Every fall season, I rewatch all the best Tim Burton movies to get in the spirit for Halloween. Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Corpse Bride are some of my favorite movies ever. Each of these films embody Burton’s creative style: dark yet whimsical. His work as a director, writer, and producer has shaped an entire aesthetic that is loved by so many around the world.
I think that much of Burton’s creativity was born from personal experiences. He grew up in sunny, Burbank, California which is in direct contrast to the vibe of his movies. He found inspiration from classic horror films and monster art. In The Creative Spark by Augustin Fuentes, he emphasizes the fact that creativity is a deeply human trait, rooted in our ability to reimagine what already exists and turn it into something meaningful. Burton does exactly that by taking familiar archetypes like ghosts and monsters and transforming them into sympathetic, relatable characters. For example, the skeleton Jack Skellington and ghost Emily.
In addition, Fuentes says that creativity is a collaborative act, not just an individual talent. Burton’s movies demonstrate this perfectly. His ideas come to life through huge teams of animators, writers, and designers who share his vision. The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride are not just the products of one man’s imagination, but of a creative community working toward a shared dream. The success of his movies should not only be given to Tim Burton but to all the minds that made these stories come to life. This collaboration shows Fuentes’s point even more, that creativity flourishes when people come together.
Proclaimed to be a tortured artist, Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani is most famous for his painted portraits subtracting the eyes from the faces. Modigliani considered the eyes to be the "windows of the soul," and he refused to paint eyes without truly knowing the person.
In Agustín Fuente's The Creative Spark, he discusses relationships between humans and how they have developed over time. His chapter on "Creative Sex" highlights male, female, sexual, gender, and social tendencies. He writes, "a pair-bond is a strong and deep long-term social relationship and may, or may not, involve a sexual relationship" (173.) This deep type of connection that humans create is in someways unlike other species because of the complexities in familiarity, desire, and love. Modigliani's works highlight that true connection that satisfies a generally accepted definition of love through the eyes, or lack thereof, in his paintings. Because of his refusal to paint the eyes of the subject without fully knowing them, or their soul, there is heavy significance in the portraits with eyes being of his love Jeanne.
Following his death at age 35, Modigliani's fiancée Jeanne Hébuterne threw herself from the fifth story of their building, killing herself and their unborn child. She was distraught over his death, and following her suicide Hébuterne's family blamed Modigliani for the death of their daughter. This reminded me of Fuente's view on the unique relationship between mother and child, specifically during pregnancy. He writes "the female and the infant need to be near each other most of the time in the early part of the infant's life" (180.) Although Modigliani and Hébuterne's child did not survive to it's early life, this quote reminded me of how both mother and child passed on together, inseparable even to death.
Many artists, particularly in the 19th century, portray some sexual aspects in their paintings specifically when depicting women. This emphasis on the viewer's pleasure, indulgence, and objectification is not uncommon. Fuentes writes how "entire subcultures of attraction and politics are built up around them," "them" referencing women's bodies and specifically breasts. However, Modigliani's portrayal of women is stylized, graceful, and respectful. Even when painting nudes, they do not create a suggestive mood but rather a soft, introspective one. They represent beauty and elegance.
Modigliani's paintings represent more than just portraits. He creates a representation of the relationship between the people painted and himself, revealed in how he fills or leaves blank the eyes: the windows to the soul. Fuentes describes how"Humans evolved the capacity to form tight and lasting bonds between individuals that create psychological and emotional ties that are forged, broken, and remade," (183) and the connections between humans is not lost through Modigliani's paintings.
Britney Spears has always played an important role in my life since I was little, and growing up, I realized her impact in the entertainment world. More than a pop star, she has been a force that redefined the meaning of an artist and icon. Starting off early in her career with her hit "...Baby One More Time" to a futuristic song as "Toxic" and many more. Spears and her starter main producer, Max Martin, created a sound and image that shaped an entire generation of listeners. The music videos, choreography, and performances weren't just entertainment, but they were standards of identity, authenticity, and reinvention.
What makes Britney's story so special and powerful in creativity is one built not only on talent but on independent strength and resilience. The media and the world watched her personal life become so public in 2007, and her voice was controlled by others for years, an entire controlling team and her own father, Jamie Spears, who put her under a conservatorship after the entire media labeled her as 'unstable'. But in 2021, when she regained her freedom, the truth came out, the writing of a book, and a reminder to the world that creativity cannot be separated from autonomy. In her own words, she has spoken what the life and struggles of a popstar are. Even earlier on in her career, in her song "Lucky" she mentions a young girl named Lucky (herself) singing "She's so lucky, she's a star, but she cries... Thinking if there's nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?" A song that always captivated my attention, being so young, not understanding what she went through, but wondering myself. Is she herself that girl she's singing about? Does she cry and suffer even though she has everything in life?
