The agony of creativity. Search for inspiration. Creative people

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Often the phrase "the pain of creativity" sounds ironic. It would seem, what kind of torment can talented, and even more so brilliant people experience. For example, Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest master of the Renaissance, the creator-artist, sculptor and architect, said the following. In response to a question about how he makes such beautiful sculptures, he said: “I take a stone and cut off everything unnecessary from it.”

But he was sincere or cunning - God knows. Let's not guess and try to approach the questions of who is a genius, what is talent and how they feel in the process of creativity, using a scientific point of view. As they say, let's check harmony with algebra.

Tight relationship

The word "genius" has two meanings. And the first of them is the characters of Roman mythology, who were the guardian spirits of both the hearth and the people themselves. They were very devoted to a person, they were in charge of his birth, determined his character and the environment.its atmosphere.

In the second sense, a genius is a person who has very outstanding creative abilities. It turns out that both meanings of this word are closely related. The household geniuses were the personal spirits of the individual.

In ancient Rome, it was believed that achievements in the life of an individual indicate that he has a particularly powerful genius. But already by the reign of Octavian Augustus, this word gradually began to acquire such a meaning as talent, inspiration.

And now briefly - about the scientific point of view on who is a genius.

Ahead of time

A genius is a person who has the highest level of personality functioning - creative or intellectual. This level is manifested in the fact that outstanding scientific discoveries are made, philosophical concepts are created and the greatest works of art are created.

Genius is when these achievements represent a new stage in the development of a particular field of activity, when they are ahead of their time and thus form the zone in which culture will develop in the near future.

Genius and talent

There is no unambiguous opinion about the relationship between genius and talent. Since the time of Kant, these terms have been considered as closely related, but many authors, among whom, for example, Lombroso, distinguish these concepts systematically.

The difference between geniuses and talented people is seen, in particular, in the fact that geniuses, as a rule, manifest themselves in only one area, andtalents are few. In addition, it is believed that geniuses are characterized by low emotional intelligence, which can lead them to various mental disorders. But in any case, both geniuses and talents are creative people. Without their respective abilities, creating something new is not possible.

Creating spiritual values

Trying to understand what it is - the flour of creativity, it is necessary to talk about creativity as such. Creativity is such a process of human activity, during which materials and spiritual values are created, which are qualitatively new. And also this word denotes the very result of this process, its result. For example, such as world masterpieces created by great masters: paintings, sculptures, architectural structures, literary and musical works.

The main criterion that distinguishes the creative process from the production process is that its result is unique. The whole "trick" here lies in the fact that this very result cannot be directly deduced from the initial conditions. No one (sometimes even the author himself) is able to reproduce it exactly, provided that the initial situation is created.

Thus, creative people in the process of creating a work, in addition to labor itself, invest in the material with which they work, some possibilities, characterized by the fact that they cannot be reduced to labor operations or a logical conclusion. Therefore, in the final result, some of the aspects of theirpersonality. It is this fact that gives additional value to creative products, as opposed to production ones.

By magic

Russian and Soviet publisher, philologist, literary historian Lezin B. A considered the following three stages of creative activity, which can result in the creation of a masterpiece:

1. Labor that fills the sphere of consciousness with content, after which it is processed by the sphere of the unconscious.
2. Unconscious work, which is a selection of the typical. No one can judge how it is done, this is a mystery with seven seals.
3. Inspiration is a kind of shifting into consciousness from the sphere of the unconscious ready-made conclusion.

What is this very inspiration, with the help of which, like with the help of a magic wand, a creative result is obtained? Let's try to figure it out.

The state of the highest rise

Inspiration is such a special state in which a person is able to show the highest productivity, work with great enthusiasm and high concentration of forces. In this state, two spheres are connected - cognitive and emotional, heading towards solving the problems of creativity.

When the creator is under the influx of inspiration, he seems to be carried away by a stormy stream, he abstracts from the surrounding reality, does not always fully account for his actions and may not notice how much time has passed in reality - an hour or a day. It is then that the expression is used that histhe muse visited.

Kiss of the Muse

Usually, a muse is a person who contributes to the awakening of creative inspiration among artists or scientists. Basically, such a figure is a woman who is surrounded by an artist, poet, composer. This concept originates in the times of Antiquity. It was the muses who were given priority as a source of inspiration for the poet, necessary for him to create a talented work. If he succeeded, he was said to have received the Muse's kiss.

The fact is that the ancient Greeks believed that outstanding ideas appeared not as a result of the fact that mental processes occur in the human brain, but because they were bestowed by the gods or muses. In Greek myths, the muses were nine nymph sisters, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. They lived on Mount Helikon, being the companions of Apollo, who patronized the arts.

But what happens when the muse is not the creator, that is, when inspiration does not come to him? That's when the very torments of creativity come.

When inspiration slips away

The thing is that for a creative person in his poetic or artistic activity lies the whole meaning of existence. Therefore, when he is haunted by failures in this field, he experiences this with particular acuteness, reacting in the highest degree painfully. In his mind, life ends and the whole world collapses.

It seems to him that nothing in the world is more important and worse than the fact that he cannotintelligibly convey his feelings in a poem, or he fails to reflect chiaroscuro on the canvas in the right way. At the same time, it seems to the creator that he is a complete mediocrity, an insignificant person, that in the eyes of those around him he died as a poet or artist.

In such a situation, a person may become depressed, he stops sleeping, loses his appetite. Sometimes people in this state, having driven themselves to extremes, drink too much or go crazy. How to overcome the pangs of creativity, to experience insight again? There can be only one answer here - do not panic and plunge into work, go only forward.

In search of inspiration

According to researchers, the state of inspiration, as a rule, occurs in the person who stubbornly and with great passion strives to solve the creative task facing him. Here is what the great composer Tchaikovsky wrote about this in a letter to his patroness, Russian philanthropist Nadezhda von Meck in 1878.

He reported that sometimes inspiration slips away, is not given to him. But he considers it a duty for every artist never to succumb to inaction, since laziness in people is very strong. And there is nothing worse for an artistic nature than to succumb to it.

No way to wait. Inspiration is such a guest who does not like to visit lazy people. It comes only to those who call on it. Therefore, one must conquer oneself in order not to fall into dilettantism. Thus, Tchaikovsky called for work, no matter what, and not to sit back.

Acommunication with interesting people, with nature, listening to music, watching paintings, good films, doing some interesting business (if, of course, there is such a thing, in addition to the main business of life - creativity) helps to “wake up” creative impulses.

My muse, my soul

At the end of the review, it is worth noting the mention of the muse in modern youth culture. We will talk about a popular song performed by the Bashkir singer Radik Yulyakshin, also known under the pseudonym Elwin Grey, Honored Artist of Bashkortostan. He is also called the Bashkir Justin Bieber. His song "Black-eyed" contains the following words: "My black-eyed, my muse and soul." This appeal is addressed to the beloved girl, kind and beautiful, with whom the hero was bound by heaven for life.