Creativity and Chance

 Art loves chance and chance loves art.

Aristotle

"Marion 3.0" by Dan Woodard

In my last blog, I talked about what I believe are two important elements of creativity:  1)  creativity comes not from our conscious mind but from a source beyond it; and 2) creativity is deeply connected with a sense of play.  In this posting, I will discuss what I believe is the third element of creativity:  chance.

Most people would probably not consider chance to be an aspect of creativity since it definitely does not occur through any intent of the individual but rather from a mistake, an accident, or simply happenstance.  However, I believe it is what one does with the chance occurrence that makes it an aspect of creativity.  Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert stated:  “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep.”  Whether it’s creating a work of art, working on a scientific research project, or designing a building, one is faced with a multitude of choices.  The conscious part of the creative act is selecting which of these choices one should follow.  As a sculptor, I must decide:  “Do I make the nose longer, wider, aquiline, straight, and on, and on.”  As I continue to make these choices, I often discover that some of my previous choices do not support ensuing choices.  I then must go back and take a different direction to make the piece work as a whole.  In the same way, a scientist will make certain choices as to the direction she should proceed.  Sometimes these choices will lead to the desired results, but more often they will not.  The scientist must then go back to make other choices that will hopefully lead to a solution to the problem.  During this creative process, both for the artist and the scientist, chance occurrences often present themselves.  And the opportunity presented by chance is yet another choice.  The choice being, “Do I accept this, reject it, or learn from it?”  Just because we ourselves have not participated in the element of chance does not mean that it is not a viable route to our desired end (even if we may not yet know what that end is). 

Alexander Fleming is generally given credit for the discovery of penicillin.  However, this ‘discovery’ was based on the ‘chance’ observation by several scientists who preceded him.  One of these was Louis Pasteur who studied the growth of the anthrax bacilli.  When his samples were accidentally contaminated with mold, the growth of the cultures was inhibited.  He correctly interpreted this chance event and surmised that the mold itself had a negative effect on the growth of the anthrax.  This lead to his famous quote:  “In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind.”

I’d now like to look at a few examples of my own work to demonstrate how chance played a large role in their creation.  “Marion 3.0,” as shown at the top of this posting, was originally designed to be a solid bust of a woman.  However, the casting was faulty and a gaping hole was left in the piece.  I was just about to toss it away, when I realized that I really liked the effect.  The location of the hole was such that, for me, a great deal of originally non-intended meaning was added to the piece.  I considered my options and decided to finish the outside and inside of the casting with diametrically different finishes to arrive at the final sculpture.  She was thus born of chance.

"Gorgon" by Dan Woodard

 “Gorgon” is another of my pieces that was the result of chance.  The head of “Gorgon” was originally made for another sculpture.  But, after completing the sculpture, I felt the head, then without hair, was too small and cut it off.  This head lay in my studio for quite some time.  I still wanted to use it but wasn’t quite sure how.  Then one day, I held the head in my hand, turned it this way and that and wondered, “Now, what can I do with this?”  Suddenly, I realized, “Wow, I like the way the head fits my hand so comfortably.”  I then sculpted a hand to hold the head and created hair to flow around the hand.  It is now one of my favorite pieces.

Many of us believe that creativity does not arise from the conscious mind.  Some say it comes from a ‘muse,’ the creative impulse, the subconscious, a universal creative force, God...but wherever it comes from, couldn’t that force also be controlling the chance occurrences that present themselves to us?  As I’ve heard many people say, “There’s no such thing as an accident.”

Creativity and the Universe

Dan at work in the studio

Much has been written about the subject of creativity:  What is it?  Where does it come from?  How can it be controlled?  What makes a person creative?  Can it be learned?  And on, and on...and on.  To this vast topic, I’d like to add my own two cents worth, which (considering inflation) is now more like my own two hundred dollars worth. 

First of all, I strongly believe that creativity is inherent in every one of us.  It is a given aspect of being human.  Just look at the creativity of children to see the most blatant example.  If any distinction applies it is between those who regularly use their creative abilities and those who have the creative potential but do not apply it.  The primary difference between these two groups is not creativity but inspiration.  Those who create are inspired to do so.  It is what makes them feel fully alive.  It is how they make meaning of their life and the culture surrounding them. 

In the remainder of this blog and the one to follow, I’d like to explore my own thoughts on the creative force.

Creativity, the Universe, and Play

In any of my creative endeavors, whether it be writing, film-making, or sculpture, I’ve always had the sense that I was definitely not the one in control of the creative force.  As James Abbott McNeill Whistler (the painter of “Whistler’s Mother”) aptly put it, “Art happens—no hovel is safe from it, no prince can depend on it, the vastest intelligence cannot bring it about.”  Creativity is not something that one can control or force.  You cannot sit down and say to yourself, “In the next half hour I’m going to be creative.”  You have to allow the creative impulse to come to you.  It seems that creativity exists somewhere beyond our conscious mind.  Depending on your belief this might be in the subconscious, God, or in the cosmic consciousness of the universe.  But to whatever we attribute creativity, the most we can do is to allow ourselves be receptive, to act as a conduit for the creativity that flows through us.  This holds true even in the world of science.  A classic example comes with the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule.  After years of research, the Nobel laureates Francis Crick and James Watson finally realized that DNA was composed of a double-helix.  But the answer to DNA’s design came not from the lab but from Watson’s dream of two intertwining snakes.

For me, the creative act is a matter of letting go of my conscious and controlling mind as much as possible.  To do so, allows me to be open to the creative essence.  As Peter Koestenbaum, the philosopher, said, “Creativity is harnessing universality and making it flow through your eyes.”  In fact, when working on a particular piece I often get “stuck.”  I know that what I have in front of me isn’t working, but I have no idea of what to do.  In times like these, I generally go out into my garden to get my hands dirty and immerse myself in mindless physical work.  Doing so will usually clear my mind and allow the creative “solution” to come to me.  The harder I try to intellectually envision a solution, the further I am from the solution.  Only by forgetting about the problem does the answer arise.

Play is also an essential element of creativity.  I strongly remember the feeling I had while creating my first abstract sculpture about six years ago.  The sculpture was composed of beautifully twisted and aged tree limbs that remained from an ancient apple tree that had finally died and fallen in my back yard.  I spent the day using heavy copper wire to tie several of these limbs together into a nest-like form.  And, as I did so, I was overcome with a feeling of childlike play.  I was immediately transported to memories of making small objects of twigs as a young boy.  This was pure play...no ultimate objective, no sense of there being a right or a wrong way to assemble the limbs, no time lines, no need for outward approval...the joy was in the process of play, pure and simple.

According to Carl G. Jung, “The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity.  The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.”  The improvisational violinist Stephen Nachmanovitch agrees when he states, “Creative work is play.  It is free speculation using the materials of one’s chosen form.”

So, my first two criteria for creativity are a playful spirit and a clear and open mind.  And remember, these qualities are not unique to those who are considered “creative individuals.”  They are part of the heritage of everyone of us.  In my next blog posting, I’ll discuss “Creativity and Chance.”  I hope to see you then, and I welcome any thoughts you may have about creativity.