Sheil Sarda Sarda 1Mrs. Marcakis11th Honors English1 November, 2015

Creativity in today’s world

Creativity is simply one’s own way of thinking, and requires

originality and effectiveness. While creativity is required in the arts like dancing,

painting, and sculpting, it can be applied to any activity. In fact, people often

overlook the flair and imagination they display in their lives because they lack an

audience. The traditional definition of creativity is best expressed by William

Shakespeare in his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream when he writes “The poet’s eye,

in a fine frenzy rolling, / Doth glace from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven— /

And as imagination bodies forth / The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen /

Turns them to shape, and gives to airy nothing / A local habitation and a name.”

However, this definition must be adapted to encompass a wider range of activities.

Nowadays, an art exhibition seems incomplete without musical accompaniment, and

a museum seems incomplete without video narrations from some of the creators.

Thus, arts have truly blended into mainstream culture by incorporating multiple

aspects of art and technology to create a unique cultural experience. The definition

of creativity is very subjective to the reader as well as the writer, so I define

creativity as any unique act, idea, or product that efficiently conveys a message by

means of its originality and utility.

On Saturday, October 17th, I attended an art exhibition at the Grace

Covenant Church that featured many famous paintings of renowned artist Richard

Bollinger, alongside some of his unpublished works. The event itself was quite

extraordinary, and began with the artist explaining his struggles and motivations

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behind each of his paintings. Musician Sarah Brown accompanied this presentation

on the piano. Following the conclusion of his presentation, we were allowed into the

gallery. Each of his works centered upon a different emotion and was created by a

different motivation. It was this aspect of the exhibition that I found unique and

creative, because all of his works distinctly conveyed unique emotions such as

anger, joy, or uncertainty deeply rooted within their creation. For instance, the

stroke of purple in his Evening Song, and the orange tones in his Taylor’s Run

represent different emotions within his art. While the subjects of his vignettes are

historic structures around Chester County, he adds originality by incorporating his

imagination and painting them under different light sources. For instance Evening

Song is painted with the house under twilight, and the barn in Taylor’s Run under an

attractive orange sunset.

Also on Saturday, October 17th, I attended a performance held by the

Bengali Association of Delaware Valley of a folk dance popular in the Indian West

Bengal that portrayed Indian traditional styles fused with popular dance techniques.

The event was held to raise awareness for traditional Indian culture. The dancers

were of various ages and skill levels led by a professional folk dancer well versed in

the Bengali dance form. The performance itself took place in the auditorium of the

Hindu Temple of Delaware. The event was quite creative because it evoked a

passion in the viewer that cannot be communicated through words and awed them

with the brilliance of Indian heritage and culture. They appealed to the post-

millennial generation by blending cultural aspects with modernity in certain dances.

The energy of the dancers was contagious, and encouraged the audience to take part

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in the performance by singing and clapping. These factors contributed to the

creativity of the event because by synthesizing folk dances with western culture and

popular music, the event effectively conveyed the sentiment of the performance.

The dancers used these elements to create a unique cultural experience. Thus, the

dance served its purpose of informing Indians of their rich heritage by invigorating

the audience with ardor, and leaving them wanting to know more about their

culture.

On October 3rd, I visited the Longwood Gardens, located at Kennett

Square, and attended their Nightscape event that dazzled the crowds with a

uniquely brilliant audiovisual performance. I was able to experience the wealth of

nature present in the garden through a different lens. While during the daytime I

was able to see nature in its true beauty, the Nightscape provided a new perspective

with the extraordinary lighting effects, and the accompanying music; both of these

elements created a cohesive art form by using the plants and the garden as a canvas.

The event was creative because it delighted the viewers by a collaboration of

nature’s flora and technology; its effective and original mix of music, visual

elements, and natural backdrop conveyed the potential of possible greatness

resulting from furthering nature’s beauty. Thus, the beholders reveled in the

magnificent display, which conveyed the originality and creativity of the art, making

the event a creative success.

In conclusion, Creativity, while traditionally associated with artists,

poets and musicians, is often overlooked in other areas. Nowadays, we see quite

diversified uses of creativity to achieve brilliant results; for instance, an audiovisual

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performance or even a photograph. Creativity, most apparent in entertainment or

expression can also be seen in many other aspects such as communication, with

uniqueness and effectiveness being important criteria in determining creativity.

Also, while the subject of many creations may not always be something unique, they

are creative because of certain touches that allow the artist to put his spin on the

depiction of the subject. It’s also for this reason that the blend of technology and

nature is considered unique, because it allows the artist to conveys a new

perspective for the observer. To end in the words of Albert Einstein, “Creativity is

seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.”

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