Creativity NOW

This photographic series of five celebrates creativity in our time. “Our time” means right now, because these days, things move so fast that we will be in another era by the middle of next year, most likely. It’s no wonder the world’s head is spinning.

Retreat and rejection of the madness is part of what’s required for creativity now. And that is part of the message of the first photograph.

People used to type vast tomes on typewriters. Cormac McCarthy was one such individual. Even though he was hyper-aware of the latest developments in physics and other highly developed sciences, McCarthy continued to use a typewriter until the end (2023). The model of typewriter he used for his entire life is the exact same model shown in the picture. Someone gave this thing to me, believing it was an outdated piece of junk, but also knowing I would like it for some reason. The person had no idea about Cormac. The typewriter sits there by the window as a talisman now, even though I don’t appreciate Cormac’s work in the way I once did (but I still appreciate him).

T.S. Eliot said, “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” The same is true for the animal kingdom. The guy in this picture would have come over and said hi to me up close and personal if I’d hung around for much longer.

The last two pictures are visual representations of quotations which encapsulate the essence of creativity now. They should be (in order to be gotten the most out of) lived with, in the manner of Zen koans. Also, there is a reason they each appear in the visual format they appear in instead of only the words. The viewer is meant to guess and speculate what the reasons are (which is part of the fun).

The difference between propaganda and art is that one is simplistic and obvious and appeals to our baser instincts, while one is elusive and mysterious and appeals to the better angels of our nature, even when it’s brutal and disorienting at first, like much of Pollock’s work.