In search of creativity

Has progress harmed artistic expression?

The term “progress” implies improvement. To make progress is to “develop to a higher, better or more advanced stage,” according to the dear ol’ Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

That dictionary, of course, is an heir to the seminal work of Noah Webster, a man for whom progress meant a greater understanding of American English language. He is said to have learned parts of 26 languages to help him understand the origins of language in the fledgling nation where he was born. The company that carries on his work says he didn’t just document the language; he improved it by eliminating spelling conventions that were needlessly confusing. Musick became music. Centre became center. Plough became plow.

But Webster’s notions weren’t fully embraced. He’d pushed for a change of tongue to tung, and women would have become wimmen if he’d had his way.

Changes, as Northwest Arkansas residents know, happen all the time, but it’s usually an open-ended question as to what constitutes progress. Was the introduction of self-checkouts at retail outlets an improvement? The answer can be a very subjective finding. When a municipality promises “improvements” — that’s what they always call them — as part of a road construction project, is the resulting roundabout a universally loved shift in the traffic pattern or a driver’s headache?

One person’s progress is another person’s unwanted change.

What about art? Is the experience of art the same today as it was, say, in the early 1500s when da Vinci painted his Mona Lisa? Or when Seurat had a point to make in his paintings? Do we appreciate theater the way it was soaked up in Shakespeare’s day? Do we recognize in music the charms William Congreve felt capable of soothing the savage breast, softening rocks and bending the knotted oak? When we immerse ourselves in such art forms, what do we get out of the experience?

In a recent talk at the Momentary in Bentonville, author/professor Susan Magsamen explored the intersection of human health and artistic experiences. It was part of a Wellness Festival held in conjunction with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Anyone who has been to Crystal Bridges can grasp the magnificence of art. Magsamen’s work in the Brain Science Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, however, ponders how art measurably influences the brain, body and behavior.

It’s a field that’s developed over the last decade as scientists attempt to discover how, throughout history, expression through art has had a profound effect on people.

What struck us about Magsamen’s talk was her explanation of how the industrial revolution changed the way human beings value art.

“We started to value productivity, efficiency, innovation, but innovation that really required more widgets and speed,” she said. “And we started to lose a lot of these art experiences, the creative expression experiences.”

To hear Magsamen’s description, 21st century humans are missing out, to their detriment. Pursuit of creative expression is as important as nutrition, sleep and exercise, she said.

And we all know how well we do on those latter three needs, right?

The human experience for ages was about more than just productivity, and it’s worth pondering whether our progress has taken from us — or rather, we’ve given over to it — the benefits of artistic pursuits and expressions.

The arts rarely get the kind of attention they deserve in our educational settings. It can be said that we value what we teach and we teach what we value. When’s the last time you felt encouraged to pursue artistic expression?

If Magsamen is right — and we think she is — the human condition is diminished when the arts are not a prominent part of the experience. Whether it’s crafting a piece of wood into a piece of beautiful furniture or putting to canvas an image that previously only occupied one’s mind, creative thoughts and processes tap into a part of the brain where curiosity and playfulness reside. Couldn’t we all use a healthy dose of that?

Magsamen declared people don’t have to be good at something to become a maker, a creative spirit. Creative expression is beneficial when people learn not to have a fixed expectation of an outcome.

In our outcome-focused world, that sounds hard. But it also sounds a bit intriguing, doesn’t it? And we’d bet that if it’s good for the mind, it stands a strong chance of also being good for the soul.

If we could come to appreciate that, that might be called progress.