Having Gregory Crewdson come speak to us after hearing the ideas of a psychologist and cognitive (Simonton and Neressian, respectively) helped to bridge the ideas of creativity. I began to explore how Crewdson’s role as the artist could in anyway contribute to idea of creativity in science and technology. I took many ideas from both Crewdson’s discussion and lecture. What I found most interesting was Crewdson’s balance between his own ideas and the contribution of a community or group. In both meetings with Crewdson, I felt that these two factors play an important role in his photography, and when I considering these two factors, I see how they contribute to the ubiquitous idea of creativity. In some sense, every creative person must rely on not only his/her own ideas, but also his/her surroundings (i.e. community or environment) shape his/her view.
Crewdson spoke of how he values his time swimming. The experience of swimming provides him an opportunity to focus on his thoughts and lead him to new images to photograph. For him swimming is the rare opportunity to think, which brings up a valid issue regarding the creative process. Day to day life tends to interfere with one’s creativity. Other responsibilities lessen the amount of time one has for creativity. Crewdson employs swimming as his time to reflect. Once ideas stem from swimming, he involves more people in his creative process. During our morning discussion, I asked Crewdson how having a crew influences his creative process. I already assumed that working with a variety of people would evolve his image, and I assumed he would speak positively of the experience. His answer did support my assumption, and he spoke about the importance trusting your workers. He does not micromanage, but he has faith in their ability to contribute, and not betray, Crewdson’s initial idea. Of course, Crewdson also spoke of how he always uses the same people constantly, so the relationship between him and his crew continues to grow.
Beyond the crew, Crewdson also relies on the community for his creative process. The cooperation of many community members plays an important role for him. Crewdson spoke of how people such as the fire marshal, midwife, and homeowners all willingly participate in his photography. This is not a phenomenon of any sort, but rather clear evidence of a society’s desire to help make something memorable. Crewdson’s photography offers an opportunity for many people to experience creativity and art. The creation of something beautiful draws in people and gives them new courage or excitement.
With this balance between the individual artist and the community, I return to the role of creativity in science. A scientist hopes to discover or create something wonderful, and his/her community hopes to experience this creation. The scientist, also, needs time for reflection or recollection with his/her thoughts. After these moments, he/she may benefit from bringing their ideas into the community or a group. Simonton spoke of how a scientist is less likely to get input from a colleague because his or her ideas are more concrete than the abstractions of art. While this may have been true years back, the world of science has changed and new ideas are not as simple to discover. Today, I believe the balance Crewdson finds in his creative process would benefit the field of science as well.
Was wondering if the swimming things relates any to the idea of floating, letting the mind indulge in freer associations. i mean, of course, few want to calculate a complex mathematical riddle in the wet, but maybe a loosely structured type of mind-wandering could be rewarding.
This tension (or relationship) between individual and social contributions was also one of things I really picked up on with Crewdson’s work. One of the key themes in the field of science studies is showing that the scientific process is not just a matter of brilliant individuals, but it is a thoroughly social enterprise, even historically speaking. Perhaps one thing we can learn from Crewdson is that the fact that it is social doesn’t undermine the fact that it is also a creative activity of the scientist?