Introduction

Evidence of our instinctive urge to create abounds in every era, from prehistoric times to the present. Shards of primitive pottery invariably contain fanciful designs, revealing the human need to grace an otherwise mun­dane object with beauty. A human hand outlined on a prehistoric cave wall in France (or Santa Cruz, Argentina, for example,) proves humans have always possessed a creative urge: the need to leave evidence of some personal contribution behind for posterity. 

Hands at the Cuevas de las Manos upon Río Pinturas, near the town of Perito Moreno in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. 

Photo Credit: Wikipedia. Public Domain

We can see how certain individuals have left their mark on humankind, sometimes anonymously, like the builders of the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, and sometimes with great pomp and ceremony, like Ramses II of Egypt. We remember great civilizations by their artistic remains, whether those are architecture, music, dance, painting, or poetry.

What Does it Mean to Create?

Creation involves the shaping of materials, like words, sounds, stones, movements, or colors, until they form a unity with some felt meaning. In successful art, this new whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. Virtually every civilization has a creation myth describing how the world, emerging out of chaos or nothingness, became ordered and beautiful (as discussed in our previous material). As discussed earlier in this chapter, In this view, the act of creation endows human beings with divine status.

Creation also endows a whole age with great significance by virtue of its artistic achievements. In his book Civilisation, Kenneth Clark comments on the ways in which whole cultures attempt to preserve a part of themselves for posterity. Quoting John Ruskin, Clark writes, “Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts, the book of their deeds, the book of their word and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others, but of the three the only trustworthy one is the last.”

The Creative Person

An artist working on a watercolor using a round brush.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia. Public Domain

Creativity at its highest levels involves both sides of the brain in a personal process that requires vision, inspiration, knowledge, and just plain hard work. Howard Gardner's extensive description of creativity in his recent book, Creating Minds, represents one of the most comprehensive definitions of the creative person. According to Gardner,  the truly creative person exhibits most, if not all, of the following traits: "The creative individual is a person who regularly solves problems, fashions products, or defines new questions in a domain in a way that is initially considered novel but that ultimately becomes accepted in a particular cultural setting (p 60)." 

While acknowledging the fact that creative people exhibit "a greater incidence of such personality traits as independence, self confidence, unconventionality, alertness, ready access to unconscious processes, ambition, and commitment to work (p 50)," Gardner cautions that "it is not clear whether people who already exhibit these characteristics become creative (p 50)," or whether creative experiences endow them with these traits. Creative individuals seem to have unusual capacities to become totally immersed in one task for long periods of time, and continue to work despite serious setbacks. In fact, "many of them continue to raise the ante, posing ever greater challenges for themselves, even at the risk of sacrificing the customary rewards (Gardner, p. 314)." These creative individuals, whether artists or inventors, who impose order on the chaos around them, often do so at a high personal cost.In summary, creatives do not see things like everyone else and, therefore, are often rejected by the majority as being eccentric, even peculiar. 

Creativity Stew

Daily life is a major arena for innovation and problem­-solving—the largest but least honored realm of the creative spirit. 

“Being creative is kind of like making a stew (Goleman et.al, p. 29),” says Teresa Amabile. She explains, “There are three basic ingredients to creativity, just as there are three basic kinds of things a stew needs to be really good.”

The first essential ingredient, something like the vegetables or the meat in a stew, is expertise in a specific area: domain skills. These skills represent your basic mastery of a field. To possess these skills means that you know how to write musical notation, how to skillfully use a computer graphics program, or how to do scientific experiments – as examples.

"No one is going to do anything creative in nuclear physics unless that person knows something—and probably a great deal—about nuclear physics (p. 29)," Amabile observes. "In the same way an artist isn't going to be creative unless that person has the technical skills required for say, making etchings or mixing colors. The ingredi­ents of creativity start with skill in the domain—with the expertise … But without training in the skills of a domain, even the most promising talent will languish. And with proper skill development, even an average talent can become the basis for creativity.”

The second ingredient in the stew is what Amabile calls “creative thinking skills,” or ways of approaching the world that allow you to find a novel possibility and see through to full execution. “These are like the spices and herbs you use to bring out the flavor of the basic ingredients in a stew,” Amabile says (p. 30). “They make the flavors unique, help the basic ingredients to blend and bring out something different.”

