Is there a difference between artistry and creativity? You bet there is. Where does this conversation fall into our business life?
Art is always that term that evades me. What IS art?
The conversation goes like this:
Regular Person: “My two year old could have painted that.”
Artist: “Yeah, but he didn’t.”
Regular Person: “But that’s just some splattered color on a canvas.”
Artist: “It’s an angry statement about the ozone layer.”
So what is art? I think after years of examining this question, I have reached my conclusion. Art is any expression by a person meant to entertain, enlighten or bring about an emotion. That idea of art might not be surprising, but keep reading.
There is one more element that is the absolute driving factor for me to feel comfortable calling something “art.” That element is intentionality. What’s interesting is that only the artist herself can know if the criterion of intentionality is met.
What, then, is creativity? Breaking it down, creativity is about creation. (ah hah!) This is the idea that from nothing comes something. Certainly a part of art is creative. I believe that the beginning part of art is creative — the concept, the big idea. The balance of art is about a particular skill or craft. Though it is true that the more skill or craft you master, the better your idea will be translated into something your audience will understand.
All that being said, one can easily be creative without being artistic.
In our business life, many times we might overlook or lay aside a brilliant creative concept simply because we do not, ourselves, possess the skill to bring our idea to fruition. How many great ideas lay on the cutting room floor because you didn’t have the expertise to glue the pieces and parts together?
Thinking about that can hurt your feelings. So what do you do?
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