.jpg)
Legend tells that in 1974, daredevil Evil Keneivel was attempting to jump a motorcycle across the Grand Canyon. For months, the brash stuntman studied the terrain, prepared his motorcycle and sought permission to make the jump.
The corpus collosum is a channel that deeply divides the logical right hemisphere of the mind from the creative left hemisphere. Forcing the logical mind to jump the immense chasm of the corpus collossum to tap into the creative mind is just like that. It is a leap of faith to attempt that which seems impossible. The problem lies in deviating from that which is linear, where the outcomes are predictable, measurable and assumed to that which doesn't have a clearly stated outcome, and which certainly isn't measurable.
Categorically, students struggle when attempting to bridge that chasm between the observed and the imagined. The observed is measurable; I see this, I draw it as I see it. It is quantifiable. The imagined is invisible. It eventually must come from within, not without. A bit of your soul has to be spit back up with it. It's a nasty bit of business- painful, humbling and humiliating all at the same time.
If an aspiring creative is devoid of curiosity, then there is nothing to inform the imagination. We are inundated with access to information, yet we form habits where we seek those things that reinforce our way of thinking. Curiosity often leads to the metaphorical swatted nose. Let me be clear- information is not knowledge. Knowledge is ownership of information.
If there is an original thought out there, and I believe that there are still many, then how could one expect to know where to plot the course when that world doesn't yet live on a map? Creativity is searching. We are the great explorers; often not knowing what we are seeking, but being compelled to seek none the less. We can factor in our motivators and the driving force behind the seeking, yet we can't know from the start of our journey that which we will bring home from foreign lands.
Kaneival never made his jump over the Grand Canyon. He was never able to get air permission from the United States government to attempt it. He instead jumped his bike off of the abyss into the Snake River Canyon. He fell far short of nailing the landing. Perhaps he never intended to. The victory wasn't in the successful completion of the jump, but in the jumping itself. In this, Kanieval attempted what had never been done before. He may have fallen short of the Southern rim of the canyon, but he landed squarely on the other side of the impossible.
The corpus collosum is a channel that deeply divides the logical right hemisphere of the mind from the creative left hemisphere. Forcing the logical mind to jump the immense chasm of the corpus collossum to tap into the creative mind is just like that. It is a leap of faith to attempt that which seems impossible. The problem lies in deviating from that which is linear, where the outcomes are predictable, measurable and assumed to that which doesn't have a clearly stated outcome, and which certainly isn't measurable.
Categorically, students struggle when attempting to bridge that chasm between the observed and the imagined. The observed is measurable; I see this, I draw it as I see it. It is quantifiable. The imagined is invisible. It eventually must come from within, not without. A bit of your soul has to be spit back up with it. It's a nasty bit of business- painful, humbling and humiliating all at the same time.
If an aspiring creative is devoid of curiosity, then there is nothing to inform the imagination. We are inundated with access to information, yet we form habits where we seek those things that reinforce our way of thinking. Curiosity often leads to the metaphorical swatted nose. Let me be clear- information is not knowledge. Knowledge is ownership of information.
If there is an original thought out there, and I believe that there are still many, then how could one expect to know where to plot the course when that world doesn't yet live on a map? Creativity is searching. We are the great explorers; often not knowing what we are seeking, but being compelled to seek none the less. We can factor in our motivators and the driving force behind the seeking, yet we can't know from the start of our journey that which we will bring home from foreign lands.
Kaneival never made his jump over the Grand Canyon. He was never able to get air permission from the United States government to attempt it. He instead jumped his bike off of the abyss into the Snake River Canyon. He fell far short of nailing the landing. Perhaps he never intended to. The victory wasn't in the successful completion of the jump, but in the jumping itself. In this, Kanieval attempted what had never been done before. He may have fallen short of the Southern rim of the canyon, but he landed squarely on the other side of the impossible.
Posts
10 comments:
Great post Sterling. I feel like this relates a lot to me.
Does art that comes from within have to be imagined, or can it be observed as well? Handeling like Sargents Bravura brushstroke cannot be observed into a painting, but is still painted from life.
This has been a topic I have been thinking about a lot lately.
thanks for the words of wisdom!
there is a saying I'm sure you've heard at least one version or another of...
'shoot for the moon. even if you miss, you're still among the stars.'
looks like applies everywhere. you never know how far you can push it until you just push.
i find the part about jumping the chasm between the observed and the imagined particularly illuminating. it IS very humbling and painful and confusing. thanks for articulating it so well! gives me something to think about.
Sorry, but I couldn't make much sense of this post. :\
Charles, It certainly relates to me, as well as all (with very few exceptions) of the students that I've taught over the years. We are part of a system that doesn't know how to nurture that creative part of things. It's not punished, but it's not rewarded either. I had a math teacher in middle school call in my parents- he was concerned that I was drawing satanic monsters in his class. My parents arrived to find drawings of dragons and skulls. If it was satanic, that was news to me! My folks laughed it off and encouraged more of it. Thank God for wise parents.
s.
Vincent- to know your thresholds, you have to exceed them. Thanks for sharing.
Michelle, I'm glad it was of some help. Thanks for stopping in and posting.
s.
Anonymous- I can't make much sense of why you bothered to leave a comment.
I wish the term 'imagination' didn't have such an anti-reality stigma. I wish it meant discovery and vision of "probable impossibilities."
Hi Sterling, I am a VLP subscriber, who just came upon your blog. This particular part of your incredibly thoughtful post is a guide for me right now as i reach for a new level in my art:
"The observed is measurable; I see this, I draw it as I see it. It is quantifiable. The imagined is invisible. It eventually must come from within, not without. A bit of your soul has to be spit back up with it."
Post a Comment