Creative Steps

Why is some art considered better than others?

Why is some art considered better than others and what does this evaluation do to our own creative output?

I recently read an article which argued that classical music was better than other types of music. Here is the author’s point of view:

“I disagree with the notion that popular music is on par with classical, that it’s all just a matter of personal preference. Embedded in that mindset is hostility to the idea that discriminating judgments can be made in art, that hierarchies of value exist, or, indeed, that there is such a thing as objective truth.”

How to Enjoy “The Quintessence of Life”.

Is the author right? Is some art better than others? When it comes to creative output is there such a thing as ‘Objective Truth’?

Whilst I do not doubt that ‘discriminating judgments can be made in art’ I believe the notion of objective truth in art to be meaningless. Art cannot exist independently to human thought or feelings – without an emotional connection there is no art.

Furthermore, because ‘better’ is a relative term we surely need a criteria for comparison – better at what? If we were in the business of evaluating art then these are some criteria that we might use:

• ‘artist’s expression’;
• ‘artist’s technique’;
• ‘elicited emotional response’;
• ‘immunity to the test of time’;
• ‘investment potential’;
  
• ‘originality’.

There are many others and I am sure your own list would be more to your liking.

When it comes to the creative arts we all have a view on the ‘quality’ question and often it boils down to the following:

“I like what I like.  If you don’t like what I like because it seems somehow ‘low brow’ then you are either a snob or else you just don’t ‘get it’. If you don’t like what I like because it seems too ‘high brow’ then you are a moron.”

We can jazz this argument up with all sorts of justification but this is essentially it.

This type of thinking is dangerous as it can stop us being creative and prevent us becoming artists. We just become critics.

Why is this argument so common? Consider these two points:

1) We are trained to be critics – all through our education we are taught to evaluate, compare and contrast. We might need to unlearn this if we are to get anywhere interesting creatively.

2) We are programmed to belong and the best way to belong to one group is to collectively point at another (we like this and not that).

The seductive thing about the quality argument is that at the extremes it is obviously true: by most normal measures Shostakovich would be considered better than The Smurfs. But what about Gershwin, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane (add your own favourite here……)?

When the difference in quality is not clear cut we enter a debate and the discriminating judgments are more probably formed by subjective taste than objective truth.

Life is not that black and white, the joy comes in the spectrum of colours between the extremes.

I happen to get a stronger emotional response to some 80s pop than I do to some classical music and I doubt that Franck or Rachmaninoff could have communicated to me, or the average British teenager, quite as effectively as Robert Smith or Morrisey did at that time. This says nothing about the quality of the music, of course, but, against this one criterion at least, ‘popular music is on par with classical’

I suspect many people can relate to my emotional attachment to pop; as Noel Coward said, ‘extraordinary how potent cheap music is.’

Of course, if we have these emotional anchors to art we are perhaps less able to make ‘discriminating judgements’ about the quality of the art. We integrate the work into our world and it doesn’t become the focus, but a condiment. In the case of music, it becomes the soundtrack to the life we are living.

The context is important.

We would almost certainly have a different opinion of the quality of Rothko’s work if we were to sit quietly in the Rothko Chapel knowing something about the artist’s intentions than if we simply walked by a print of his work hanging on an accountant’s office wall.

‘Would you know world class if you saw it?’

The context is important and we perhaps need to know how to experience art if we are to fully appreciate it (and evaluate it, if we so desire). This is where the post I am referring to strikes a chord. It encourages us to learn how to appreciate this fine music – even providing links. In the author’s words:

“Fortunately, appreciating classical music is a skill that can be cultivated. By learning something about composition, we can more thoroughly understand and enjoy great music. All it requires is your attention, some imagination and a bit of abstract thinking.”

But beware: this is a lesson in becoming a critic, not in becoming an artist. Fine, if that is what you want, just be clear on your goals.

If you are not an artist then what are you? Take the quiz to find out what holds you back?

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Why it is great to let resolutions fall by the wayside.

Mid-January is a great time to let those New Year’s resolutions fall by the wayside. You’ve tried; it didn’t work out, nevermind.

This might seem like failing – it isn’t, just call it feedback. It might be an opportunity to learn more about your values.

Do creative people need goals anyway?

When we are truly motivated by something it is likely to appeal in some way to our core values, so when our motivation falls away it is worth asking ‘would achieving this goal cause me to lose something that I currently value?’

This is one criterion for a well-defined goal, click here for the others.

It can be hard to make progress when our goals somehow conflict with our values. For this reason it is worth finding out a little more about your own values.

Getting clear on your values is also a great way to make sure you don’t end up another highly successful but essentially miserable person...you know the type of person I am talking about, they have got everything they said they wanted but found that it doesn’t actually cut it – it isn’t really the thing they valued.

