On a blank note #1

WHAT IS CREATIVITY?

During a rather interesting discussion in our otherwise boring art class, we stumbled upon an age old argument; Is creativity innate or acquired?

We were a group of mildly enthusiastic college students, who were not really connoisseurs of western art. However when we started researching about the lives and work of a few painters who had major influence on the Western art movement, we were intrigued by their power of thought and the idea of how they changed the notions of creativity through time.

We tried to decipher the meaning behind the paintings. When we looked at a Van Gogh or even a few of Picasso’s works, we saw something; it was tangible and formed a meaning in the mind. The only thing that made us wonder was the style. However, with painters such as Pollock, Rothko, S.H Raza or Piet Mondrion, it was intangible, abstract. What was it with paint dripped over a large canvas board, or a single coat of red and purple painted over a canvas? What did blocks of red, blue and yellow mean? What were the rows of triangles, circles and squares that formed a maze within itself in Raza’s paintings?

As we pondered through the meanings of each colour, shape and the motive behind what was being expressed, one of my friends, came up with something. She showed us a picture of a painting on her mobile screen; none of us understood it at first. There was a huge white canvas with a line in the centre. On a closer look, I realized that it was indeed two blank canvases, unframed, with a gap in between. This threw me off guard as I asked myself the question of what I was doing around calling myself a creative person.

 That was when I came across ‘The White paintings’ by Robert Rauschenberg. It blew my mind away. To those of you who might ask, or rather scorn at the fact that anyone could have put three blank canvases and called it as art, I’m sorry but he did it first. Not only was I amazed at the thought of it, but it also changed the way art and creativity meant to me.

The White Paintings by Robert Rauschenberg

None better than John Cage could’ve described this work better; “To whom: no subject, no image, no taste, no object, no beauty, no message, no talent, no technique, no why, no idea, no intention, no art, no object, no feeling, no black, no white, no and.” He himself has composed a piece 4’33”, which is a treat to watch (and slightly farcical). (Spoiler alert: He sits in silence in front of a piano for 4’ 33”)

My friend told me that she had come across this in a book and introduced me to ‘The Book of Nothing’ by John D.Barrow. The author explores both the numerical value and the literal meaning of Nothing. He takes the meaning of Nothing in the fields of science, math, literature and art. It was quite an interesting read.

After a period of contemplation, I started writing again. I also attempted to recreate a few of the great artists on a highly ambitious series of canvas paintings. I embarked on a project of putting high end art in a way that even common people could appreciate, by recreating it on notebooks. I got inspired by people and places. All of this experience brought back in me the same question about creativity. Of course I feel that creativity is acquired, and the way it differs from person to person is how they perceive and experience their surroundings. At the same time I feel that creativity is again one of the words that we use without knowing the meaning. On this page, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on art, my travel experiences and a bit of everything. I dare not call it creativity because I am yet to understand the meaning.

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Republished from July 12, 2018