This one leads to all kinds of comments on the nature and purpose of art, which has been on my mind for roughly a half century. (Maybe when you were a child you thought about why you'd make art. I sure as hell didn't. Actually that lack of thought is part of why I come to some of my conclusions.)…I don't think anything I have to say contradicts what you're saying.
Probably the best book on the subject is The Artist, by Edmund B. Feldman. And yet it failed to satisfy my inquiry. I've come to think that art is a way of thinking—to some extent a tool for it. In an essay Neil Gaiman said that when he wants to know what he thinks about something he writes a story about it.…Also, the theory of multiple intelligences, as described by Howard Gardiner nudges things this way.
Also tied to what you say, for both practicing artists and anyone just fiddling around, is the idea of lateral self-transcendence, which Aldous Huxley explores in The Devils of Loudun (I think that's the book, which I read over 40 years ago…upward, downward, and lateral self-transcendence). Working on something gets you outside yourself.
A person just pressing buttons to generate images or stories will experience none of this.
I agree, Michael. In creating art I guess there different approaches – to generalise: there's the pre-determined and conscious approach of the designer. The second is more unconscious and free-flowing. There are also many cross-overs. But I think the second is where the subconscious is accessed. I'll have to check out the Howard Gardiner book (all of them really, but this one piques my interest). Cheers pal, Dave.
This one leads to all kinds of comments on the nature and purpose of art, which has been on my mind for roughly a half century. (Maybe when you were a child you thought about why you'd make art. I sure as hell didn't. Actually that lack of thought is part of why I come to some of my conclusions.)…I don't think anything I have to say contradicts what you're saying.
Probably the best book on the subject is The Artist, by Edmund B. Feldman. And yet it failed to satisfy my inquiry. I've come to think that art is a way of thinking—to some extent a tool for it. In an essay Neil Gaiman said that when he wants to know what he thinks about something he writes a story about it.…Also, the theory of multiple intelligences, as described by Howard Gardiner nudges things this way.
Also tied to what you say, for both practicing artists and anyone just fiddling around, is the idea of lateral self-transcendence, which Aldous Huxley explores in The Devils of Loudun (I think that's the book, which I read over 40 years ago…upward, downward, and lateral self-transcendence). Working on something gets you outside yourself.
A person just pressing buttons to generate images or stories will experience none of this.
I agree, Michael. In creating art I guess there different approaches – to generalise: there's the pre-determined and conscious approach of the designer. The second is more unconscious and free-flowing. There are also many cross-overs. But I think the second is where the subconscious is accessed. I'll have to check out the Howard Gardiner book (all of them really, but this one piques my interest). Cheers pal, Dave.