What is An Idea?

 

What is a good idea?  There is usually a process behind the madness.  I do not think I have a definite process behind the ideas I come up with. Ideas usually come to me and I either take off with the idea or leave it in my mind.  The impulse behind my ideas are usually my driving force; how interested I am with the ideas determines whether or not the idea will make it into the realm of reality.  I do not find myself trying to come up with ideas on a daily basis.  It is not because I am a speculator as Young probably would classify me as, but because I do not have to as much.  I find my profession to be very creative, but it is also interpretive as well.

A good idea to me would be an idea that brings about a change in one’s life that has a major beneficial impact whether it be financially, spiritually, skillful, or anything overall good.  An idea that sparks an influence that can bring someone success.

When I try to come up with an idea, like I said it is usually no set process, so I would say my process of ideation is in no way parallel to what James Webb Young shows us in the book A Technique for Producing Ideas. However, this is not a bad thing.  He explains in his book before he gets in depth warning the reader “….not all who read it accept it.”  It could be lack of experience as well. Maybe as life goes on those skills will come in handy.

I find Webb’s process to be both creative and intellectual.  The process has a lot to do with one’s own mind, making it creative, but after the thought the concrete steps behind it such as recording and birthing the thought is very intellectual. 

Elements that I think will help me create better ideas would be the act of writing it down, thinking about new ways to improve the idea and as I stated before, experience.  Because my process of creating ideas is strictly creative as of now.

For my Independent project I think it’s more on the creative side.  Creating something that does are does not already exist but is coming strictly from my imagination and thoughts and creativity.  I chose creativity because it is the best way, I feel, to describe my individuality. In my opinion, social and practical are things that do not seem as intimate.

I look forward to creating a speech that talks about many controversial topics. My key point in the speech is not to trigger a debate or provoke strife but simply to examine and define the controversy and the reason as to why the topics are controversial.  The idea is just an idea as of now and is bound to change.  The process is still as Young describes, “just above the surface of the mind.”  However the project will be beneficial in many ways.  The speech will provoke questions that perhaps people with intransigent minds felt about the particular subject, and it will allow them to see the subject from a different view.

A Glance At Eye-Catching Art

                The artwork of Christo and Jeanne-Claude as well as Banksy are very unique.  It’s amazing how the simple wrapping of a building or street graffiti can produce such remarkable pieces.  I think the purity in Chris and Jean’s artwork is what makes it so captivating.  Too many artist, it seems, attempt to put so many messages behind their art.  But both Christo and Jeanne-Claude made it known that there is no deeper unhidden messages behind what they do.  It’s art for the sake of art.  The size of their artwork is another eye catcher.  To create an orange gate throughout City Park in New York must’ve took a lot of time and dedication.  Or to wrap up the Reichstag building in Berlin for art sake is something that has never been heard of. 

                The art of Banksy is very freeing.  It is so freeing it allows the viewer to escape from whatever is holding them down as well.  When I went on Banksy’s website: http://www.banksy.co.uk/, I came across a recording.  The picture was shown was very breathe

taking

 

Art is art no matter what shape or form it is in.  For the next month Banksy will be attempting to host an entire show on the streets of New York.  “The street is in play”, he proclaims.  This is my motto as well in life.  Art shouldn’t be limited to a place of appropriateness.  I do believe in respecting people’s private property.  But property that belongs to no one is free for the expression of art in my belief.

New media is a lot different from old media in some aspects.  It seems like the newer media becomes the less human it is.  For example: Palindrome a dance company who switched their name to Palindrome Intermedia Performance Group in 2002 and is rooted in an unbelievably technologically advanced company of performers. Performers of Palindrome are equipped with electrode sensors that detect heart rhythms, brain wave patterns, muscle contractions, and the contact of flesh to flesh with other performers in the group. A computer records the data that is received during movement and then it uses this information to formulate specific digital media outlets such as music or video projections.  It’s interesting to see this I agree, however when will the line be drawn for what computers can and can’t do in art?  Performing art is an art form that is pure and natural to humans.  To see a computer respond or influence a dance piece are not natural impulses.  I’m not saying that it is wrong, I’m just seeing things from different points of views, including my own.  Art is art no matter where the inspiration or influence comes from though. 

One DIY that is considerable interesting to me is the thought of spiritual theater.  Imagine a theater rooted from a spirituality of choosing and manifested through those impulses.   For example, if I used Christianity I would use the Bible as a main source of text and create theatrical pieces based on bible stories.  I would use what a group called Tectonics use ‘moments’, (moments is a theatrical unit of time that has a beginning, middle, and end) to create each piece.  I know this might sound crazy but it could work I am most certain.