These creative thinking skills include being able to imagine a diverse range of possibilities, being persistent in tackling a problem, and having high standards for work. “They also include the ability to turn things over in your mind, like trying to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange (p. 30),” Amabile adds. “Many of these skills have to do with being an independent person: being willing to take risks and having the courage to try something you've never done before.”

Another category of these skills has to do with sensing how to nurture the creative process itself, such as knowing when to let go of a problem and allow it to incubate for a while. If a person has only technical skills in a field­ (the first ingredient), but no creative thinking skills, the stew will turn out flat and flavorless.

Finally, the element that really cooks the creative stew is passion. The psychological term for passion is intrinsic motivation: the urge to do something for the sheer pleasure of doing it rather than for any prize or compensation. The opposite kind of motivation —extrinsic motivation —makes a person do something not because they want to, but because you ought to. The person does itt for a reward, to please someone, to get a good grade, or to get a good evaluation.

Creativity Gets Involved When People Are Motivated by the Enjoyment of What They Are Doing

A Nobel Prize-winning physicist, as Amabile recalls, was asked what he thought made the difference between creative and uncreative scientists. He said it was whether or not their work was “a labor of love” (Renner, p. 14).

The most successful, groundbreaking scientists are not always the most gifted, but the ones who are impelled by a driving curiosity. To some degree, a strong passion can make up for a lack of raw talent. Passion “is like the fire underneath the soup pot (Goleman, p. 31),” Amabile says. “It really heats everything up, blends the flavors, and makes those spices mix with the basic ingredients to produce something that tastes wonderful.”

The Impressionist and the Cubist

Two preeminent artists of their ages, Renoir as an Impressionist in the late 19th century in France and Picasso as a Cubist in the early to mid-20th century from Spain have discussed their own works of art and creative process. 

Pierre Auguste Renior (1841–1919)

Commenting on his artistic process, the French Impressionist artist Renior observed, “I arrange my subject as I want it, then I go ahead and paint it, like a child. I want a red to be sonorous, to sound like a bell; if it doesn’t turn out that way, I add more reds and other colors until I get it. I am no cleverer than that. I have no rules and no methods; anyone can look at my materials or watch how I paint—he will see that I have no secrets … . Shall I tell you what I think are the two qualities of art? It must be indescribable and it must be inimitable … . The work of art must seize upon you, wrap you up in itself, carry you away. It is the means by which the artist conveys his passions …” (Renior, “My Way of Painting,” in Eric Protter, ed. Painters on Painting, p. 145).

Pierre-Auguste Renoir. 

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)

Arguably the 20th century’s leading avant garde artist, Picasso, articulated his artistic process and vision: “A picture is not thought out and settled beforehand. While it is being done it changes as one’s thoughts change. And when it is finished, it still goes on changing, according to the state of mind of whoever is looking at it. A picture [work of art] lives a life like a living creature, undergoing the changes imposed on us by our life from day to day. This is natural enough, as the picture lives only through the [person] who is looking at it … . When you begin a picture, you often make some pretty discoveries. You must be on your guard against these. Destroy the thing, do it over several times. In each destroying of a beautiful discovery, the artist does not really suppress it, but rather transforms it, condenses it, makes it more substantial. What comes out in the end is the result of discarded finds … .” 

He continued, describing why it is imperative for artists to push beyond the then accepted artistic boundaries: “With the exception of a few painters who are opening new horizons to painting, young painters today don’t know which way to go. Instead of taking up our researches in order to react clearly against us, they are absorbed with bringing the past back to life—when truly the whole world is open before us, everything waiting to be done, not just redone. Why cling desperately to everything that has already been fulfilled? There are miles of painting ‘in the manner of;’ but it is rare to find a young man working in his own way.” (Picasso, “About Painting,” in Eric Protter, ed. Painters on Painting, pp. 202–203)

Photo of Pablo Picasso Working on Guernica, 1937. 

Image from widewalls. Educational Fair Use.

Creation of an Art Style

One of the major things that artists need to do is develop their own personal vision and style. Yes, they work within the current cultural and regional styles, but they create their own vision. 

