The Advancement of Creativity

Laughing is good medicine,

but if one laughs for no reason,

one needs medication.

Given the enjoyability factor in creative thinking, which goes so far as to denounce the validity of reason in all the prerogatives it assumes in the practice of aesthetics, on the one hand, and in the spread of contemporary artworks interpreted sui generis, which once used to explore new mediums inspires new combinations of materials, on the other, aesthetics would seem to be alive and well in a world of technology and automation.

Creativity is so mixed with existential thought (principally because philosophers are artists who aim to sculpt the sound and beautiful thoughts) that one has the overall impression that aesthetics as a cogent core of intuitions, insights, inspirations, experiments and passions, as found in the entire classical world, has blossomed and this innermost core of identifying with self eternal.

Artists manifest the facileness of assumption. Aesthetics has not lost its identity; it merely transforms itself as new materials are made available.

Indeed, crowning the creativity of contemporary artworks, this flourishing of artists from all around the world to consider the aesthetics of intuitions, insights, inspirations, experiments and passions that artists by following by and large the aesthetic outline of the Human Creative Condition has further elaborated, manifesting the aesthetic spirit as its most vigorous.

Classical ideas of aesthetics retain their legitimate claims albeit in novel formulations and within a novel framework. But in this novel era, the era in which aesthetics has at last arrived or is arriving at its destination, the classical ideas with their claims are left rather in the painter's palette while new incipient ideas are being laid down as cornerstones of a gigantic edifice to be erected before the world stage.

It is indeed, from an overturn or priorities, with cognition and its specific mental intentionalities now assuming second place, while the creative act of the human being assumes first place, that this novel edifice receives the orientation for its inspiration.

Furthermore, although a proper place remains allotted to aesthetic consciousness, the subject with its originative extensions is not just alive in terms of its classical priority, but is turned inside out of its directing position to a limited realm for the newly recognized aesthetic principles of being, which is that of self-creativity-in-expression. 

Thus at the very center of contemporary fields of aesthetic investigation, we find clues for the genuinely aesthetic mathesis universalis, that was the initial dream of Husserl and which, having gotten lost in his meanders, he failed to devise.

Poor Husserl.

By thus going back to the creative virtualities of human existence and the principle of self-creative-expression, an entire new way of aesthetic expression emerges in which all rationalities transform themselves by nature of inventive fertility.

Herein this blog is situated volumes of examples, a splattering of ideas, points of view, and insights which come from otherwise diversely influenced conceptions and reflections offer Reader-Viewers COLORFUL PERSPECTIVES a compelling investigation of some major issues which reappear again in new formulations: principally the issue of a human individuals self-creativity-in-expression, insofar as he or she becomes and evolves with respect to the force which drives human imagination.

What has its classical flavor in rhyme and meter, color and composition, is clad now in modalities of the nuanced and modulated transmissible interplay of forces which allow the human being to create herself while co-creating something else, and this in the societal, vitally conditioned, significant networks of human inventiveness.

Human creativity with respect to the objects we create - artworks and inventions - go back to the fundamental virtuality of the Human Creative Condition of the moral sense, whence the morality, ethics, and regulations which human beings establish for their co-existence take flight.

The above-indicated set of principles which has overturned classical aesthetics, which at the same time standing counter to the overinflated tendencies of contemporary aesthetics, has been operative to various degrees throughout history, in particular since the 1960s, during which time the attention of numerous scholars was drawn to its novel vistas and principles.

Contemporary artists have attracted anew to these approaches. During at least the last five decades we have been witnessing the inception of a reinterpretation of the classical thinkers, finding in their thought ideas congenial to ours which have hitherto been overlooked, both in their dominant trends of interpretation as well as in excavating reflections and insights pertinent to our problems.

It is in this spirit that creativity has been advancing. Thus in all similar aspects of creation (blogs, Pinterest posts, Tumblr photos, social sharing feeds, and all not-before-traditional modes of Human-Creative-Expression) classical aestheticians are interpreted anew in the perspective of how their thoughts converge on our aesthetic sensibilities.

This blog is filled with examples of mixed-thinking via mixed-media, mixing genres, and interweaving photos to elevate words to new heights. For over nearly five years this blog has been devoted to exploring humor, wherever it may reside, so long as it is respectful of human dignity. In this vein a variety of styles have been smooshed together just to see what emerges. While not overtly funny, the enjoyability factor comes from not knowing the end result - not knowing how scholarly discourse combined with nonsensical absurdities might sound or look on virtual paper.

Living up to the blog's original title "Sophy 'softly' Laughing" posts often mimic their namesake - eliciting soft or quiet laughter. It is not the giant guffaws that draws attention to this blog. It is the earnest search for those things that delight and inspire wonderment. The "funny" aspect of searching for the experience of wonderment is how easily it can be found by comparing seemingly divergent thought systems in order to find the bridge that unites them. What is truly funny for me - recognizing humor is subjective - is how united all thought systems are when we search for connecting strands. But it is not a search for the visible, it is a search for possibilities and what-ifs.

