Scrapbook - creative process thoughts
A lot of my ideas come from reading. There is so much information out there that is helpful for growth. Just 10 mins a day reading regularly gives me ideas that I can integrate and evaluate. Some fit, some don’t but the effort is worth the time! I especially find inspiration from books with ideas that are sustaining. Anything where I can answer positively to the question: will this information seem important in a few years? If the answer is yes then…
So a small idea, that of course is nothing new but fits where I am at right now: I am doing the preparation for my next project on Populism (more to come as it develops). There are many steps that I am taking here. The idea of what I want to create is pretty concrete. After putting in much conceptual work, I am in a creation phase with the ideas before I get into the studio. It’s a place where it is less about thinking, and more about creating. So by creating, I mean brainstorming all the possibilities on many levels within the framework ie. what are all the variations of the idea, different ways to express it or mix up its elements. What I’ve found in this part of creation, inspired by Adam Grants research, is quantity is key. Some variations I will like, some will be rejected, some will fit, some will be squeezed out. The more there is to choose from, the wider and further I can go.
One thing that helps with generating quantity is something we all did in school. The scrapbook. And these days a digital one! It’s simple really. Not just collecting and writing down thoughts, but a collage scrapbook of interesting pictures, books, videos, ideas, blog posts, dates, anything that has to do with the theme. Collecting them and collating them.
An example: yesterday I found plays by Aristophanes about demagogues with text that inspired me. I was reading through the acharnians and the knights. His text uses Mockery, blasphemy, parody and scatological in his plays about populists. How could I engage with this type of expression in my work? Does it fit? Maybe… The point being here is a new angle that I can use. Perhaps a wide stretch to what I am doing, but also another possibility.
Another example: I have been collecting pictures of Populists and demagogues through history. Their physical expression, poses, gestures, images that we all know, a physical characterisation. Yes, their posture is in my head, but having an example in front of me means I need less imagination (then energy and effort) to reproduce them. I also can use the image as a point of reference to start from to interpret in movement.
A point of observation: in general I think there isn’t too much new to create, there are more new perspectives on the old. This is where I am angling at right now. By using assemblage to create a fresh perspective on something that is present and known. I am connecting the pieces in a different way and drawing on ideas from different areas to present a new perspective.