Why is creativity both celebrated and dismissed?
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There are so many mixed messages surrounding creativity. As a culture we elevate, revere (idolize even) creative people like performers, authors and fashion designers. Superbowl Sunday is as much about the halftime performance and commercials as it is about the football game. Every year, the expectations grow and grow for a more entertaining and jaw-dropping display. This year, we watched a pregnant Rihanna suspended on floating platforms high above the stadium. The feedback I read on my social media newsfeed from so many was her performance wasn’t as good as the year that…[fill in the blank]. The creative threshold is, literally, so high.
People are willing to pay A LOT of money to go see their favorite bands.
Remember the Taylor Swift Ticketmaster debacle (November 2022)? Fans were irate when they had trouble scoring tickets. Ticketmaster cancelled its public sale due to unprecedented demand and technical issues. 2 million tickets were sold during the first day; the most ever sold by an artist in a single day. The price of tickets originally costing $9-$449, soared on resale sites for over $700. In certain U.S. cities, the price has surpassed $2,400, with some tickets being sold for well over $10K. At one point before more shows were added to the schedule, some were allegedly on Stubhub.com as high as $22K. Wow. Wow. Wow.
From what I understand, due to Ticketmaster being an outside entity, Taylor Swift had no control over the dynamic pricing. I wonder how this situation affects her feelings of self-worth as a creative. Does she feel celebrated? I can only imagine the amount of pressure she feels to deliver value to her fans. I hope she knows she isn’t just earning money based on each performance, but she is being compensated for the years she spent creating, finding the courage to hold her course and the stamina to execute on her ideas over a long time.
I also wonder if she was encouraged as a child to learn how to sing, play guitar and write music. Did adults and peers in her environment support or discourage her creativity? Did they dismiss it as a hobby and tell her she should have a sensible backup plan? If that is the case, it is a good thing she had the will and confidence to disregard this noise. She has created a huge community around her art and brings a lot of joy to millions of fans. How many other people in our society could have emerged and given the world the joy of their offering if only our culture would allow more space to tap into our own version of creativity and to unlock our unique life force?
I get it that not everyone will be a phenom story like Taylor Swift. However, is it true that 20% of “creatives” make 80% of the wealth or are we just failing to see how all successful people in all industries are really, REALLY creative in some way? Isn’t it true in every industry, the most successful people are somehow the most creative thinkers? Check out what I mean by perusing Time’s 100: the list of the most influential people of 2022.
Images: Rihanna performing on a floating stage at Superbowl LVII, Rihanna reveals her pregnancy during the performance, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour image on Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster cancelled its public sale due to unprecedented demand and tech issues, Taylor Swift the highest paid performer in 2022 earning $92 million, Time’s list of 100 most influential people of 2022
The starving artist myth has been perpetuated for generations. Directly or indirectly, most of us were (and still are) taught we should follow a traditional career path in order to be independent, successful and financial stable. As one of the unfortunate side effects of a well-intentioned feminist era of the late 1960’s and the 1970’s, I think women became especially susceptible to holding this belief. The message was: the alternative to a traditional career is too risky, so don’t do it…you might end up a starving artist. Instead, many demands of being “all the things, all at the same time” have piled up: we are expected to be independent, full-time employees, full time always-available mothers and perfect partners.
Images: History.com features the long history of feminism, Feminist Art by Barbara Kruger, A featured image in an article titled “5 Things Women Couldn’t Do In the 1960’s”, A film still from the1980’s comedy 9-5 about a revolution in the workplace and female empowerment, Working Girl poster (1989) a movie about competition between two women in the workplace, Working Mother a magazine instilling how women can do all the things, Many women left the workforce during the Covid pandemic to homeschool their kids, The beloved and successful multi-hyphenate Jennifer Lopez seemingly crushing the work-home-life-mom-partner balance game, More millennial moms are opting to be full time caretakers of their children
Here is a thought experiment: what if we fostered creativity in all disciplines and parts of our lives instead of being so regimented and rule-based? It seems ludicrous to me for a teenager to decide their life trajectory at such a young age, only to decide after the accumulation of college loans, they did not end up in a profession they are interested in or passionate about at all. Experiences are never “wasted”, but I imagine this would make one feel completely trapped!
