A few years ago when I was in my late 60's, I took a eight week summer course (Photographing Landscape) at the Rhode Island School of Design. For those of you who are not familiar with RISD, it one of the premiere school in the US for students interested in studying Design and Architecture. The school is extremely difficult to get into, the students are all very brilliant. I got lucky; there was one space available and they allowed me to fill it.
I was 48 years older than any other student and 38 years older than the professor.
We would meet at a different location late in the afternoon each week-photograph the location during the golden light- and then convene a class in a local Italian restaurant (think pizza) and receive critique on the prior weeks work. Most of the students were not too familiar with a camera and almost none of them had ever used a required tripod before the first session. My fellow students initially were in awe of my knowledge of photography and peppered me with questions.
As the weeks progressed, these highly creative and brilliant young people started exhibiting work in the critique sessions that amazed me.
I was asking them-where was that-how did you conceive of that angle-how did you conceive of that out of focus and depth of field???
These young people were born with a gift that I will never possess- I can't explain the gift-they just saw things differently from most people and were smart enough in this instance to translate their vision into remarkable photographs.
At the conclusion of the course, the class had an exhibit of their work at a library in Cranston, RI. At a very long session the class determined the best work of each student's portfolio created during those eight weeks, and the images were printed, framed and hung.
I went to the opening of the exhibit and was surprised to discover a substantial group of people who had been coming annually to enjoy the creativity of each class.
What these young people possessed was a gift that they were born with-I don't think the gift can be learned-but I am a much better photographer having been exposed to their thought process
Stanley
Very insightful post Stanley.
There is no doubt in my mind that
if there is a mystery behind being visually creative, it is somewhat hard-wired from birth and either nurtured or suppressed during formative years. How many of us had it nurtured or suppressed is the burning question. There are probably more people with an inherent talent that is dormant than we may ever know ... and a return to a child-like wonder of discovery could unlock it. As Picasso said when ask how he liked the children's art at a school he was touring:
"When I was their age I could draw like Raphael. It has taken me a lifetime to learn how to draw like them".
I discovered very early on that I could draw and sculpt, something inherited from my mother who then nurtured it ... and was further nurtured by my grade school Art teacher who got me into special classes at the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum. This preordained my path in life where I went on to art school, became a painter, designer, illustrator ... and eventually into a "Creative" career in advertising after the practicality of earning a living to feed my family raised its demanding head
During my long career, I was in constant contact with others like me (painters, writers, art directors, designers, Illustrators, photographers, directors, cinematographers), which is why I believe in cross pollination amongst those with obvious talent. So, while one feels quite special amongst a grade school population, when thrust into a gaggle of like souls, the "specialness" fades rapidly.
As a creative director, it was my job to get the best from each creative person that answered to me, which boiled down to playing nurturing Mom to many, and then selecting who's stuff got taped to the refrigerator door as a form of natural selection that created a competition to excel. It is very hard to explain the process of creativity to those unfamiliar with naturally experiencing it as a matter of daily demand ... but over the years it became clear that it was triggered by an intuitive impulse to think and form ideas differently right from the start, which leads directly to seeing differently in the case of the visual arts.
Here is a non-photographic example that solved a way to sell a product by offering a unique selling idea:
Years ago, Yamaha wanted to sell a new TV in a world crammed with known brands of TVs. None of the business guys could come up with what made this one different. I explored alternative paths and discovered that the target audience was young ... and their relevant exposure to Yamaha was audio, not visual ... the big amps at rock concerts, pianos and keyboards. So, we strategically differentiated their product that way ... and the "creative" leap was expressed in the tag line ... "The Best Picture You Ever Heard". Think, muse, ponder first, then create.
It seems that the direction to discover or advance one's own originality is to ... know the known, reject the known, discover the unknown. It is hard to find any advancement in any art form, creative field, or personal creativity that didn't do that.
-Marc