welsh
Junkmaster
I am not sure most people can go through that level of artistic process in their lives. Most folks aren't programmed for that, or even if they have an artistic talent, it is often so buried and repressed that it becomes almost impossible to cultivate and nourish.
But I also think that we live in an age where the artistic industry doesn't nurture the creative or artistic impulse.
In a sense its due to inherent contradictions within the industry itself. On one side, since the mid 19th century, we've had a remarkable creative wave in the arts, sciences,engineering- but in part because a growing capitalist economy looked for opportunities to exploit and develop. But as the industry has grown and costs of development increased (in part because everyone wants a big share of the stake), the costs of business reached such a high level that it deterred the high costs of artistic development.
R&D is expensive, especially if it gets pissed away when some other firm in another country exploits the R&D or can backward engineer a creation. Creating new music is difficult when file sharing robs the industry of profits. There are thousands of aspiring authors out there, but few are writing well enough or are so favored by luck as to publish, and many of those who publish don't get the exposure needed to become "sucecssful." Films, with the exception of independents, are such costly ventures, that investors want a "sure thing" which robs the film of its ingenuity, creativity and novelty.
Perhaps its not surprising that so much creativity has been coming out of foreign places- which often don't have the costs found in the developed economies or where stories exist that have yet to be told.
While I agree with Alec that much has "been done" and suffers the "been there, done that" problem, I am not completely convinced.
Western literature, for instance, has suffered from a form of introspection and self consciousness that works at the disadvantage of undermining other forms of examination. Where as art should allow us to examine our inner selves and the workings of our social world, I think there is a lot to be said about expanding out. Rather then intensive examination, perhaps extensive.
Each of us lives in a world confined by our cognitive or perceptional horizons. Part of what we should embrace in life is the expansion of that horizon, because by doing so we become not only more aware of our lives but of those lives around us. There are stories that we could have told that got passed on because they were not politically or socially popular of the time, ground that was not fully examined that still may produce. There are stories that remain locked in cultures we have barely explored.
Furthermore, there are new technologies that are unlocking new opportunities for story telling as well. I still think that computer gaming offers opportunities to tell compelling, interactive stories, but that much of that lies wasted by the industry itself. That it is small boutiques that offer the hope of the industry, and not the big firms- much as it is often the small independent studios that will point the way for the big commercial houses to follow.
This has been the problem of art for over a hundred years, probably longer. The artistic spark comes from the imagination- the rare genius who feels compelled to create. The commercial houses represent the industry that exploits those creations and which live to profit. Yet, the development of art takes time and investment, which the industry is reluctant to give. The greater the time and investment, the greater the risk for the firms, and the less likely you'll find great art coming from there.
But I also think that we live in an age where the artistic industry doesn't nurture the creative or artistic impulse.
In a sense its due to inherent contradictions within the industry itself. On one side, since the mid 19th century, we've had a remarkable creative wave in the arts, sciences,engineering- but in part because a growing capitalist economy looked for opportunities to exploit and develop. But as the industry has grown and costs of development increased (in part because everyone wants a big share of the stake), the costs of business reached such a high level that it deterred the high costs of artistic development.
R&D is expensive, especially if it gets pissed away when some other firm in another country exploits the R&D or can backward engineer a creation. Creating new music is difficult when file sharing robs the industry of profits. There are thousands of aspiring authors out there, but few are writing well enough or are so favored by luck as to publish, and many of those who publish don't get the exposure needed to become "sucecssful." Films, with the exception of independents, are such costly ventures, that investors want a "sure thing" which robs the film of its ingenuity, creativity and novelty.
Perhaps its not surprising that so much creativity has been coming out of foreign places- which often don't have the costs found in the developed economies or where stories exist that have yet to be told.
While I agree with Alec that much has "been done" and suffers the "been there, done that" problem, I am not completely convinced.
Western literature, for instance, has suffered from a form of introspection and self consciousness that works at the disadvantage of undermining other forms of examination. Where as art should allow us to examine our inner selves and the workings of our social world, I think there is a lot to be said about expanding out. Rather then intensive examination, perhaps extensive.
Each of us lives in a world confined by our cognitive or perceptional horizons. Part of what we should embrace in life is the expansion of that horizon, because by doing so we become not only more aware of our lives but of those lives around us. There are stories that we could have told that got passed on because they were not politically or socially popular of the time, ground that was not fully examined that still may produce. There are stories that remain locked in cultures we have barely explored.
Furthermore, there are new technologies that are unlocking new opportunities for story telling as well. I still think that computer gaming offers opportunities to tell compelling, interactive stories, but that much of that lies wasted by the industry itself. That it is small boutiques that offer the hope of the industry, and not the big firms- much as it is often the small independent studios that will point the way for the big commercial houses to follow.
This has been the problem of art for over a hundred years, probably longer. The artistic spark comes from the imagination- the rare genius who feels compelled to create. The commercial houses represent the industry that exploits those creations and which live to profit. Yet, the development of art takes time and investment, which the industry is reluctant to give. The greater the time and investment, the greater the risk for the firms, and the less likely you'll find great art coming from there.
. what, seriously??? 
