This blog post is going to be different from my usual blog posts because I will address the value of creativity. Programmers have to be creative and logical but they are usually given more credit for being logical than creative. Although web developers are often asked to make design decisions or tasked with creating a web site design, this is often better left to a professional web designer who is trained in commercial art or graphics design.
Unlike most programmers, I have some experience with Photoshop and other graphics programs. Currently I am doing a lot of creative things with After Effects which is like Photoshop for video. I’m also trying to learn Propellerhead’s Reason so I can create original synthesizer music for my videos and avoid copyright infringement. Video production requires a considerable range of creative skills to the point where it needs to be a collaborative effort.
However, I want to get a bit personal now and explain why I feel my creativity goes beyond this and is wasted in my profession. The artist I identify with the most is William Blake because he had a visionary imagination. When I read a biography of William Blake I could easily appreciate his perspective even though the biographer was merely respectful of Blake’s spirituality. Unfortunately, few people suspect just how powerful the imagination can be. The imagination can be genuinely visionary. By visionary I mean otherworldly and exalted which are the qualities I suspect Blake was thinking of when he spoke of “divine imagination” An artist’s vision can be incredibly subtle and profoundly sublime. It should be understood that an accurate representation of such vision is often beyond the artist’s skill and that the quality of an artist’s work is no measure of the quality of his vision. Vision can exceed everything you have ever known.
You might think that the visionary imagination would be greatly appreciated and much sought after. However, this is not the case. Blake was misunderstood in his lifetime and I don’t think he is given enough credit today. It is often noted that it was a shame Blake had to work as an engraver and waste his time making a living when he could have been creating great works of art. I agree that you should not want a visionary artist to scrape by as a commercial artist. However, it can not be said that Blake was truly impoverished because he did not possess an impoverished imagination. This is an important point to remember. While the visionary artist may suffer neglect, it is the public and posterity that is deprived of what he may have created. Blake clearly expressed the exalted nature of his imagination and how he felt it enriched his life. That he was not given an opportunity to share this fully is our tragedy and not his.
The only people who seem to appreciate Blake are people who experiment with psychedelics. Apparently these drugs may give you the necessary visionary experience and provide some insight. However, I’m not impressed by psychedelic artwork because it does not strive to express anything profound. It is not the kind of artwork I would expect an exalted imagination to attempt. Also psychedelic drug users tend to attribute too much to their drugs and show little interest in people with any kind of natural gift.
Although I’ve expressed a lot of praise for Blake, it should be understood that I don’t really care for his artwork which is far too antiquated for my taste. My vision is shaped by modern life which is curiously transformed and exalted in my imagination. In other words, I can recognize something in Blake beyond what is apparent in his work and I’m not fixated on his work.
It is difficult to identify genuinely visionary artists because you cannot base your assessment on their work which can only be a failed attempt to express the ineffable. Instead, you have to evaluate their interests and inclinations. A visionary artist is likely to be interested in Rimbaud, Blake, Jung, surrealism, and possibly shamanism. He may strike people as being a dreamer and very distant, a distracted soul is my favorite way of expressing this quality. The punk rocker Patty Smith seems to fit the profile and the photography of John Santerineross is clearly visionary.
An interesting question would be, is this ever reflected in my professional work? Certainly I have not created any applications that would be considered visionary. I think I occasionally have a brilliant idea and I sometimes get very enthused for technology because it can become inflated in my imagination but for the most part I cannot express my vision in my work. You would underestimate me if you disagree. I am ruled by disquieting muses.
