Blog 9.

“ Creativity & What Blocks it ”

Creativity is directly related with our mind. But in some

cases innate skills can block out creativity. One thing

that still affects directly on our creativity is our senses,

which in the right way are necessary for creating

effectively. Not every creativity can give out a good

result. “Creativity should operate within the context

of a particular form”. In this case, creativity has to be

reflected into an ordered and well-designed mean,

by using our thoughts and mind freely and logically.

Meriç Köstem

Creativity could be blocked by rules or any kind of

restrictions but these rules may also help to a "creation"

to be useful or meaningful, by keeping it in some sort of

boundary and giving the "creation" a point. If every creation

is a form of destruction, you have to first know the rules

and facts to work and destroy or change something.

So, I think, rules cannot be  considered as a reason for

blocking creativity.

Levent Ince

In life we have to act automatically, without evaluating

the situation much; it is faster than action with full

awareness of the situation – we live we prefer this

because everything has to be rapid and we do not have time

to think – while thinking we may miss the moment, at least

we believe so. Most of the automatic actions are derived

from others’ in same environment. Accordingly, they are

not much creative because most comes from accepted truths

within the environment. I also totally believe that this

automatic thinking is the strongest enemy of creativity.

There is fear under all kinds of those autonomies, I guess.

If we set our mind free, creative things will automatically come.

Cézanne was living outside the city, and Bach maybe same,

or he was able to manage by limiting his relationships.

So none of them had to act automatically to satisfy peole –

they lived according to their desires and souls, they were

able to get rid of ‘the automatic thinking’ to satisfy people.

Except inventing some thing totally new (which i considered

as creativity in, in my non-sense writing), i think people who

find things, which are mostly accepted in society but forgotten

at the moment, considered as creative. When they find some

thing, all people love it because everyone thinks that they

once came closer to that point. At the same time they belame

them–selves for ignoring that idea. At the same time they 

appreciate the "creator" for knowing the ideas value and serving

it humanity when it is mostly desired, when every one forgot

it. They may change the mask of the idea but the core was

quoted from 1.8 million years of humanity. The ignorance

blocks that kind of creativity, I guess.

Fuat Emre Bakir

Usually, only creativity in itself is nothing.

The expression of the thoughts should be expressed clearly.

For example, you have a perfect idea about creating an art

work – if you couldn’t express it clearly, then the art work

doesn’t make any sense to other people.

As David Bohm mentions on his “Science, Order, and Creativity”,

“It is only when creativity is made subservient to external

goals, which are implied by the seeking of rewards, that

the whole activity begins to wither and degenerate”.

The art work should be for everyone. We have to be creative,

but also we have to express our creation in a strong way.

Simge Yüceel

Creativity is enabling the brain for a different way of

thinking. People are not naturally born creative, it can

be learnt. The society and the environment can change the

persons’ point of view. Two different people hear a word,

one is thinking the ordinary things but the other can

think very unusual things, or simply what the other wasn’t

thinking. I think that the mood affects the persons’ point

of view; for instance, the topic which include ‘violence’

might be designed by a designer who is on a bad mood. (I think)

Çagri Biber 

For my belief we have 2 kinds of people:

in earth hardworking people and creative/talented people

(from born). For years everyone kept telling me "you are

creative from born". But if I could have choose my way,

perhaps I would have cosen hardworking speaciality.

I think creativity is important especially in design, but

if you want to make food you need all the metarials if you

have just one material you can’t make food !

It’s good to be a creative person but even creativity has

its own rules and orders, and if you don’t obey these

rules you won’t be able to do anything. Under another

point of view, being creative is good but if you don’t have

enough teorically knowledge about your job, again you

won’t be able to do it properly.

To sumerize my essay, if you have one of the specialities

(creativity, hardworking) full, that is not enough, but if

you have less of both – creativity and other speacialities

– it is effective enough.

Atahan Atalay

I believe that to create something you have to be inspired

by something and of course in my opinion there are some

rules to be followed and considered; there are limits on

creations. To put out a piece of art or a mathematical theory

for example, you have to know the way of doing them

and consider what would be wrong or bad looking, while

you are creating. You cannot put a high note in a sonet just

because you want it there – you should try another note,

look back at old examples, maybe consider which note Bach

would put there, as I said, there are limits within the creative

process. You have to find yourself a path or a way to follow,

a style to work on, otherwise you will be by yourself out

there all alone. You can have creativity inside you but

without certain things it will be a “no good”.

Özlem Incik

Creativity has a different mathematical structure.

An ordinary person can be creative but not able to produce

a masterpiece. All human beings have an innate amount

of creativity, but they cannot be a masterpiece themselves,

they rather make creativity through observation. They

watch, listen, touch, smell and taste, they use their five

senses to make a creative work. For example, a cook,

harmonizing the ingredients, tastes and smells the meal

during the process of cooking, to be sure of the outcome.

