In Episode 21 of the Creative Work Hour podcast, the crew delves into creativity as a form of communication, exploring how it transcends traditional barriers and the impact of breaking rules in creative processes.

Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Creative Work Hour podcast. My name is Greg and today is November the 21st, 2024. This month is National Podcast Post-Month and Creative Work Hour is taking part. Today is our entry. I start by asking a question and we see where the discussion leads. So my first question, can creativity be considered a form of communication? Alessandra, what do you think?

Oh, I absolutely think so. And this is how that how it rolls out for me, because art is communication. Like, so when I am when I am working on a color forecast across all different industries, The sources that I go to to see what is happening right now and what's about to happen, I mean that work is done at little pop-up exhibitions and in museums where things have been booked, like artwork has been finished just in time for it to go on show. And what those things are communicating, they're communicating for all of us. They're predicting trends in clear language. You just have to know to look for it. And that's what I'm trained to do as a color forecaster. So for sure, for sure, I would say it's communication.

Gray, you're next on my screen. Do you have a vote on that? 

Actually, communication is part of my definition of art, is that art is used to communicate some kind of emotion. And it doesn't mean it's necessarily good or bad, and there's a whole signal to noise argument about it kind of thing. But yeah, definitely I think that it's a form of communication in that you are trying to communicate something. I think that it's not as precise a form. And oftentimes, I think that the more precise it is, the less, maybe the less effective it is in some ways. Like if I communicate to you exactly what I am feeling because you are not me, it's not going to be an authentic emotion for you. Whereas if I can communicate the broad strokes of it, you sort of fill in the gaps with your own emotion and therefore have that more empathic experience. And I'm saying all this and Jennifer is an art professor and I can just sort of hear her going, discursivity and things like that. But anyway.

I got Bobby W on my screen next. Bobby, what are your thoughts?

I agree wholeheartedly. And I worked in corporate communications for a very long time. So the whole idea about being creative in how you communicate and what you communicate helps you rise above all the noise, right? And catches people's attention. So the more creative you can be, the better. And it's fun and it's unique. And that's what I have. 

Devin, can creativity be considered a form of communication?

I think creativity slash art is the most robust form of communication. I mean, the only communication we have with our great, great ancestors are the cave paintings on the walls. I mean, we don't have any other communication from those folks as to what they were thinking, what they were feeling, what life was like. But we have some representation through their creativity of what they were experiencing. So yes, I would say it is strong communication. 

They certainly stood the test of time through the eons. Adrienne, you're next on my screen. Do you have a board on that?

I will say yes. Well, communication is a two-way thing for me, with sending and receiving. Communication is good when both of them are understandable to each other. You can send and you can receive and communicate and receive the way that it's meant to be what they're trying to say. And what you have now is the tools to use. There's so many tools. And what I like about creativity is that you can use all different tools because we all learn and receive differently. So whether that is you receive better by visual, whether you receive by the 3 ways of learning, kinesthetic, visual, or auditory. Sometimes even best if you can do all 3 together in different creative ways and forms, right? We know that some people don't use parts of their brains like other people do. Some people have a harder time with certain ways of receiving information. So creativity has brought a way for us to be able to help people with being able to sit and receive, communicate with each other in a way that they can actually absorb it and feel heard.

Absolutely. Jennifer, you are next on my screen. Do you have a take on that?

Like anything can be a form of communication meaning like a way to share information, like communicating, or thinking about relationships and relational stuff. And then I'm thinking about creativity in terms of like an attentiveness to like content and form or something in the ways in which things can be delivered. And then being kind of attentive to maybe being playful with it maybe or like curious with it as a way to either I think I think like Bobby mentioned something about this about getting people's attention. I guess creativity can do that because it momentarily disrupts or it can momentarily disrupt something that has become naturalized in a way, you know? And so then that kind of like disruption allows for maybe a different kind of relationship to either the content form or something.

Hillary, I have you next on my screen. Do you have any thoughts on that creativity? Can it be considered a form of communication?

Well, yes. I mean, what are you creating is the question. And how good is what you created good at communicating. My work is creative but for me I call it functional art because I make construction drawings And that means somebody's got to take what I create and go do something with it. They have to take action based off of what I create. So I creatively need to display it. It's got to, you know, accuracy. You know, we can, that's a different conversation, but the creative part is how to display it. What words to use, what symbols, what colors. All these things play into a factor to the end result to communicate something very specific. So while you have all your facts, showing them appropriately is its own creative endeavor and creating something kind of artistic.

