Monday, November 16, 2015

The Creative Process as a Prism of the Divine in Humanity

Reason alone does not beget humanness. No matter how hard anyone may try, some observed or experienced phenomena may go observed or experienced beyond understanding. But what cannot be accounted for by the sciences or reason or logic can be, at least, expressed by the creative process. Specifically, creativity is that faculty of humanity that expresses within, as a part of, alongside of space/time, reaching and expanding, assessing and qualifying what science or mathematics or medicine cannot.
The creativity of which I write is to some degree undefinable. For, it deals with those things that cannot be wholly categorized plainly with words or numbers. Such is the purpose, for example, of poetry or painting: To express what otherwise could not be expressed. So it is with the things itself—that the creative process is inexpressible. Just as this faculty of humanity is undefinable, not wholly quantifiable, so is humanity within the spectrum of biological beings. Thus, this creative faculty borderlines divinity, setting humanity apart from the other eukaryotes.
A poem does have structure. A painting has qualities that can be judged. There are definable characteristics that help an imperfect, and somewhat defiled (we all carry junk) being make something not only beautiful but to which others can relate. We read a poem, we hear a melody, we watch an actor, and we are moved—touched. Not only is art (in this broad sense) a glimpse of something divine in humanity, nor does art just quantify and qualify what science or mathematics cannot, art connects, moves, mends; art can be a form of healing and a form of rebellion.

No comments:

Post a Comment