Goodwin (2023) Flashcards
Study’s aim
Explores Rollo May’s notion that creativity takes place in an intermediate zone, between subject and object with an act of encounter at its centre. The study examines the role anxiety plays in this process and questions some of May’s attitudes towards it
Creativity (Rollo May)
Not an activity or state that arise entirely from within the subject. Rather, it takes place in an intermediate zone, with ‘an act of encounter’ at its centre. It happens between two poles; the subjective (artist) and the objective (external reality). The vision of an artist is the ‘intermediate determinant’ between the two poles. Thus, creativity emerges through the alchemy of interaction
Classical view on art-making
Sees it as an act of ‘imitation’
Idea of potential space (Winnicott)
An area that is intermediate between the inner reality of the individual and the shared reality of the world that is external to individuals. Affinity with May’s thinking
Encounter
A meeting, but one that is unexpected. It suggests the unpredictable nature of creativity.
Also has connotations of hostility
Anxiety
Infuses creativity because each encounter involves, or aims at, an upheaval and transformation of the ‘self-world relationship.’ May sees it as the central component of the creative encounter and lauds it as the mark of the true artist, using Giacometti as an example
‘Anxiety of nothingness’
For May, to see the world in a new way is also to see the self so. As a consequence, the sense of who one is is destabilised
Swims (2017)
A book-length poem that corresponds closely with May’s theory as the text describes various encounters with rivers. It is a product of an encounter between the poet and the river Ouse. The swim (physical experience and confluence of environmental and political ideas through which that experience is processed) is the ‘intermediate determinant’, which is conceptualised linguistically in the form of poem
Collaborative element of Swims (2017)
Complicates the application of May’s theory. Prefaced with an email sent to friends. The subjective pole is somewhat pluralised
Chance element in Swims (2017)
Parts of the text are designed to be beyond the control of the poet’s decision-making process. Column with text left on swimsuit after the swim. Element determined by the water
John Cage
A pioneer of impersonal approaches to creating art as an attempt to overcome the ‘interfering’ ego. His process leaves almost everything to chance
May’s characterisation of the emotional experience of creativity
An experience characterised by intense anxiety, where nothingness is confronted and forced to yield human meaning
Tortured/mad genius stereotype
Origin is not settled. Possibly from notions of inspiration and enthousiasmos. Romanticism most firmly imbedded this notion in the cultural imaginary
Enthousiasmos
Poetic frenzy where a person is possessed by a divine force that profoundly enhances their artistic capabilities
Romanticism
Initiated a quest for authentic forms of creativity, beyond impositions of our rational mind and against all cultural norms and values
Form (May)
A meaning-producing restriction, forcing the writer to search in their imaginations for new meanings. It is a collaborator, but not an equal one; (1) It is an ‘aid’ to meaning-making through creativity, (2) It is a refiner of the artist’s vision as well as the vessel of its expression, (3) It is a constraint that forces the artist into greater levels of creativity and ingenuity
Kierkegaard
A key influence on May’s view of anxiety and creativity. He makes an influential distinction between fear and anxiety; fear is ‘something definite’ and anxiety is ‘to be anxious at nothing.’ Nothing is the ‘anxious possibility of being able,’ referring to being able to freely choose a course of action and thus be responsible for it
Mara
A devil-like, trickster figure. He represents a capacity for confusion, closure, and restriction
Buddha
Stands for a capacity of awareness, openness, and freedom. This opposition has parallels with that of creativity and anxiety. Fear and anxiety are ‘armies of Mara’
Antifragility
The quality of growing stronger because of challenges, difficulties, and uncertainties. Our responses to anxiety can help us live a life of purpose and enlarge our creative capacities
‘Watching part’ of consciousness/(pure) awareness/’self-as-context’/’observing self’
Seeing two opposing differences of standard, or ideal, and actuality brings about integration, a new way of being which combines the essence of both
Mindfulness
The act of being fully present, and aware of where we are and what we are doing, without becoming overly reactive or overwhelmed by the present. Cognitive skills gained suggest support for skills associated with creativity
Open-monitoring
The practice of observing and attending to any sensation or thought without focusing on any specific task or concept. May have a positive impact on creative thinking
Focused-attention meditation
Trains the participant to focus their attention and awareness to a particular task, item, thought, or stimuli. May have no effect or even a negative impact
Fusion
The pouring together of verbal/cognitive processes and direct experience such that the individual cannot discriminate between the two. Can be crucial to creativity. Stepping back may help in deciding how to respond to our anxieties rather than managing our emotions with avoidance
Means value
Something we value as a means to an end
Ends values
Related to life outcomes that are intrinsically rewarding, not primarily a route to other rewards
Valued action (May)
May likes Giacometti because he confronted his anxiety, wrestled with it, subdued it, and his works are the proof
Valued action (Hayes et al.)
Proposes acceptance. Not a passive resignation, but an active and intentional openness to difficult experience, aligned to a commitment to move in a valued direction in spite such experience
