individual choices which thereby (of course) create our society, and indeed, our world.
So...creating our lives...Our lives as creations...Creativity as a way of life...
Life itself as our best creation.
Yes! That's it.
That's what I want to do: apply the creative process used by artists and writers and such to my life. How can I do that? How can
we do that?
I found some answers.
I was reading
this very interesting article by artist and social sculpture proponent Jeff Barnum (he's got lots to say, do read if you have the time). His goal is to do exactly what I'm thinking, albeit on a much, much larger scale. And because he is an artist
and a social activist, he has plenty of insight into all of it. He says:
The key challenge in making a work of art, I’ve learned, is to arrive at something powerful and interesting without knowing exactly how to do so. An artist works in situations with no pre-existing solutions...
That's the key, for me--the "artist works in situations with no pre-existing solutions." How many years of my life did I spend trying to force the solution, rather than creating one? How much time did I waste looking for a path that was pre-made, rather than blazing my own trail? Blazing the trail is harder, of course, because it's creative, and it takes much, much longer, but it's yours, and it's real, and it leads where you want to go, right?
More from Mr. Barnum about finding your own way, creatively or otherwise:
The defining characteristic of a creative process is that it structures the process of metamorphosis. For an artist to create a finished work of art, he or she must navigate a journey of reaching or hunting through which a final form can emerge. This is a metamorphic process: In art as in nature, the final form emerges at the end. Unless you have seen them before, it’s impossible to predict the butterfly from the caterpillar, the rose from the thorn bush, or the oak from the acorn. Even if you were familiar with the sequence, you would be hard pressed to exactly predict the emerging form. In art, if you’re sure of what you’re going to get before you start, you’re using a formula. A creative process structures the hunt for an emergent solution. (emphasis mine)
Do you get it? In our lives, when we know what we're going to get (or we think we do) we are on the wrong track, I think. We're using a formula, not our own creative energies. We need to "hunt for an emergent solution," even though that's scary. And do you know why the creative process is so uncomfortable? Because it's against all our mind's training, from birth to adulthood, to not know where you are going to end up. That's a really crazy and scary feeling for most of us, but as any artist can tell you, we have to become comfortable with the uncertainty of a true work-in-progress before we can ever, ever create anything of value or beauty. In art or in life, it's the truly uncomfortable (or even terrifying) times that often lead to the greatest growth and lasting beauty.
The last few years of my life were something I never, ever thought I'd experience. (Unemployment? Mental illness? Bankruptcy? Possible homelessness? Fear for my children's health and safety? Um, no.) And looking back, it's not just those few years that taught me so much--it's the years preceding them, when I didn't believe in trusting myself or the process of growth or even any kind of faith in God to show me the way--I wanted answers. Wanted them so badly that I was willing to force some very round pegs into some very square holes in order to make everything fit the way I thought it should be, based upon other people's lives. But all the while, I would have been far better served by creating a life of my own and learning to trust the grey areas for what they were--breeding ground for something very good and strong and true, if I could only search a little harder. And that's what I think I've finally learned to do. To know that my life itself is "a setting or a context in which [I] do creative work," just like an artist's studio, where wonderful things are attempted without roadmaps or cleared paths. These paths, the paths I hope to travel, can't be cleared before I get there--they are waiting for me, and only me. I have to clear them. And one day, my daughters may look at my paths and learn from them if they wish, but they will have to deviate from them for their own good--they must find their own way. And now, I'll make sure they do.
So the concept of social sculpture taught me all this, but also something much simpler--and it's not unique at all, but rather something I am just now learning to incorporate into my life. It's the idea that we are creating the world we want to see with every single action, word and thought. Or we should be, if we are mindful. Even
Joseph Bueys, the artist (mentioned above) who created amazing works on a societal level, thought that
each human being was an artist. He once said that “every sphere of human activity, even peeling a potato, can be a work of art--as long as it is a conscious act.” Don't you love that? I do. Each and every action can be beautiful and thoughtful and help to lead to the kind of world we want to leave for our children. I want to live this way, and I do, when I remember to.
I'll let you know how it goes...Any thoughts? What's the role of faith in this, if any? Do you feel you've made greater progress in your life when you don't force the results or have certain expectations? Or do you think we'd be crazy to approach life "creatively," as opposed to five- and ten-year plans? Please, do tell...
Meantime, have a wonderful rest of your week, okay? :o) Thanks for reading (if you made it this far!)...
xoxox.