There are lots of ways to get clearer on your values. Indeed, I have a few values exercises in the members’ area. However, if you want to do something quick and easy try this:

Step 1: Imagining you have walked in to a funeral. After a moment you look around the room and notice that it is full of your friends and family members and when you look into the open casket you realise that this is your funeral. This is your opportunity to find out what people are saying about you.

Step 2: Imagine talking to people that you actually know now (real people like close friends, relatives, colleagues) and try to imagine what they would say about you.

This exercise requires that you use specific comments that can be backed up by evidence – you need to collect the ‘because’ as well as the comment.

Imagine everything the people at your funeral would really say about you – and then think about how their words make you feel. (Even though this is a funeral imagine that the people are being honest and not just polite)

For example:

Your friend says you were special to them as you always had time for them. You feel good.

A colleague says you didn’t always follow through with your commitments and left work unfinished. This makes you feel slightly frustrated or embarrassed.

Step 3: In this exercise the comments that don’t make you feel good are the nuggets of gold. These are the ones that tell you in which areas of life you are not honouring your values.

For each statement that doesn’t make you feel good you need to ask yourself ‘what would I want this person to be saying about me?’

If you can answer this question you have probably identified one of your core values.

For example, you may prefer your colleagues to say that you always did what you said you would do. In this case, it might be that one of our values is accountability, or thoroughness. Play with it until you find an expression that makes you feel good. Then you will be getting closer to the value.

Turn the negatives into positives:

• Negative Statement: “He got it all too easy.”
• Positive Statement: “He made it look easy, although I could see the effort he put in.”
• Core Value: “Stoicism.”

And don’t be afraid to use your imagination when building a positive statement, add achievements you would like to hear people say about you as this might tell you the values you need to honour more:

• Negative Statement: “She struggled to make ends meet.”
• Positive Statement: “She worked on a tight budget for a while and then became a great success and died a very wealthy lady.”
• Core Value: “financial success is an important aspect to me.”

Talk with lots of people at the funeral; aim to find at last ten values . Ensure that these values cover all areas of your life, not just health, wealth and creativity. It is important to consider all of the major areas in your life.

Step 4: Write down your values.

How does it feel? Play with the words until you are comfortable. You will probably feel inspired and motivated by the words you have chosen.

If you made a New Year’s resolution can you see which value it honours? Can you identify any conflicts?

Remember: setting goals that conflict with your values can be de-motivational.

Use this exercise to help you move from values to motivation.

From motivation to values

Can you learn anything about your values by looking at what you find motivating?

I have selected three short motivational videos that appeal to different values. Which video inspires you most and what can you learn about your values?

Posted in Goals, Video, coaching concepts | 1 Comment »

Our lives are defined by our successes and failures,

but our energy is diminished by the weight of unfinished plans

It was Henry James that noted there was nothing as fatiguing as the hanging on of an uncompleted task. He knew the potential consequences of not achieving goals; the negative impact of our personal goals turning into interminable projects. For example, the proverbial unfinished manuscript, the type of which that surely sits in the drawer of countless writers, artists, intellectuals and other creative people.

Of course, there is nothing wrong in failing to achieve the results for which we are hoping – but beware! Our unfinished plans have weight and this accumulates over time to act like a millstone.

They say that nothing succeeds like success, and surely the corollary of this that nothing diminishes our energies like the disappointment of a de-railed plan and an unfulfilled goal.

But it is more than a simple accumulated loss of momentum that can destroy your creative dreams. Consider the consistent, unrelenting absorption in the lingering creative project that can occupy private thoughts for decades. The internal focus that this brings reduces our abilities to be present and our own internal critic chastises us for the exorbitant waste of time and effort.

In our denial we become embittered as we see people, perhaps less talented, receive the plaudits or lead the life that we had planned for ourselves. Rather than engaging and deriving pleasure from our creativity it becomes a burden and we become taunted by our inability to produce the quantity and quality of creative work that we easily imagine. No amount of positive thinking can overcome the reality of seeing your creative dreams unfulfilled.

Spend time with the elderly and their advice will generally be the same: the regrets of the things they don’t do weigh heavier than any regrets caused by doing.

But we are fooled. Obituaries are filled with stories of successes and achievements, but they never list the longed for things that remained unfulfilled – and we could perhaps learn most about our subject by knowing this.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Mark Twain

Despite all the evidence, we are deluded into believing that we have time. This leads us to believe that the manuscript can wait, but time passes. Perhaps when twenty years have passed and we are able to see that our creative dreams have not substantially progressed we will then know the weight of the uncompleted task. With luck it will not then be too late.

For some thoughts on achieving goals click here.

Tags: Creativity Coaching, Goals, Increasing Creativity
Posted in Creativity Coaching, Goals, coaching concepts | No Comments »