“…For this is quite the final goal of art: to recover this world by giving it not to be seen as it is, but as if it had its source in human freedom.” Jean-Paul Sartre
Happy new year everyone! Hope you’re enjoying these days of sunshine. I’m teaching a new course, Psychology of Creativity, at Meridian this month. Here’s the description:
“In this experiential course we explore the many aspects and dimensions of creative process in everyday life—at the individual level, at the group level, and in the broader culture. While the arts lie on the margins of most people’s lives, creative process is central to who are as humans. Learning, growth and transformation are creative processes, and it is the act of seeing connections that forms the heart of creative consciousness. Topics include metaphor, the power of image, symbolic thinking, aesthetic consciousness, the psychological components of creativity and non-linear ways of thinking and knowing.”
I’m delighted that I get to immerse myself in what I love. Sartre got it right. Art is about human freedom. Following our own creative voice allows us to be who we are in a way that nothing else does. And it helps us “resist the forces that press us into passivity and bland acquiescence.” Amen.
(Quote from Maxine Greene, Releasing the Imagination)