You don’t have to be creative to be creative ~Paul Arden
Last weekend I visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. I’m rather ashamed to say that it was my first visit there despite having lived here for so many years. Designed by famed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson more than 30 years ago, the MOA houses an extensive collection of archaeological and ethnographic objects from South Pacific, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. It is probably best known for its BC First Nations collection and in particular the work of Haida artist, Bill Reid. While these collections are very impressive, on this visit I was most taken with the Multiversity Galleries.
As part of a $55.5 million renovation, the MOA dedicated a series of galleries to more than 15,000 objects from cultures all over the world. Many of these objects were humbly fashioned by unknown artisans. Some were crudely put together like the wire cars made with coca cola bottle caps from South Africa while others were well-finished like the weaved grass bags from Japan. Spending time in these galleries led me to think how these people went about creating this work. Maybe I’m wrong but I think the majority of them never set out to be creative and yet their work is beautiful, unique, and in some cases, even exquisite.
So what does it take to be creative? Advertising genius Paul Arden has one of the best answers I’ve found to date: “The most popular conception of creativity is that it’s something to do with the arts. Nonsense. Creativity is imagination, and imagination is for everyone.“
Where will your imagination take you this weekend?
My imagination is doing well and there are a few of them floating around in my head. I had thought about heading east for fall colors but have decided to stay local and work on some of those ideas. Heck, I even put a couple of them down on paper. I’ve lined up a model, and have a location picked. Now I need to finalize the imagination. What about you, girl?
That sounds really exciting, Monte. I can’t wait to see where your imagination takes you.
I’m thinking I might do the one mile project and maybe head to the Annual Interior Design Show to appreciate some other creative avenues.
My imagination will transport me to places that exist and some that will never exist and that is the fun in allowing it free reign. ( well that and the cartoon channel)
Creativity is just making stuff that didn’t exist before, the blending of ideas that come from many places to find a home in stuff you decide to make just to see what it looks like.
I tell a story about a carpenter who built a shed in his back yard that has more to it than just a place to hold tools, the point is to show how creativity works and not just in art. Creative thought and action is in how anyone makes the stuff or ideas that mean something to them. Putting something together out of our own ideas and influences is creativity and it sure is more fun and rewarding than buying someone elses idea of what we should have.
Good thoughts Sabrina.
I think for some people (myself included), it’s the blending they find challenging. Maybe you can help with that in the next little while? (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.)
Such an interesting photo, Sabrina. #59 is really fabulous, …is it a mask? I feel like he’s trying to tell me something, …
David duC said something in a blog post awhile back that really stuck with me. He talked about the importance of working with raw materials if you want to create something unique. I thought that was an important point and I find myself being very intentional about it now, even applying it to business/marketing thinking. I think spending time in nature and with small children helps fuel imagination and creativity, but weekends are never long enough, …
It’s a carving. Isn’t his expression priceless? Some of the most creative people I know express themselves in more than one way and invariably one of them involves a hands-on craft. Applying the thinking they do in that craft to something like photography usually results in something I haven’t seen before.
Ooo, maybe I should have read this entry first.
Art is subjective. What I like might not appeal to someone else. What I see as practical, someone else finds art. I guess this goes hand-in-hand with the concept of one man’s trash is another man’s treasure?
Oh and forgot to say that I love the photo you took! Great composition and I love that there are hidden things in there that make you want to see the rest. This looks like a really cool museum.