Thread by @vakibs

I saw an interesting documentary made by the German filmmaker Hermann Vaske "Why are you creative ?". Here is a short thread on this brilliant documentary.

kino-zeit.de/film-kritiken-…

whyareyoucreative.com/plain/index.php

The documentary is a compilation of the many interviews Mr. Vaske has done over the years, asking various famous creative artists the same question "Why are you creative". Some of these were published earlier as a book and in a TV series. But this is the first time I saw them.

"Why are you creative?" This is a very unsettling question. Nobody knows the origins of creativity.

Even the best of the creative artists, when they are in the throes of creative process, forget about themselves and do not consciously take note of what they are going through.

I think the answers could be grouped into 3 types.

1) People who tried to answer the question analytically, or plain helplessly expressed inability in answering it.
2) People who connected this to sex or spirituality.
3) People who framed it with respect to an outer application.

The first type of answers are illuminating of personal experience of artists. Sometimes, they related this to their childhood or genes.. Sometimes, they related this to intense practice. But sometimes, they cheekily drew a blank response.

Probably the funniest response was by Ai Weiwei, who striked the words down with a long line. "Oh, that was a creative response", murmered Vaske, and he asked him to sign on the paper. Then, Weiwei strikes a second time the same words.

The second type of answers are interesting to me personally, because I am a student of Sāmkhya Darśana - an Indian system of philosophy. Here, creativity is understood as the interplay between Prakṛti (expression) and Puruṣa (experience). Both at the cosmic and personal level.

Well, there were no Indian artists who were interviewed in this film. But even if they were, I doubt if any of them would have any understanding of Sāmkhya. This is unfortunate, because historically, the greatest of the poets and artists in India have been well-versed in it.

My go-to reference for understanding the Sāmkhya system through aesthetics is Kālidāsa, who had the immortal verse "Vāk arthāviva sampṛktau, vāk artha pratipattayē, jagataḥ pitarau vandē pārvatī paramēśvarau".

Anyways, some interviewees did have knowledge of Indian philosophy.

This knowledge typically came to them via Buddhism. Buddhist system is an elaboration of Sāmkhya, as Buddha himself had a teacher of Sāmkhya.

There were some Japanese artists who were inspired by zen. There was also Dalai Lama (more later). But most interestingly, David Bowie !

Apparently, David Bowie was inspired by the "impermanence of things" through his discussions with a Tibetan monk. This is amazing, since we know how his creative oeuvre has spanned across diverse personality images, starting from Ziggy Stardust. This is theory put to practice !

In the Sāmkhya system, the impermanence relates to the forms of Prakṛti. But there is also the Puruṣa, eternally still and unchanging. Creative expression is considered to be a dance of Prakṛti based on the gaze of Puruṣa. This is sometimes visualized as a sexual play.

So the answers related to sex fascinated me. Some referred to the physical experience of sex. Some, like a Japanese artist, said the sexual urge has to be sublimated into a deeper force. "The body has to forget about bodily wants - hunger, sex etc. to engage in creative process".

The third set of answers related creativity to an outer application: transforming politics , environment etc. The most optimistic voice in this regard was Vivienne Westwood, a pioneer of the punk movement. She said culture is the only thing that can effect change. Not politics.

Another very interesting perspective was from Jeanne Moreau, who said that creativity lies in everyday activities. How people effect choice is a creative effort, and when this choice is taken from them (authoritarian system of your pick), they become the living dead.

I don't know if Jeanne Moreau was aware, but her opinion was at loggerheads with dominant streams of (western) philosophy which state that no "creative" choice is possible. Everything is predetermined or emergent. It stems from belief in a creator God, who predestined everything.

The most appealing opinion (to me) on whether creativity can have a positive effect on the world is by the Dalai Lama. He was neutral about this. He said creativity can be used for the good, or for the bad. It is about what you focus on. This is a very Sāmkhya-like understanding.