These themes of control and freedom have a surprising connection to our book, The Code Breaker, by Jennifer Doudna. Her work in gene editing is all about understanding and rewriting a life's blueprint, as DNA defines who we are. In a similar way, The Princess of Pop's journey has been about rewriting her own life code, a narrative that others tried to impose on her but failed. Both women faced emotional and existential questions about control, one case over genes, and the other over a life and career as a celebrity.
Britney's art reshaped pop music, and Doudna revolutionized biology, showing us creation is not always about 'new' but a transformation, and thrives on ownership of our own stories.
Our still-relevant pop girl's legacy is not only in her iconic music hits, but also in an enduring message of self-determination and courage to remain creative even when the world tears you down, fails you, and tries to silence you. As Doudna, Britney shows that breaking the code can be an act of innovation and reemergence.
The Country and Folk Music legend Townes Van Zandt has earned constant praise from industry moguls like Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and even Bob Dylan for his unique songwriting talent, even after his death in 1997. Despite writing and performing for the better part of three decades, Townes’ lifestyle and personal choices never allowed him to fully gain status as a household name, and his popularity predominantly resided in the core of the folk music industry and other cultish music lovers.
Although he was born in Texas, Townes' childhood was one of constant moving and unsettling, something that remained a large part of his identity throughout his writing career and adulthood. Townes was known to most as a rambler. Despite his genius with a pen and guitar and his relatively affluent upbringing, he had an undeniable infatuation with what he would describe as ‘hard livin’. This entailed intermittent couchsurfing, deep bouts with depression, a variety of unstable romantic relationships, and unrelenting cycles of addiction(namely alcohol, cocaine, and prescription medications). Despite his apparently hazardous lifestyle choices, Townes seemed to thrive as a creative in a novel way. My favorite, and a folk classic of Townes’ discography, is his 1969 album, self-titled Townes Van Zandt. On songs like Waiting Around to Die and Lungs, Townes struggles with the concept of death and being slowly weakened by the weight of life. This album delves deep into the struggles of Towne’s life, all while maintaining some of the most intricate wordplay and storytelling in folk music history.
A documentary on his life highlights a story from Van Zandt’s 3rd grade classroom where the teacher was discussing stars, and told the class that all stars, including the sun, will burn out. As a curious young child, he asked the teacher, “If the sun is gonna burn out, then what are we doing here?”. Unfortunately, the teachers' various answers were insufficient in calming his troubling existential questions. To me, this sort of playful yet truly existential story perfectly encapsulates Townes’ personality and is part of what sets his writing style apart from other creatives in the industry. As an artist and in life, he seemed extremely comfortable confronting the darker questions. His son described him in a documentary as “Happiest when he was most unhappy”. His personality and writing style give his music a somber yet comforting feel and illustrate the beauty in sadness that Townes could see. He also communicates this in his fantastical approach to dark storytelling in songs like Poncho and Lefty, a made-up story about an outlaw named Lefty who betrays his closest companion Poncho. The song details Lefty’s painful life after living with his decision, and it's clear Townes sees some of himself in Lefty, who “Wears his skin like iron” and whose “Breath’s as hard as kerosene”. While very dark in subject matter, this song can evoke some of the most vivid and beautiful imagery for the listener. In the book faith, hope, and carnage artist Nick Cave seems to notice a similar relationship between beauty and sorrow and how they interact in his music in the book Faith, Hope, and Carnage. Both artists take inspiration from and often invoke very dark or haunting narratives and imagery in their songs, but they also see these as some of their most powerful works. Townes’ fandom as a whole seems to recognize that the ugly and painful in life can often produce some of the songs most worth hearing.
During an interview, Townes emphasized the role of the subconscious in his creative process, sometimes even waking from his sleep with vivid mental images that seemed to long for explanation through song. Close friend and fellow musician Guy Clark details this sort of lucid subconscious approach to writing through a story of when Townes had a terrible case of the flu. In between fever dreams, he would wake up seemingly possessed by the idea for a new narrative, urging him to write down 4-5 verses at a time and pass back out. In psychology, we call this phenomenon insight, where an idea or connection pops into the mind seemingly out of nowhere and demands the attention of the creative. The songwriter commented about this style of idea generation in interviews, describing himself as a medium for subconscious ideas that hardly seemed like his own. This process manifested in songs like “(Quicksilver daydreams of) Maria,” which seem to transport the listener into a fantastical dreamstate while simultaneously feeling like a real story about the creator himself.