For example: What if there really are Blacksheepologists in the world ... analyzing data in the hopes of uncovering the true origin of the elusive Black Sheep? Every family reportedly has a Black Sheep in the family. It could indeed be that in a world of 7 billion people one person might actually be reading the Black Sheep Scrolls in search of clues to determine whether or not there was indeed a time when counterfeit black hides were being mass-produced.

Even if this example only resides in my mind, and now in HTTF - it exists. I have imagined It into existence... a scenario that might not have ever been imagined had it not been for my own brand of Sophist humor ("Sophist" as in Sophy Laughing-inspired -vs- "sophist" as in those contemptible, degrading, disgraceful, disreputable, loathsome, reprehensible, infamously slimy, morally suspect rhetoricians of 5th century BCE Greece claiming to specialize in the tools of philosophy and rhetoric only to miss the mark entirely).

I conclude this post with the statement that I believe eternity to be everywhere. Everywhere is eternity. Thus we exist in eternity. Whether or not we eternally exist is an entirely different question. This matters because that which we do, we are doing for an eternity. If life does not bring us all the riches we desire, the love we deeply long for, or the health or beauty we wish were our own to possess, it can bring us other opportunities. The opportunity to create something from nothing. The opportunity to see each experience as one belonging to a certain space held within eternity. If we are held in eternity, which seems inescapable; if we cannot unexist the nature of our existence, as our bodies remain, and the 21 grams of spirit that escapes is still held within existence, i.e., eternity; then, we might as well do something that entertains us.

Writing and creating thoughts that had hitherto before not existed entertains me. If it did not, I would cease to do it. I am not required to write. I am not paid to write. I am not rewarded for writing beyond the rewards the experience itself affords me. Many people around the world are in a constant state of creative expression: doing, acting, and engaging with the world from a place that brings them no financial gain, no worldly acclaim, and no intense emotional engagement from the world - but they still do it.

Day in day out, people everywhere are inspired to create by nature of their fulgurating spirit. Whether a being is sharpening a stone hand axe for beautification rather than utility, whether an elephant is playing with a bouncy ball or rocking to Bach, whether insects are building nests rather than mindlessly roaming in perpetual search of sustenance, we are all held in an eternity whose natural state is one of Creative-Expression.

Rather than succumb to rationalism; rather than abandon my blogging to strategize other 'more important things' ... which would surely bring about a more shallow blend of mind manifesting "fin de sièce" moods regarding my use of time; if instead I tell myself I have all of eternity to write this blog AND still have extra time left over to strategize on those 'more important things' ... I have seized eternity for myself. Here I am crafting eternity as it pleases me.

If we are willing to temporarily suspend our long-cherished convictions and expectations which sidestep us more than they propel us forward to face the tests of progress for ourselves, we are more able to maintain their validity or well-foundedness as we discover for ourselves which convictions and expectations serve and which do not. It is only in the doing that we discover.

These thoughts vanish nearly as fast as they are presented. They are grains of salt lively enough only for metamorphosed fulfillment. Aesthetics worldwide is the promise and part-realization of this type of metamorphosed fulfillment of eternity's (and of this century's) long-lasting Creative Dream, it's fulfillment in the aesthetics of life and Creative Expression.

The Art of Being Carefree

The art of feeling carefree, free from anxiety or responsibility, is the delight one feels associated with the sublime and is not linked to form, i.e., a preconceived judgment on how "serious" one should respond to the external environment and needs of the body.

Carefreeness (form) seems to be preadapted to our power of judgment, whereas seriousness (limitlessness and totality) is violent toward our imagination, overriding it with every "serious" thought. 

Allowing oneself to feel carefree implies furtherance of life and, thus, it is compatible with charm and playful imagination. The sublime quality associated with carefreeness implies a furtherance of earnestness in the concerns of the imagination. Since the mind is repelled by stress, the mental and emotional strain or tension resulting from our perspective of adverse or demanding circumstances requiring serious examination, the accumulation of vital forces produces not play but a hindrance of peaceful dignity. 

It is noteworthy to highlight that the point here is not necessarily insouciance as opposed to a relaxed calm, but the representation of composure and mental serenity that comes with the mental state of feeling calm and untroubled. 

The "art" associated with maintaining a carefree state while engaging in circumstances that require our attention is indeed a creative activity as maintaining any given state of mind requires skill, something typically acquired through practice. 

Purposely choosing to respond to life's demands in a carefree fashion produces a dignity unfamiliar to the majority who like Kant, see the sublime as a hindrance of the well-known serious attitudes associated with progress. When the state of carefree is chosen and skillfully maintained, the sublime quality of dignity arises, an ideal goal to be earnestly sought for. 

