The essential point is the degree of absorption
CREATIVITY BEGINS WITH ENGAGEMENT
“Thought of the Week” for December 7, 1998
The first thing we notice in a creative act is that it is an encounter. Artists encounter the landscape they propose to paint—they look at it, observe it from this angle and that. They are, as we say, absorbed in it. Or, in the case of abstract painters, the encounter may be with an idea, an inner vision, that in turn may be led off by the brilliant colors on the palate or the inviting rough whiteness of the canvas. The paint, the canvas, and the other materials then become a secondary part of this encounter; they are the language of it, the media, as we rightly put it….
The encounter may or may not involve voluntary effort — that is, “will power.” A healthy child’s play, for example, also has the essential features of encounter, and we know it is one of the important prototypes of adult creativity. The essential point is not the presence or absence of voluntary effort, but the degree of absorption, the degree of intensity; there must be a specific quality of engagement.
Comment:
If interpreting literature and film, or the process of writing, are creative acts, then it must be an encounter between student and material. More importantly, according to May, is the degree of absorption the student has in the material. The student must get beyond abstracting the material, putting it “out there,” and involve himself or herself in the experience of the reading or viewing. Engagement must precede creativity.
Engagement and Creative Act
The essential point is the degree of absorption
CREATIVITY BEGINS WITH ENGAGEMENT
“Thought of the Week” for December 7, 1998
The first thing we notice in a creative act is that it is an encounter. Artists encounter the landscape they propose to paint—they look at it, observe it from this angle and that. They are, as we say, absorbed in it. Or, in the case of abstract painters, the encounter may be with an idea, an inner vision, that in turn may be led off by the brilliant colors on the palate or the inviting rough whiteness of the canvas. The paint, the canvas, and the other materials then become a secondary part of this encounter; they are the language of it, the media, as we rightly put it….
The encounter may or may not involve voluntary effort — that is, “will power.” A healthy child’s play, for example, also has the essential features of encounter, and we know it is one of the important prototypes of adult creativity. The essential point is not the presence or absence of voluntary effort, but the degree of absorption, the degree of intensity; there must be a specific quality of engagement.
Comment:
If interpreting literature and film, or the process of writing, are creative acts, then it must be an encounter between student and material. More importantly, according to May, is the degree of absorption the student has in the material. The student must get beyond abstracting the material, putting it “out there,” and involve himself or herself in the experience of the reading or viewing. Engagement must precede creativity.