Monday 23 April 2012

Task 22: Creativity, the talent myth and craft

In this blog post I am going to challenge what I have learnt about from previous years of schooling and hopefully gain some more knowledge on what is talent, creativity and skills.

Creativity by talent is a common phrase and there is a lot of controversy over it. To me creativity is to make (create) something new which has value. What I mean by new is very difficult to explain as I believe interperating somebody else’s ideas to improve your own can be as creative. What I also mean by value is that it holds significance to somebody even if it is the creator. I agree with this statement but I also think you don’t have to have a talented in a certain field to be creative in that same field.

This article talks about how everyone is talented and everyone is creative.
The lady believes that “Talent is defined as the potential or factual ability to perform a skill better than most people.”  She goes on to say “All people have the capacity to be both talented and creative, but most people believe that they are neither.”
The bit about Michael Jordan being kicked of the varsity team was because he wasn’t tall enough and didn’t stand out from the crowd not because he wasn’t good enough. He played in the junior varsity team and scored several 40 point games which is a massive achievement. He then grew 10 cm over summer and managed to get on the varsity roster.
Another thing I disagree on is that to me talent is a natural impulse or instinct which you are born with, its hard wired into you and it’s hard to deviate or shut off the talent but it will always be there and comeback. I know I am a creative person and that I am not an academic person. I have dyslexia and dyscalculia which means I have trouble with words and number but in its most basic form. I know that my brain Is wired in such a way that I find it hard to remember number sequences but find it really easy to spot patterns in shapes and colours.
The definition of craft is an activity involving skill in making things by hand. A Craft to me can also mean a sport or singing so I will take the first half of the definition, craft is an activity involving skill. I have learnt from Physical education that skill is learnt along with knowledge and that both can only enhance and stimulate your talent.
In the game industry everybody has creativity just some more than others. I.e. An art lead is at high up in the level of creativity as he/she has an overall say on what is working and what isn’t working. A concept artist is another high up creative job. A lower level of creativity would be an environment artist but that doesn’t mean there is no creativity in fact I think I should be using the word freedom more than creativity so an art lead has a high level of freedom. To me indie games are the most creative as you get to see a lot of freedom as the developers aren’t owned or under contract from larger companies telling them what to do.
As an artist I show my creativity through my chosen medium and I would expect my creativity to be acknowledged by others through critiques. I believe from what I have learnt and what I already knew I am both talented and skilful but I know my skills can be approved upon through determination and drive.

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