Right, and in your line of work it could have very serious consequences if that communication is not clear.

Absolutely. Yeah, fire safety. You got to be pretty clear on what your expectations are and you know, there's no verbal communication. You know, this is somebody I have never met. I have no idea who receives my work and what they do with it. So I just hope for the best. 

Trust the process, right? Trust the process. Bailey, you're next on my screen. Do you have a thought on that? Creativity, is it a form of communication?

I think it is a form of communication. And I think it's communicating something that only you are able to communicate. To create something, you have to create something from your perspective or your experience. So I think creativity is a way to communicate your experience to someone else and I think it's one of the only ways to do that. Alessandra, you're a color picker And 1 of the things about color is, theoretically, we're not even sure if we see the exact same colors. So it's a really interesting concept to try to communicate what your perspective is, because it's yours alone.

Yeah, that's very true, because We're just, it's by comparing, compared to this piece of St. Augustine grass, we're going to assign the color green to that. It's all about these comparisons because we can't slip into each other's skin and see through each other's eyes but we we make accommodations for that in how we compare one thing compared to another one color one item compared to another

Okay rapid fire round as we're approaching time but have you ever broken a rule to create something unique or special? Alessandra?

Oh yeah, I have. I broke the rule of classical clarinet playing by playing Brahms with a vibrato.

Gray, how about you?

I did some rope bondage suspension work in Central Park for a photo shoot once.

Cool. Devin? 

I broke several rules for an installation I called Band Directors Volkswagen Beetle in the Band Hall Foyer. Very well reviewed. You should check it out. 

Try saying that fast five times!  Adrian, how about you?

My answer is I was born a natural rule breaker. Because who says the rules? I didn't. So since I was young, I never was one of the kids, I was full of my teachers. Like, Why do you think that? Why do you read this way? Why do you interpret this way? Because I don't interpret it the way you do and I don't have to. So it's like, I've always been a natural rule breaker. I like to try different things. Like I like SFX makeup. And you know, everybody does latex wounds and all this stuff. And

I was like, I'm going to try these used dryer sheets for my wings instead of tissues and create a really cool look. Because I don't like rules. I don't like boundaries.

Jennifer, how about you?

I'm very similar to Adrian. I mean, my whole project is revolution and liberation for all on this earth and beyond, that requires that we have to break out of life, a lot of rules and a lot of these systems and structures and interlocking systems of oppression. So yes, absolutely 100. And like, I think the ultimate breaking out of rules is like, how can we breach like binaries, hierarchies and capital, which I think are like the basis of our current shared reality.

Hillary, you're next on my screen. How about you?

Okay, when it comes to art and whatever medium you're working with, whether it's paint, a thread, or computer software, you have to learn the rules and what they are. So you know how to appropriately break them. I, you know, design in general, I do that with the software, you know, the AutoCAD and you have to figure out how it works. And then, then you know how to manipulate it into what it is you creatively want.

Right. Bailey, how about you?

In middle school and high school, I used to get in a lot of trouble because I would break a lot of rules and it wasn't always artistic. It was just breaking rules in general. But it included art and I would often get in trouble or sometimes get worse grades because I didn't follow the rules because I wanted to create something, I guess, the way I wanted to. So I guess I've kind of always done that. Less so now, actually. These days, I actually try to follow the rules a little bit better. And it's hard. But yeah, I guess I do.

Well, Greg, I would love to throw in here that one of the key values of creative work hour is rebellion. So there you go.

And if I had to answer that question, I would say I refuse to answer on the grounds I may incriminate myself, but I don't know if I can say that. We do have a lawyer amongst us, or maybe is that an acceptable answer? I think so.

Yes, my client looks forward to being fully vindicated with the facts about a trial.

Well it's happened again you've wasted a perfectly few good minutes listening to the creative work hour podcast when you could have been doing something else. But what about you? We would love to hear if creativity can be considered a form of communication and have you ever broken a rule to create something unique or special let us know? But in the meantime, come back tomorrow, and we will be here.