Piet Mondrain

One prominent artist whose artistic evolution has been documented is the 20th century Dutch painter named Piet Mondrian. As you view this short video, consider how his artistic style progresses and evolves. While every artist will not undertake this exact process, many will follow a similar path. 

It has been stated that Mondrian is “[c]onsidered a pioneer of 20th century abstract art … best known for his paintings featuring basic forms and colors. The artist limited his paintings to the three primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) and the two primary directions (horizontal and vertical), thus creating colorful and geometric compositions. He hoped that these simplified subjects could transcend cultures and become a new common language. Mondrian’s impact on modern art is visible in the work of other artists and subsequent artistic movements, as well as in contemporary art and design (Dwell, 2019).” 

Mondrian was focused on his development of style. He had a vision that was constantly evolving until he arrived at his desired expression. That style of black lines and blocks of primary colors became an iconic style beyond the artistic, showing up in clothing and architecture.

Yves Saint Laurent

In 1965, Saint Laurent was recognized as a talented young couturier, but he was not yet famous. His 106-piece Autumn/Winter collection was almost finished. It was consistent with the times. There were traditional pieces like evening dresses and belted waist dresses as well as shorter hemlines (Mary Quant had invented the mini skirt in 1962). Then, he had an idea. It had to do with a book he had got from his mother at Christmas about Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), the Dutch painter whose neoplastic style used primary colors. The Mondrian Dress was created.

In a 2010 retrospective of the designer, fashion historians Florence Müller and Farid Cheroune quote him, saying, “I realized [sic] that we had to stop conceiving of a garment as sculpture and that, on the contrary, we had to view it as mobile. I realized that fashion had been rigid up till then, and that we now have to make it move” (Florence Müller and Farid Cheroune, Yves Saint Laurent, Paris 2010).”

While most artists may never attain the influence of someone like Mondrian, artists around the world continue creating works that inspire and influence in many different ways. 

Creation of Artwork

The last major creative impulse that the artist must go through is the creation of a specific artwork. The early 19th century French artist Théodore Géricault took his inspiration from a contemporary political-maritime scandal in July 1816. His highly controversial large-scale painting, completed in 1819 and measuring 16 feet by 24 feet,  was called the Raft of the Medusa. Watch the following video to learn more about his creative process.

(Warning: This video contains nudity.)

Summary

Human creativity spans history, evident in art from ancient pottery to modern masterpieces. The desire to leave a personal mark through creative expression has been intrinsic to humanity. Notable figures, anonymous or celebrated, like cathedral builders or pharaohs, have left their artistic imprints, defining civilizations through architecture, music, dance, painting, and poetry.

Creation involves melding materials, like words, sounds, colors, or movements, into a coherent whole with intrinsic meaning. This process, often mythologized in the creation myths of cultures, bestows a divine essence upon human beings and ages, preserving their essence for posterity.

Creativity isn't confined to a single trait but involves a holistic blend of vision, inspiration, knowledge, and diligent effort. Howard Gardner's comprehensive depiction of creativity underscores its problem-solving, innovative, and culturally accepted nature.

Creativity isn't just for big things; it happens in everyday life too. It comes from knowing about something, thinking in different ways, and really wanting to do it. Teresa Amabile compared creativity to cooking a stew—having the right skills, thinking in new ways, and staying motivated. Knowing when to give ideas time to develop is important too.

Intrinsic motivation, or passion, ignites creative fires. Nobel laureates attest that passion is pivotal; curiosity propels groundbreaking discoveries, often eclipsing raw talent.Intrinsic motivation is fueled by passion and interest. This type of motivation comes about when people do something for the challenge and enjoyment; while also believing that their work matters. The work itself is motivating and the results are far more creative than one might have originally imagined. Conversely, extrinsic motivation comes about from external sources and while it can be motivating and be creative, the results lack something and the motivation cannot be sustained over time.

In essence, human creativity endures, driven by passion, expertise, and innovative thought, imprinting cultures and generations with indelible marks. While concepts like entropy and syntropy—representing disorder and order, respectively—play roles in creative processes, it's the driving force of human ingenuity that shapes and defines our artistic journey.