Isn’t it more productive to encourage our kids to dip their toes into a lot of areas that spark a fire in them and observe what inspires them, support a pivot here and there while they are still young? What if we focused on children’s individual interests instead of asking “What do you want to be when you grow up”? Wouldn’t more people understand their purpose at a younger age and select a path that uses their passion to facilitate growth and success? I have never seen my children work harder than when they were deeply interested in what they were doing. There would be immeasurable focus and concentration. Time stood still while building Legos, Thomas the Train tracks, measuring ingredients for a recipe, reading a treasured book, building a world in Minecraft or learning a new guitar riff. The rewards were so intrinsic, you could almost see all the feel-good chemicals like serotonin seeping out of their brains.
We hold famous creative talents on the highest pedestal in society. They are “up there” with world leaders, CEOs, renowned professors, doctors and scientists. Successful creatives get respect and the metaphorical seat at the table with these acclaimed groups. This doesn’t align with what we are taught as children. Why is there this disconnection of what we learn and what is true later in our adult lives?
In preschool through kindergarten, the focus is on math facts and letter recognition over imaginative play. In first grade through at least twelfth grade education, mathematics, science, reading, social studies and writing (critical to learn of course) take precedence over the arts. So much is demanded of teachers. They aren’t given any breathing room or budget to provide more creative environments and lessons.
Unfortunately when budget cuts occur, the first disciplines to disappear are programs that foster creativity like music and art. What conclusion can be made other than these are deemed as “less than”. Again, I truly believe all disciplines require creativity. Instead of stifling the creativity we are all born with, we should be fostering and growing our creative abilities at every age, so we can succeed in life, no matter what career path(s) we pursue.
Nearly every single thing we do in life requires some creativity. When I was a mom of toddlers, every day was quite the creative endeavor. Parents have to continuously plan and improvise. Other ways creativity shows up in normal life: organizing one’s home to be more efficient so time isn’t wasted looking for things, cooking a meal from random pantry ingredients, putting together an outfit, designing a garden, and problem solving at work are just a few examples. Even financial planning requires creativity to meet monthly cashflow goals, allocate for a vacation, anticipate new expenditures or saving for retirement. If you have ever had a health issue, and most of us have, researching and asking good questions involves creative, critical thinking.
Most times, the more “out of the box” thinking we do, the better the results. Creativity helps harness energy, propelling us forward through a process, without forcing our will. Our strong will (or stubbornness) can keep us stuck in a place where we just constantly get in our own way.
While necessity might be the mother of invention, creativity fuels an idea to fruition.
Images: Creativity in nature, My eldest son logging LEGO hours, Preschool graduation for my middle son, Teaching my youngest how to make Ukrainian varenyky, Creative inspiration via a caterpillar of some sort in my garden, A rodent’s home entrance designed by one of my kids, My cousin’s baby shower: I am probably telling her how difficult yet rewarding it is to be a new mom, Painting is my creative outlet (“Star Pieces”), A print of my piece “State of Mine/ Mind” next to my BFF’s creation (Tanya Debarry and I create together), My son painting in the backyard of our first home
Being creative, and the joy of it, is the ability to go anywhere in your mind. For those of us who are restless by nature, feel trapped by our circumstances, overwhelmed, stressed or struggle with our mental health…the skill of going anywhere in your mind is a lifesaver. Knowing how creativity shows up for you is a tool to having physical and mental freedom.
Creativity is not synonymous with being artistic. Creativity is simply essential to survive. It helps us release emotions and unlock whatever healing we need to do so life is more joyful and fulfilling.
This is the lesson we should be introducing to our babies and reiterating, reinforcing throughout their childhood, in every school subject. Honing your own personal version of creativity is a life skill and provides a special kind of freedom. We all need to feel a sense of freedom, and it is possible by tapping into our unique creative life force. How are you being creative? The options are infinite. Maybe you tap into your sense of freedom while singing in your car, exploring some place new, observing nature, exercising, being in service to others or content creating (hello teens doing those choreographed dance reels on Tik Tok)!
For me, as I am sure you may have guessed, freedom is painting. Time flies by and simultaneously stands still when I am in a creative flow. It’s a meditation. Thoughts, ideas come and go; I learn so many lessons during these creative moments.
Creativity should be celebrated, not dismissed. How does creativity show up in your life?
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Stay inspired,
Melanka
