Creativity isn’t a process. Advertising is a process. Creativity is a manic construction of absurd, unlikely irreverent thoughts and feelings that somehow, when put together, change the way we see things. That’s why it’s magic. If you want to be ordinary, then, yes, use a process. – John Hegarty
Confession: I have yet to make heads or tails of Hegarty’s statement. I find something utterly disquieting about it. Every time I think I understand the words, I wonder if I need more context. What does he mean exactly? Is he saying that advertising is ordinary? Is he suggesting creativity is magic? Just what is he saying? I’m not sure, so I’ve decided to work through the sentences to see if I can pinpoint just what aggravates me so. Even if I don’t, it will be a worthwhile exercise; it will show how and what I think about creativity and process.
“Creativity isn’t a process. Advertising is a process.” I can’t really argue Hegarty on this point. Creativity isn’t a process. Creativity is a way of thinking. It’s an approach taken. It’s not a one-two-three sort of thing. It’s messy and bumps against and transgresses the edges, much like a moth trying to escape a light fixture.
Advertising, in contrast, may seem like a process. It has certain steps that have to be taken or followed. The creative brief is given; the copywriters and art directors go to work; they come back and visit with the creative director; the work is presented to the client; the client raises or doesn’t raise a fuss; the creative people do or don’t go back to the proverbial drawing board. It is a process then, but it may only be one on the surface. The actual work that the copywriters, art directors, and creative directors do beneath that surface is – at least it should be – creative. It shouldn’t be formulaic, a template into which ideas are dropped and made to fit. The ideas should give rise to and converse with whatever form the end result takes.
“Creativity is a manic construction of absurd, unlikely irreverent thoughts and feelings that somehow, when put together, change the way we see things.” I have to disagree with Hegarty on this point. He seems to suggest that creativity is the end product; that is, he sees art and creativity as being one and the same. It isn’t true. Creativity may be the “absurd, unlikely irreverent thoughts and feelings.” Art is the manic construction of those things. Art is the form that puts those thoughts and feelings together to create an object, be it a drawing, a poem, a story, a sculpture, a dance, et cetera, that changes how people view things.
Advertising can work on that same level of “manic construction.” Nothing says that advertising can’t be art. Advertising effects may be and probably need to be more readily felt than a classic art form, but that doesn’t mean advertising can’t stir the soul. If it didn’t, why the current obsession with storytelling or with creating an “experience”? No, advertising, like art is a construction. It’s a part of the public consciousness, part of the culture, and it’s one that can change how people view the world.
“That’s why it’s [creativity is] magic.” I disagree entirely with Hegarty on this point. Not only is creativity seen as some sort of end-all, be-all, but it’s also made into some mysterious and beautiful thing. Creativity isn’t like that. An artist or a copywriter doesn’t say “abracadabra” and pull a rabbit out of a hat. No, the artist and copywriter get to work. One stands in front of an easel for hours at a time and draws with charcoal. The other spreads paper across the desk and writes and writes and writes. There is no trick; there is no secret code word. Creativity is chaos. It’s both ugly and beautiful. It’s hard work, and – occasionally, occasionally – it’s easy. Creativity can’t be confined to one thing. Creativity is many things. It is not, however, “magic.” It can be examined. It is not smoke and mirrors.
“If you want to be ordinary, then, yes, use a process.” Again, no. A process does not mean “ordinary.” A process is what turns chaos into something useful and sometimes beautiful. A process is what takes a lump of clay and pounds it and pounds it to get rid of the air bubbles then spins and spins and spins it on the wheel, pressing the clay down and up and down and up again, until it becomes a pot, a water pitcher, a plate, or a teacup. A process is what says that a kiln at a certain temperature will cause certain glazes to react in certain ways yet understands that that firing process may produce an unforeseen result. A process is what takes lofty thoughts and turns them into concrete art or turns scattered ideas into a submission for an Addy. A process is not necessarily ordinary nor does it make a person ordinary. It makes that person an artist, a copywriter, an art director.
I’m not sure I’ve arrived at any sort of clarity since examining Hegarty’s statement in its parts. What do you make of it? Am I reading too much into what he says? Am I missing a context that might enlighten his words?
Image: deichgnu (CC BY NC SA 2.0)