Idealists may think that art in its various forms can function as remedy for chaos and pain. The rise of Dada in the early part of the 20th century suggests otherwise. The peril here is that when ideologues try to use creative work as a mechanism for political or social coercion, the work instantly corrupts itself. Political forces have always used creative enterprise as a means of influence, but in its most trenchant expressions, art speaks for itself as a reaction to the world much more evocatively than when it’s wielded as an instrument of power.
Read MorePAINTING THE WALLS
In a time when we’re all overwhelmed by media from carefully managed corporate committees, or ceaseless chatter from social media, a small painting on a piece of a former teenager’s bedroom wall is enough to make us stop and smile and notice how it, too, has influence—perhaps even more lasting influence than any disposable electronic signal that may tempt us for ten irrelevant seconds.
Read MoreTRANSFORMATIONS (or, Why an Essay about the First Gulf War appears in a Blog about Creativity)
Performers on stage? Soldiers ready for battle? Protesters lining the streets? That’s the thing about moments of transformation. There are usually multiple, simultaneous forces at work. In this month’s blog post at 1AU Global Media, we consider moments of transformation, when real world events intersect with lives pursuing creative expression.
Read MoreTHE SHAKY RETURN OF ART
Arts require stability as much as they require energy, and for new voices to speak, the people who propel those voices must be able to stand, to eat, to think, to dream.
Read MoreEVERYTHING IS FREE
The trend toward “free” under-values the ability to create great music because musicians cannot support themselves simply on the merits of their ability to play. The pursuit of the ability to make great music, to extend the example, requires financial support in some appreciable measure, and when those payments fall beneath a certain threshold, excellence cannot easily develop
Read MoreCREATIVE WORK MEETS PANDEMIC REALITIES
Creative work is not something artists choose to do. The work itself chooses artists bring it to life (And if you’re not an artists yourself and think that statement is nuts, just ask a creative person in your life if he or she understands. I guarantee they do.)
Read MoreA PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE MADNESS
Creators create because they must, and the styles in which they pursue their perfectly acceptable madness are intimate functions of delivering them to someplace sublime.
Read MoreSCIENCE AND THE ARTS
Science needs the arts and arts needs the sciences. More to the point, greater culture needs healthy conditions for both. Without the arts and sciences thriving simultaneously, culture can never be more than a day-to-day monotony, without purpose.
Read MoreIN THE ART UNIVERSE THERE’S SUDDENLY A NEW SUPERNOVA
A recent move by the famedMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is having the effect of opening opportunities that will be fabulously valuable to all of those who simply cannot expect to travel the globe just to see paintings and sculpture.
Read MoreCLARITY
To find your waking moments always distracted by promises of some intangible future is never to be present in the first place.
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