Comments on: WHY?

By: Bruce

Bruce — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:05:09 +0000

I really like the ‘ground-up’ thinking in your response to “Why we create.” Too many of us have too many ‘top-down’ voices saying, “You should do this, you should(n’t) do that”, which kills the creative, child-like, searching spirit for the current/next creative venture.

As a curator, I feel the best art most oftentimes doesn’t “look like art”. The best art or creative output makes us see something fresh, something new, doesn’t even need to be 100% original, but an out-of-box, heartfelt addition into our daily lives.

By: Dennis Brown

Dennis Brown — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:00:55 +0000

I’m not sure that creativity is so spiritual. Could it be that it is spawned by our desire to glorify self?

By: aaron

aaron — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:59:10 +0000

“Inspiration is for amateurs. I just get to work.” — Chuck Close

I share this quote with students because too many times they (we) wait for inspiration. One can wait a lifetime for artistic inspiration and get nothing. I create art because I have to. I don’t know exactly why, but I am okay with that for now. We don’t have to know all the correct answers all of the time. Personally, I would guess that the underlying answer to the question changes rather frequently.

By: Darin White

Darin White — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:02:41 +0000

I was listening to Mako Fujimura on Thursday try and explain this to a group, that may not fully get it. He nailed many concepts on the head, but I think that this concept was so foreign that he had to really try and talk around it. It can really be explained by the unexplainable, which doesn’t register in the head, but the heart.

The desire of creating is from deep to deep.

This is where beauty is really found, and where substance exists in a palatable form,
that can be experienced with surges of joy, where truth sticks and is not moved,
and life is a mysterious wonder, while we line up with the desire that can’t be explained just
enjoyed.

By: Wes Schoel

Wes Schoel — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:16:45 +0000

I agree that creative impulse lies within us. It is part and parcel in the human experience because we ourselves were created by the master creator to create. I don’t believe, however, that creative impulse naturally translates into creative expression. I believe desire for beauty is the motivation for creative expression. It is our innate creative ability coupled with our desire for beauty which produces creative expression. When motivation meets ability and is then coupled with the desire to create beauty one gets passion and passion is at the heart of all great creations. And it is beauty which inspires and ignites further creativity.

By: Larry Cole

Larry Cole — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:56:10 +0000

Jonathan, I am in absolute agreement with your observation. I do think that everyone is driven to create something. I also believe that people find peace in creating whatever it is they were designed for. The painter who paints is happy. The coach who creates a team is happy, etc. (Of course I also believe there are degrees of satisfaction.) My hope is that each of us can find that creative release which satisfies us.

By: Samuel W. Kho

Samuel W. Kho — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:55:50 +0000

By: Blake Wilkinson

Blake Wilkinson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:34:55 +0000

i agree with you, if i may i would also add that because we are created in the image of the creator, we creat, it is like fire in our bones.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:24:54 +0000

I think you’re right about human nature wanting to create things. I’ve noticed that creativity isn’t limited to the liberal arts. Examples I have noticed are one of my friends is religious in his pursuit of creating the ultimate stock portfolio. It’s completely foriegn to me, but it looks like a work of art that works for him. Another is creating fantasy football teams. Again, I have no idea what its all about, but one friend spends more time adjusting his team than I do making any piece of art.

Our eyes gravitate to beautiful things whether they be paintings, buildings, chairs, or fake football teams. If we are fortunate enough to be able to make beautiful things, then we may also gain recognition for being creative. This drives a whole other section of our existance; the ego. And that’s not a bad thing at all.

By: Rex Hausmann

Rex Hausmann — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:57:45 +0000

I think that just sums it all up, I think we create because we choose to create… in a way, and in another way we don’t. We cant help it… there is this nagging itch that just keeps pestering you the more you ignore it. We create not because of a lack of a better idea, but because we were made to create… we just do. I get asked all the time “How in the world do you come up with this stuff?” and my response is… ” well, do you like it… I hope you enjoy it… I cant help it.” and I hope in some small way it will make that persons day just a little bit better, if even for a moment. – Rex