Lately, I've been reading about self-development, creativity, and inspiration, and I've learned a few interesting things. One source claims that everyone gets ideas, not just those considered creative. The difference is that creative people ponder things a bit longer, and eventually, ideas come to them. But there’s another theory suggesting that maybe we don't get ideas at all because everything arises from connecting existing realities into new contexts, both consciously and unconsciously. Personally, I've never thought that ideas flow to me from the universe. I simply absorb impressions like a sponge and then combine and transform them into new things.
When you think about it, everyone probably operates this way. That’s why it’s obvious who gets inspired by whom, even across different artistic genres. For example, Lana Del Rey takes significant inspiration from David Lynch. Lynch was influenced by Bergman. LaChapelle was inspired by Michelangelo. I'm inspired by Gregory Crewdson, who’s influenced by Edward Hopper.
Did you know that Marcel Duchamp, in his early paintings, was inspired by post-impressionist Cézanne? Yes, that Duchamp, whom we all know as the guy who exhibited a urinal.
So, what about originality when everything we do has already been done by someone else?
New ideas arise by combining several existing ones and we influence them with our unique personality. In other words, when we create something, even using existing themes, something original inevitably comes into being simply because of us. However, it's important to have some knowledge; otherwise, we might fail to recognize plagiarism or parasitism on someone else's work. I remember a fun book, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. It addresses these issues as well.
Another interesting topic is artificial intelligence, which we hear about more and more – is it capable of creating art or not? You might be inclined to say no because all those creations seem to lack a soul, the soul of a human. Duchamp mentioned that the ability to create art is what differentiates humans from animals. But isn't AI doing exactly the same thing as humans? That is, combining existing elements and putting them into new contexts? Adding its unique "personality" or the style in which it was programmed? So why does it look so bad? Is it because AI is still imperfect? Will it change in the future? This year?
What about humans?
It still holds true that we are particularly interested in specific art because of the person who created it. We are interested in the personality's story, their reasons for creating, the challenges they faced, why they chose artistic creation as therapy, and what they created to confront their traumas. They may take existing elements and connect them in a different way, but most importantly, they infuse it with what they want to say to the world. And that is crucial. That’s what makes it new and interesting.
I wrote about the therapeutic aspects of art in my previous article. It's a huge topic. In my work, I deal with mental health and loneliness. Some people create to avoid killing themselves. Billie Eilish, in one of her songs, hints at jumping off a roof, and her mother asks her in a documentary if she really means it. She replies that yes, but she won’t do it because she wrote it into that song. And that’s how it works. Writing, painting, or sculpting something into a work of art helps us cope with it.
Fun fact
How do ideas actually come to us? And why do we often come up with solutions in places like the shower or the toilet? This is called incubation. When we consciously try to solve something, we are too immersed in the problem and can't see the connections. But once we step away and engage in another activity, our subconscious starts automatically linking existing realities into new contexts and sends this to our consciousness. This is how "aha" moments occur.
Conclusion (Positive)
So, to summarize – we are all creative; it just takes perseverance. Great, right? And what should you do if you can't come up with something? Take a break, and it will come to you naturally. Surprisingly simple. Also, do you feel like you're not original enough? No worries. In artistic creation, no one is truly original. And there's no reason to jump off a roof because of it.
Subscribe to have my next blog post sent right to your inbox.