Recently, though, I ran across a couple of thoughts on creativity which, at first, seem contradictory, and so thought I'd throw them out on the blog, a tidbit for bored readers, friends and checkers-in.
First, from Einstein, the pithier of the two: "Creativity is the residue of wasted time."
Second, from Nietzsche: "The greatest creators are the hardest workers."
I should note that I'm paraphrasing Nietzsche there, but the point, in any case, is that of course the two notions are really not contradictory at all; rather, they're complementary. This is a distinction too often overlooked these days by rushed undergrads, indignant super-advocates and unctuous pontificators of all sorts. Right? But it's fun nonetheless, to think about. The sickly, desperate Nietzsche urging maniacal devotion from his cold bedchamber, and the zany, incandescent Einstein riding a bus, goofing off, dreaming of light.
As a fellow creative, I struggle in this limbo frequently...pressured by our American expectations to be "busy" and "efficient", but knowing in my heart that a 'good' product will only result from working hard at the right time, while never knowing when that right time will be. So far I haven't been burned too many times by embracing this belief through my educational and professional careers, but I also haven't had that many deadlines these last few years of economic dysfunction. I think the most important thing is to be aware of and able to recognize those moments when you are 'in the stream' ("following your bliss" and Joseph Cambell would say) and try to figure out the best ways to get back in and stay in longer.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's important to believe that wasting time can often have wonderfully useful results...like finding out that Albert Brooks' real name is Albert Einstein! :)
See, John, this is where you're hampered by being logical. For my part, I've shrewdly avoided the obstacle of logic in my life. This question, as I see it, is all about feel, and in fact, it seems to me that a significant portion of what we tend to label "creative genius" is actually just a really finely honed intuition about which of the two modes, Nietzschean, or Einsteinian, is called for at any given moment in the process of working on a piece.
ReplyDeleteAlso--seriously? Albert Brooks' real name is Albert Einstein? Wow.