Anyhow, creativity can’t come out easily. To make a

creative work, we have to get impression from somewhere.

For artists, it can be a lover, a baby or just a scene of the sea.

Creativity has not a schedule, it can pop out at any time

in any place.

Basak Balkis 

Creativity – which is simply called the expressive way

humans communicate with, in their own way – is a really

complex and strict system, which people should consider

within the rules, and with discipline, to achieve a stable

and strong work. To get an external goal, you should know

the basic rules of the concept you are working on. Even

the simplest event has it’s own complexity. You cannot just

say “I am creative, and this is the piece”. Even the great

masters relate their works to a field which is not directly

related to their activity. So creativity can derive from anything,

but with a great discipline and external work.

Ela Agalar

People can born with creativity or gain the talent of

creativity in older ages. if you are in an environment

that forces and lets you think objectively, you can open

the doors of the room in your brain that takes you to

creativity. External effects and the environment play a

very effective role, if the people around you are narrow-

minded and they do critic your works unfairly, you feel

blocked and start producing one-type works without

applying your talent.

Aslı Deniz Mete

Creativity is like an imagination which is standing on

the background of your brain. It`s not alive. But waiting

for its time. There are things there, they are not real, like

a dream. The can be realized or lost anytime. Because of

this, they can block some reasons. They can’t move freely.

Some circumstances are more dominant than creativity.

By the way, in my opinion, some technologic reasons

might block creativity; for example there are programs

template–like just when we can create extraordinary things

by using our hands and the unconscious.

Rüyam Yazar

I do not believe that creativity is innate, it is the sum

of the effects of the situations that you have been through

in your life, also it is the reaction of the surrounding

environment, or your reaction to them. Therefore creativity

is not indipendent from the society (world) you are in.

Although it is a re–action, it is a personal answer as well,

therefore it differs from person to person, eventhough you’ve

been through all the same situations together.

Even though I support that, creativity is not innate, it is more

like to be affected inheritely – why? – because as Jack London

in his book “Before Adam” supports, our ancestors’ fears or

tendencies can pass from one generation to another (which

means we’re also under the ‘effect’ of our ancestors’ well being

at the past. After that here comes something strange – unlike

it can feed the sparks of creativity – the environment or society

can also block one’s creativity by rejecting the difference,

because of being afraid. Moreover the block of creativity occurs

by imposing thoughts onto kids without let them think/act

individually.

Neslihan Tepehan 

Living under restrictions (such as harsh political

situation in a country – ex. Mao’s China or Stalin’s

Russia) greatly reduces the possibility of an individual

to create effectively and willingly, as oppression being

an obstacle for an artist in any arts’ field. When certain

norms and regulation are meant to be followed in creative

approches, to discovering or making a statement, only

particular possibilities are open for discussion.

Similarly, a lack of a particular sense can hinder new

discoveries, take for instance a blind man, he cannot have

the same perception of his surroundings equally adjacent to

a man that can see. It happens to be a scientific fact,

that when one of our senses abandons us, others take over

and come out with double force – hence, what a ‘normal’

person can hear clearly, a blind man can hear and be

tactile twice as much. This leads to possibilities of one

creating unexpected solutions and discovering brand new

approaches towards known situations.

Another vital portion of creativity come from following

rules. In fact, one may not be creative and devise

novelties in particular areas of Art, Music or Science,

without knowing the rules. Clearly, to be creative

supposes breaking rules, yet one may not break rules

without knowing them first, just like Picasso, whose

earlier work an studies indicates his through awareness

of artistic proportions, styles, and rules; he was initially

painting still life and landscape, only to move on to

abstraction, collage and African art studies. Thus, this

example illustrates the point that a ‘creator’ must at all

times be aware of his area of expertise in order to diverge

from it and discover new approaches. Furthermore, I agree

with the last statement about creativity losing its purpose

and originality when faced with alternates motives, such

as finance and publicity. One creates when one does not

expect anything in return.

Maria Goncharova

Creativity is a process which requires a free thinking.

When your ‘free thinking channels’ are blocked, your mind

is deeply constrained under certain social-cultural frames,

clichés, and biases, your level of creativity declines to a great

extend. Most of us have been exposed to cultural and social

ordes and structures since the day we were born, raised in an

environment full of everykind of bias. Whether consciously

or inconsciously, this exposition throughout your developmental

stage blocks your mind from thinking and acting freely,

and therefore causes impairments in artistic creations.

Burcu Baykan

Characters : 11700

Authors :

Aslı Deniz Mete

Atahan Atalay

Basak Balkis

Burcu Baykan

Çagri Biber

Ela Agalar

Fuat Emre Bakir

Levent Ince

Maria Goncharova

Meriç Köstem

Neslihan Tepehan

Özlem Incik

Rüyam Yazar

Simge Yüceel

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