Monday, October 4, 2010

Photogeddon - Day 8

Simple post of just images...

Sun God

Single

Different

Fall

Fenced In

Creativity Does Not Require Mastery

During a workshop hosted on EscalateLive, a few quotes were being published by several fellow Tweeters. One of the quotes that rubbed me the wrong way, slightly, was:


"You can't be creative without mastering your tools" ~ Julieanne Kost

I don’t agree with this, as it is quoted. It may have been quoted out of context, so I don’t want to complete flame Julieanne, but creativity is not a tangible tool that is handed to you. It is not a magic wand that instantly takes you from zero to hero on the creativity meter.

The main thing that irks me about this quote is that this is, in its very essence, out of context or not, another way of breaking the creative spirit. I am sure that this was not Julieanne’s intent with her statement, but in the quote as it reads, it is the same thing as saying “You cannot be a photographer unless you know everything there is to know about cameras, composition, light, Photoshop, actions, tone curves, textures, etc.” Talk about an overwhelming de-motivator. I imagine a lot people starting out reading this quote and thinking, “I have to know all of this to be creative?” This is absolutely not the case.

You can’t give a kindergartener a paint brush and show them how it works and expect them to paint with the likes Van Gogh or Pollack. A photographer can be a master of his camera, knowing all of the controls and settings and their purpose and uses, but absolutely lack an eye for photography; composition, light and artist detail. Creativity is developed and nurtured. It is honed. I may not have a command of the English language like Mark Twain or Edgar Allen Poe, but I can write creatively.

To master something means to know everything there is to know on the subject. Name one photographer who claims to know everything there is to know about photography and I can name a photographer who is liar. Creativity is, at its roots, experimentation. Creativity is learning. It is through this learning that we find our voice. It is through this voice that we discover the tools needed to share our voice.

You do not have to master the brush stroke to be painter. You do not have to master the fine art of composition to be a photographer. You don’t have to master the oven to be a baker. All you have to do it try.

I will admit that understanding the tools will help you along your creative endeavor, but it will not make or break a creative being. If everyone had to master their tools before being creative, I suspect that we would all still be living in caves and poking the ground with burnt sticks. If I were to reword that quote, I would say, “You can be creative without mastering your tools, but by mastering your tools you can be more creative.”