Empathy
t of de
artmen
the dep
letter
h news
searc sign re
page nine
issue three 25.05.05
Is it possible to learn how to be more creative? By encouraging people to loosen up and calm down can you increase the number of ideas that they come up with? It’s to do with the state of mind some people need to be in to allow ideas to flow. In the cognitive science of consciousness, there is a lot of interest in what people call the ‘fringe of the mind’, an idea started by William James, the father of psychology, who in 1890 wrote about the ‘reinstatement of the vague’ - the ability to be interested in ideas that are not yet fully formed. Creative people have a more intimate relationship with the fringes of their mind, and consequently are able to catch the gleam of an idea as it flashes across the corner of their consciousness.* Empathy is not a word that leaps out and grabs you, it’s not a domineering word, or demanding of a particular methodology. According to the dictionary definition empathy is; the ability to identify with and understand another person’s feelings or difficulties, or more particular to this article, the transfer of your own feelings and emotions to an object such as a painting, or a piece of design. In a sense it is a bit elusive. But what possible role can empathy have in your creative process? Sometimes you can spend ages trying to put your finger on an idea, or possibly the question which will pinpoint the exact answer to a creative problem. Empathy at some level and with some aspect of the product or service needs to be entered into. There comes a point at which you have to enter a phase of openness about the subject before you can put ideas down on paper. For some designers this comes at the research stage where entering into a phase of collecting and collating information opens your eyes and mind to new information and visual experience. During brainstorming there needs to be a level of detachment and vagueness for exiting and innovative connections to be made. And then during the finished artwork stage you have to leave room for ambiguity, just enough to take risks with your technique in order to give life to an idea. And while the more creative people couldn’t do this to order during tests, they intuitively knew when it was right to be relaxed and open-minded and when it was time to be focused and concentrated. At some level we all empathise with something and find ourselves drawn towards types of visual, and for that matter written language. We all have an innate starting point for our own creative process and a sympathy with an approach, inherent to our particular background, and nurture as artists, or designers.
Sometimes good ideas are like that. They arrive when you least expect them.
re-instate the vague!
By Steve Wilkin
Source magazine wants to help create that atmosphere, and provide a relaxed platform for ideas to be consumed. A stress-free format, and no agenda, except for the joy of the visual.
*Guy Claxton - The Observer Sunday 22/09/2002