The Challenges of a Creative Individual

This is the third part of my series “Challenges of a Creative Individual” that I originally published on Medium, but I wanted to offer it to you guys for free, because I believe there is value for everyone in these creative reflections.

So let’s talk a bit about genres.

Yes, Genres are helpful.

But they are also a way to block creativity.

Block creativity? What? Why?

Well, the answer is simple:

If one thinks in genres, then one has certain preferences on what to implement in an art-piece (painting, book, music-composition, screenplay, short film, handcraft etc.).

If one has certain preferences, then one inherently has the tendency to focus on some, but not all — or at least most — aspects of creation.

When aspects are left out, that would be in fact very interesting and might enhance the art-piece greatly, then a kind of self-imposed limitation has occurred.

Obviously, no one person can focus on and master all kinds of artistic/creative fields, but it sure is a good idea to keep one’s options open: To look at multiple disciplines and to try to intuitively grasp certain elements of a variety of ‘genres’ is not only expanding the horizon of your own belief-system in relation to artistic creational processes.

But it is also enhancing your way of seeing the world in general:

To open up your gaze means to expand your view on the way things are in the world.

You may recognize that it is foundationally nonsensical to categorize every little thing — every mood in a musical piece for instance. And you may come to realize that all things, all elements on our beautiful planet are inherently linked to each other.

They exist in a non-exclusionary, interrelational universal sphere, that is both invisible and visible.

The visible layers of our world obviously are rooted in the tangible matter of things.

And the non-visible layers are most likely based on quantum-mechanical interactions, that are of a purely energetic, frequential nature.

If we were to open our gaze and therefore our attitude towards the world, we could feel the profound impact art and creation can have.

If we choose to ignore the multilayered/multidimensional nature of reality (or are not conscious of it yet), then we miss the divine link to our essence. This link encourages and enables us to strive for the powerful qualities of all aspects of creation.

Ergo, we wouldn’t look at tools and use them to craft a specific, strictly framed picture, but we would experiment and intuitively bend genres, redefine references and use our own experiences to harness life-affirming artistic energies.

To use and transcend the unconscious…

Transcending genres means, in part, to transcend the unconscious.

Let’s look at an example:

Hayao wants to write a love-story. At first, he only thinks about his own past experiences, maybe they are connected to a sense of hopelessness in regards to finding true love. Let’s say that the experiences unconsciously shape his perception of the theme and therefore the ‘genre’ of love.

Let’s say that Hayao suddenly realizes that this is the case.

Naturally, he wants to change his mode of perception.

He finds himself recognizing different variations of the love-theme. And he realizes that he actually wants to combine the love-story with the comedy-‘genre’ as well as weaving some fantasy-elements into the fabric of his novel. Maybe he even wants to add a bit of a detective-story.

We can say, in some sense, that his subconscious has emerged from its hidden depths and presented itself in a new light. This new light led to new insights. The new insights led to new interests and the expansion of his primary interest. And he also notices that his demeanor towards the whole thematic changes.

So, it is not only a change in perception in regards to his storytelling-mechanics, his passions and interests in relation to writing a book and wanting to create a valuable piece of art. There also occurred a change in the internal landscape in relation to the real world: His view is reshaped through the recognition of his subconscious beliefs and biases towards the love-theme and now the book as well as his life is being revised and improved upon.

We could say that the book underwent improvements thanks to him becoming aware and conscious of certain subconscious patterns and viewpoints. And he underwent a mental improvement/enhancement thanks to creating art.

Thus, a cycle emerges.

A cycle that carries the potential for bidirectional, life-affirming influences. Both, externalized, outwards-directed as well as internalized, inwards-directed influences are the consequence of dealing with art consciously, with awareness and the goal to learn, to inspire and to enhance something.

Breaking the confines of specificity

If you find yourself struggling within the confines of a specific genre, you might want to look at what a genre actually represents.

A genre should not be look at as a fixed box. Rather, it is helpful to regard it as a frame of reference.

Look at it through the lens of flexibility.

Nothing is set in stone, just because some ‘rule-book’ or some spoken or unspoken conventions have come before you and your creativity.

Yes, principles are important.

In the artistic world (like it should be in all of life), principles are quintessential.

Rules, on the other hand, can very often be broken. Or at least they can be bent, rearranged and reinterpreted.

This paves the way for new creations, life-affirming novelty and enhancements on many levels: Philosophically, spiritually, emotionally, culturally, societally…

Ponder: What is your view on the subject?

Do you see yourself trapped in the boxes of genre-thinking?

Or do you already embrace the multidisciplinary, interconnected, wholesome approach?

What benefits do you see in genres?

And what exactly is a genre to you, personally?

Thank you for reading (:

If you enjoyed this article, I would be honored if you followed me or left a comment. And if you want to show your support, so that I can continue to write texts, create stories, compose music and delve into all kinds of art-projects — please consider purchasing one of my Artworks from the website.

Also, I have a YouTube channel — if you are curious: there are Art Vlogs, Patinting videos, my original music compositions, piano improvisations as well as Podcast episodes on there — you can check it out by typing my name into the YT-search-bar — or by clicking here!

Have a lovely day & may you be blessed with life-affirming creative energy (:

– Michael