The characteristics of dignity of mind, which arise from the skillful continuance of the state of carefreeness, produces a multitude of responses concerned with the processes and products of human existence and social life (as contrasted with the belief that progress lies in serious critique and judgment prior to understanding). The sense of pride in oneself arising from decorum, propriety, and noble intent progresses our imagination towards ad infinitum. Irregularity and disorder are mere subjective judgments, whereas the dignity that arises from purposeful carefreeness releases the mind from the belief that seriousness is the highest response. Surely being "serious" is a response one can choose, but it is not the only response. Thus other states of mind contribute to the positive outcome of life's many experiences. These states are explorable. 

While irregularity and disorder will still naturally arise in one's life (the perception of irregularity is experienced when one is maintaining a specific state as opposed to every conceivable state, such as is the perspective of being held in a physical mechanism), comprehension that these circumstances can be met from an entirely peaceful state of mind is where the neutral point of human response lies. The mere understanding that there is a "choice" is not only empowering but can lead to our successfully overriding the human tendency to "tense up" when encountering irregularity. 

Successfully maintaining this state of mind perhaps requires a quantum leap in imaginative thought. At a minimum it requires a willingness to explore. It is the explorations we undertake that moves the soul from one state to the next. 

The many explorations of form, perceived as true explorations of form, produces a calm in our sense of symmetry with a main axis that leads the eye to the horizon of what is rather than what can be produced. As with everything in life, the art of maintaining any state is a matter of intent, perspective, and choice. While these perceptions and their resulting actions can be perceived as processes and hence as an excitatory state independent of the sublime dignity felt in carefreeness, they are merely a matter of style. 

Vigor and Grace

French artist - Surrealist Jean-Claude Desplanques

In this post, we examine two seemingly divergent movements: Vigor and Grace. 

In order to explore whether the movements we deem courteous and goodnatured are related to the movements behind effort, energy, and enthusiasm or physical strength and good health, we must first consider each in and of itself prior to its relation to the other.

At first blush, the concepts of Grace and Vigor differ.

Grace is that simple elegance or refinement of movement we associate with an attractive and polite manner of being as well as a talent for behaving in kind.

Detail from Primavera (c. 1482)

Sandro Botticelli

Uffizi Gallery

One of the most recognizable subjects in the history of art, the Three Graces of Greek mythology have been the subject of countless artworks, poems, dances, and musical pieces.

Daughters of omnipotent Zeus, the Graces were broadly considered goddesses of charm, beauty, and creativity.

Aglaea, Euphorsyne, and Thalia embodied the ideals of Beauty, Mirth, and Good Cheer, respectively. The Three Graces were written on by such colossal figures as Homer and Pausanius, and were associated with both the Elusian Mysteries and the cult of the Oracle of Delphi.

Generally depicted as youthful, beautiful women, closely embracing each other or dancing in a circle, these three joyously dancing women whose voluptuous figures recall the fertility of goddesses of ancient love were the ones with whom all romanticized.

The Accolade (1901)

Edmund Blair Leighton (1853-1922)

Private Collection

Of the same nature and ignited by the same human sentiment, whether or not it is delivered in the same tender fashion associated with Grace, exists Vigor...

marked by a sense of robustness, radiance, energy, life, vitality, virility, verve, spirit, zeal, passion, determination, dynamism, and a force de vivre. 

Vigor is the binding force, the validity upon which Grace may rely to determine who and what belongs in one's good (or bad) graces. Those things belonging to the highest human ideals are what we regard with favor, those things that fall short are what we regard with disfavor.

Vigor personifies the act of bestowal, conferring or presenting an honor, right, or gift upon one who can be entrusted to be in harmony with such an endowment.

Omnia Vincit Amor (The Power of Love in the Three Elements) (1809)

Benjamin West (1738-1820)

The Met

The sentiment from which Grace and Vigor  arise is the sentiment that enables us to creatively plan life in ways that maintain an equilibrium - a dynamic, ever-adjustable balance between the exigencies of the three sides of life ~ to meet the challenges of survival, creative passion, and higher destiny.

Grace and Vigor foster the creative planning of human existence in all its many threads that we call "discovery".

In our postmodern period, we are constantly extending our creativity forth in an ontogenesis of being and at the same time a creative differentiator known as authenticity.

In this respect and along this line of thinking, according to which life is the measure of all things, the ideas of Vigor and Grace are both signifiers and justifers of life, of continuous individual development, and of self-consistent personalities.

Vigor and Grace belong to that continuous flux in which interconnectedness, interrelations, and reciprocal exigencies take place. The stable elements belonging to the bridge that connects a living individual to the shifts of identity that constantly yield a state of beingness and becoming.