Review of ‘Imagine- How Creativity works’ by Jonah Lehrer
Although I did not mention it by name I did very briefly refer to this book in last weeks’ post. I had only read the introduction at that point but it was already having a profound effect in my thinking about creativity especially in relation to my own experiences (but more of that later). The book is aiming to answer and demystify the kind of myths that surround creativity, what it is, where it comes from and how it works. When I say, ‘myths’ I mean the kind of preconceptions that ‘creativity is something that only creatives do’. But who are these ‘creatives’?! The very idea that there is such a thing as creativity that is separate and bestowed only on certain people who are then deemed to be creative, is rubbish and most people know better, that anyone who has ever made a cake, potted a plant, created a joke, sang a song, written a letter, solved a crossword, or demonstrated any kind of problem solving is creative. In fact sleeping, something which everyone does, is one example mentioned in the book where the act of dreaming is both very creative and highly imaginative. Imagine then what you could do when you’re awake! Lehrer refers to Kirkegarrd who says, ‘Sleeping is the height of genius.’ Zzzzz…..So, anyway, by no means is this book a patronising look into the stereotype of creativity, in fact if anything it almost read more like a self-help book on the highs and lows of trying to force or use creative thinking to solve a problem,
‘Every creative journey begins with a problem. It starts with a feeling of frustration, the dull ache of not being able to find the answer. We’ve worked hard, but we’ve hit the wall. We have no idea what to do next. When we tell one another stories about creativity, we tend to leave out this phase of the creative process. We neglect to mention those days when we wanted to quit…instead we skip straight to the breakthroughs. We tell the happy endings first.’
FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW PLEASE GO TO…
http://somersetartworksblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/art-book-review-of-month-june.html
