David Porter » Entries tagged with "creative arts"
The Great British Love and Tolerance of the Eccentric
Eccentrics are ‘off centre’ or ‘beyond the norms’ of others. They can be thought crazy, are unafraid to be different and add to the colour of British life. Eccentricity isn’t confined to the UK, though HistoryUK.com said: ‘England may be a small country but seems to have more true eccentrics than many larger countries’. All nationalities enjoy practical jokes, dress outrageously, behave to shock and have mindsets that see differently. French author David d’Equainville (Manifesto for a Day Put Off) founded International Procrastination Day, to promote ‘positive procrastination’ in the fast-paced, results-driven world. It’s an act of resistance against orders, a ‘defence mechanism’. He accepted some would delay the Day. Creatives are frequently eccentrics, too. Britain’s Official Monster Raving Loony Party manifesto (there’s also a US version), includes such ‘fun’ demands … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Mash-Ups Mix the Old and the Now to Make Art for Today
People no longer expect to believe what they see and hear. With scant regard for truth, fusion technology dupes everyone in the name of fascinating art. Mash-ups of films, books and songs have been around for awhile. The same principles create a new form of visual art, too. Photographs that span time zones put people together who were not alive contemporaneously. Mash-up basically means creating a new art form from fusing existing works such as photos, video clips, graphics, text or animation. Computer manipulation technology makes it relatively easy, but there are some inventive, innovative and unusual new art works being born. Visual Image As Propaganda Jane Tallim, Media Awareness Network’s education specialist cited the city of Ottawa’s promotional brochure in 2001, which used a digitally-enhanced photo, a blended creation to convey a more … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Madness and Genius Are Close Relations in the Creative Arts
It’s often said that there is a fine line between lunacy and brilliance, but mental illness can actually be an artist’s inspiration. Writers, painters, film makers and composers are often assumed to be barking mad, or they wouldn’t create. Comedians suffer the same misapprehension. The fact is many creative people experience periods of mental illness and mood disorders, like depression and bipolar, Asperger’s and other forms of autism. Others draw on the results of thought experiments and mind-games to confuse, twist and alter normal perception. Savant Syndrome is characterised by remarkable artistic, mathematical or musical skills. UK’s Stephen ‘Human Camera’ Wiltshire has perfect pitch and paints uncannily detailed cityscapes from memory after short viewings. Madness is a somewhat outdated, catch-all phrase to describe behaviour which some see … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101