Abstract
The concept of creativity has been theorized and debated for millennia, dating back to the Greek philosopher Plato, who referred to “divine madness” in poets. Debates continue as to whether creativity is a gift or talent, a product of the genius gene, a side effect of mental health conditions, or if it is learned and nurtured through the environments and societies in which an individual grows and develops. While there is a wealth of research that sets out to define the concept of creativity, and numerous theoretical models have emerged since the early part of the 20th century, little of that involves artists reflecting on the concept. In order to explore this area, this study surveyed 314 artists from a range of countries, using an online survey, which invited them to reflect on creativity as a concept and how they understand it within their artistic practice. The findings reveal that creativity is a complex term and there is a range of understandings demonstrated by those who practice art-making. Questions for key stakeholders in education and policy are also raised, in terms of the role and place of artistic creativity in society.
Highlights
Creativity pervades society and a range of areas of practice, be this in the arts, sciences, medicine, engineering, technology or business
Artists have a long history of attracting attention in relation to creativity, for example they have even been regarded as alchemists who turned random items into works of aesthetic beauty (Friend, 2005)
In Cropley et al (2010) it is evidenced that for some artists, success can lead to a stifling or even drying up of creativity; Ralph Ellison and Harper Lee are cited as examples of key writers who, as far as is known, never produced another novel after the success of Invisible Man (Ellison, 1995) and To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee, 2014) respectively
Summary
Creativity pervades society and a range of areas of practice, be this in the arts, sciences, medicine, engineering, technology or business. Artists have a long history of attracting attention in relation to creativity, for example they have even been regarded as alchemists who turned random items into works of aesthetic beauty (Friend, 2005) While these myths and perceptions have to a large extent faded, the concept of creativity through art-making remains an ongoing and complex area of theorization, debate and research (Lubart, 2018). It has been argued that creativity requires a third aspect, namely high quality, one of the problems with this for example, is that it does not cater to children, who are highly creative in their own way but whose work would not often be described as having significant aesthetic or social value (Kaufman, 2009). This study set out to explore current artists’ reflections on creativity as it applies to them and their practice
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