The Points of the Creative Artists’ Code: Fourteen - Creating Ideal Scenes
February 13, 2008
NDK Creative Artist continues the Points of the Creative Artists’ Code series with this discussion about creating ideal scenes to inspire action or thought in the recipient of artistic communications. - Joel Falconer, Editor-in-Chief
The most fulfilling function Creative Artists have is the creation of ideal scenes through our art that will inspire others to strive for their attainment. We are able to raise awareness and inspire others to do. We need only communicate the common desire, the common reality, the rational solution, continuously until it is received and understood. The idea always comes first. Actions follow.
There are moments in the creative life of an artist when the process of realizations that characterizes creativity and drives it forward are so lucid that they create those seminal works that appear within an era at a moment that they are most needed and which then go on to be embraced by entire generations. There are many reasons why these works become special, but chief among them is the truth they offer.
“The creation of an ideal scene is an act of imagination.”
What is an ideal scene? Ideal scenes are the optimal realization of a situation. They are the best way for things to be. They are a statement of an ideal to be constantly striven for. The creation of an ideal scene is an act of imagination. One has to realize that ideal scenes are worked for, not necessarily attained as absolutes, e.g. perfection, are not attainable. If one wants to bring about change then one has to be able to imagine the ideal scene, which is to define it, know its characteristics and qualities, the things that would make it optimal. The creation of works which inspire others to create constructive positive effects is a powerful service to deliver.
Humanity has ideals that are common factors transcending every boundary. The role of art is embodied in the original Latin meaning of the word, ARS, meaning: to join together. It’s what we do in the creation of a work, and its what we do as a result of the production, delivery and promotion of the work. We join together. The works themselves go out into the world and join people together in a series of common understandings and shared experience. We then go out into the world and join together with others to deliver the works in person, creating even more shared experience of one kind and another. Join together is an ideal artists share that is fundamental to everything we do. It has many levels. This ideal is also one of the common values we share. As Creative Artists we join together to help each other work towards achieving our ideals. Rather than compete, we cooperate. It is one of the defining characteristics of a Creative Artist.
Imagining the future is another way to describe and consider the idea meant by creation of ideal scenes. The idea of being able to travel vast distances in an instant, for example using a simple doorway between two planets separated by the vast gulf of space in light years, is an example of an ideal scene for travel. The point is that some of us have imaginations and can use them and others do not, as surprising as that may seem to be.
Imagination would seem to have some classification as Creative Imagination, that being a form or type of imagination that specializes in the formulation of concepts that do not necessarily exist anywhere other than in the mind, until someone figures out how to realize them in the real world of the physical universe. But that’s not the subject of this article either, the point is simply that imagination is not necessarily a strong universal attribute among all human beings; everybody has some to be sure, but not all in the same quantity or quality. And does it need to be a strong attribute? No, I don’t think so, for the most part, we all choose how to live our lives.
A sense and awareness of injustice comes about when we realize that things are “not right” in some aspect of society. This sense of injustice becomes a passion, and often results in works that reflect and express that passion, or endeavor to deal with it in a constructive way.
We need only communicate the common desire, the common reality, the rational solution, continuously until it is received and understood.When it comes to the works you create this particular statement of the code is not meant to be a literal translation; remember Point Zero and that the code is a working whole, not an isolated set of principles that have no relationship. The code is not a limiting thing, it’s a liberating thing. Where I have stated “common” desire, etc. I do not necessarily mean what is expressed. It is a tradition of the arts to communicate that which society is not willing to express, and thus we provide a service. How we do this is another matter entirely and best left to discussions of craft under the broad headings of each particular creative discipline.
It is often said that many artists communicate the same thing over and over for the entirety of their lives, and in some sense there is, by my observation at least, some veracity and value to this observation. There are certainly connected themes that share a commonality, though the actual expression does not always readily communicate its relationship to previous or later works and that is as it should be if one is dealing with a masterful communicator in the creative industries.
I speak often of offering our work, or offering our ideas. This is my way of expressing that we are not endeavoring to ram our ideas at others, but to appeal to their reason. I do not think of Creative Artists as being individuals who would make any attempt to violate the self-determination of others. Our works are what are important and they are simply offerings of ideas and perhaps fictional experiences and simple works of entertainment rather than proselytizing of some particular dogma–even if they borrow from them, or subject them to scrutiny in a fictional context.
Knowing the Rules
Becoming a Creative Artist is not about being straitjacketed by rules. It’s about knowing when to use them and when not to use them. Neither is a work about convincing people of a way to live, or any kind of adjuration to do so. If they choose to live a certain way, then that is their choice and one would hope expresses a worthwhile validation of the ideas and principles that are embodied in a work. The word and concept of grok, mentioned in a previous article in this series, is an example of what I mean. Again, this would embrace the concept of the Valuable Final Effect of a creative communication, or work of art. The ultimate validation of a work is its broad acceptance by a culture, providing of course, that such issues as human rights and other characteristics that make the best of our human capacity for constructive endeavor are observed.
Creative Morality
This particular point of the code is not meant to create or support the notion that works of art & entertainment should be lightweight, non-confrontational, or in any way weak and soft, pandering to established collective ideas or thinking that essentially deny the best of human nature, relationships and endeavor.
The morality of Creative Artists is a subject that most who are not Creative Artists will struggle with, as in order to tell stories we need to explore the darker side of human nature and people can often mistake this to mean that this is who we, as Creative Artists, really are.
Explore, not become.
Also, it is not the intention of this code-point to lock one in to communicating about only one thing. Far from it. This is a general statement addressing all those who are making the transition from being an artist to being a Creative Artist. “We need only communicate….”
People need help to visualize and see, to bring their own imaginations into play, and that is part of what we do as a service. Help them to see what they want and/or need to see, so they can realize their own potential. This is part of the great tradition of the arts.
As always your questions and comments are welcome.
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