3/7/2006
The creative process
There are a few things I know something about, and very many things about which I know absolutely nothing. But there's one thing I think I know quite a bit about, and that's the creative process. Being a writer in a professional capacity for the past 34 years, being the manager of newspaper writers, photographers and graphic artists, and being the husband and father of artists, creativity is something with which I deal on a daily basis.
As it has become a part of my daily routine, I don't often give the creative process much thought. But last week I was exploring an Internet site that explains how to create video presentations online and watched a sample production - "Adult ADHD" by Adam Cole - that got me to thinking.
Cole explains in his film that he is prone to distraction, begins projects and then abandons them, and worries that he suffers from Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. He decides to undergo tests to see if he has this disability. The tests indicate he does. The doctor recommends medication, which she and he hope will help him focus better. He indicates in the end of his video that he is taking it and it helped him finish the video.
I find this depressing. I wonder if Cole or his doctor have ever though much about the creative process and all that it involves. I wonder if they think that people, with the proper medication, can simply sit down and create art at a convenient time and place. Perhaps people can be drugged to the point where they are focused enough to create something, to finish projects. But is this art?
In his video, Cole shows himself sitting in front of his computer terminal reading a book, playing with his cat, doing just about anything but working at his computer. Apparently, he thinks this is abnormal, that he should simply be able to go to work at a certain time and be creative, and the only solution to this lack of productivity is drugs.
Inspiration is precious and fleeting. Sometimes, days go by before it appears, and then after a euphoric burst of activity, it's gone again. The creative process works in fits and starts; it's not something that can easily be turned on and off. Thoughts need to be cooked in the brain for awhile before they're ready to be expressed. Inactivity, procrastination, distraction and diversion are therefore as much a part of the creative process as the actual creation. Take them away, and what you're left with are uncooked ideas.
Adam Cole may be able to create more films while medicated, but I'm pretty sure they're not going to be worth watching.