His work, though often defined by sorrow, lives on as some of the best folk music to come from his generation.
Hirohiko Araki, best known for his hit manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, is most well known for his illustrations and attention to detail when it comes to the panels on his pages. The work put into his illustrations cannot be understated but the thought process that goes into getting to those final products is often overlooked. Araki can make a simple sketch look effortless, as seen in a recent picture he took with a fan during a rare public appearance, but when it comes to complete manga panels with characters and environments he takes his attention to detail seriously.
Araki created a unique format for his manga, separating his manga into parts, creating a series of loosely tied together stories that come together to create one large universe. Each of these parts take place in different parts of the Earth, some take place in Japan, his home country, some take place in parts of America. No matter what part of the work the part takes place in, he will take time to go to those places and study them to get inspiration and make sure he is accurately adapting that setting. This philosophy of using nature as a teacher can be seen in Rick Rubin's The Creative Act in his chapter on using Nature as a teacher, highlighting the inspiration that can come from the beauty of things such as the ocean, mountains, and the deserts.
Jonotan Hastad, also known as Yung Lean, is a Swedish producer and rapper. He is thought to be one of the most prominent figures in cloud rap, with artists like Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, and Post Malone taking inspiration from his beats and production style. Yung Lean’s career took off when he released his song, Ginseng Strip 2002. This was followed by his debut mixtape and first album, all three reaching great success.
While touring at the peak of his career, however, Hastad was faced with many negative influences and began to struggle with heavy drug use. He was addicted to smoking, bars, cocaine, and more throughout his one year of touring. Hasted was admitted to a mental hospital after drug induced psychosis. Barron Machat, Yung Lean’s close friend/ manager, was on the way to the hospital but was tragically caught in a fatal car accident that caused him to lose his life.
This struggle with drugs and death of his close friend informs many of Yung Lean's lyrics and albums.
His music often reflects feelings of mourning, numbness, and attempts at self-recovery. His song “Agony,” for instance, says, “I let my demons take hold and choke on me / Can’t fill these holes that I’m digging”. He expressed being aware of his self-destructive tendencies and shows how he still has a desire to find peace despite the chaos. The song’s lyrics reveal a deep desire for personal healing and perseverance. Through songs like this, Yung Lean uses his pain to create art. Music is a space where he can confront his loss and addiction while still working towards inner healing.
In Faith, Hope, and Carnage, Nick Cave talks about how he was “envious of those who had a spiritual dimension to their lives… A longing for belief that addressed a fundamental emptiness inside”. Similar to Yung Lean’s attempt at self-recovery through music, Cave finds the ability to persevere through hardships by seeking spirituality. Cave shows us the importance of finding a medium through which someone can help themselves recover from setbacks. Cave’s spirituality intertwines with his creativity
Cave and Yung Lean both fight similar battles with drug usage and heavily grieving loved ones. Additionally, they both are able to find an outlet that allows them to process their pain and turn it into something meaningful. Nick Cave and Yung Lean show us creative expression and having a stabilizing outlet can serve as a form of rebuilding and redemption, fostering perseverance.
Kesha Rose Sebert, or as everyone in 2010 remembers her, Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. She is most noted for her hit singles “Tik Tok”, “Blow”, "Your Love Is My Drug” and many more. She had a rough upbringing with her and her brother being raised by their single mother, who was trying to pursue a music career. Kesha’s mother encouraged her to pursue singing when she was young and helped her start her music career. In 2005, at the age of 18, Kesha was signed to producer Dr. Luke’s record label. Her big breakthrough after years of singing background vocals and writing songs for other artists was in 2009, after appearing on rapper Flo Rida’s single “Right Round”. Even though she was uncredited, her talents showed through and helped her gain fame. Her debut single “Tik Tok” topped charts for 9 weeks, then she released her hit debut album Animal and her first extended play Cannibal in 2010. Kesha’s party girl aesthetic quickly made her a polarizing figure.
In 2014, Kesha admitted herself to rehab for bulimia nervosa, which she had been struggling with since the start of her music career. In that same year, she sued producer Dr. Luke for sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, emotional abuse, and violation of California business practices, which had occurred over 10 years working together. On February 10, 2016, Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich ruled against Kesha’s request for a preliminary injunction to be released from Dr. Luke’s record company. This started the #FreeKesah movement on social media, which garnered support from many other artists such as Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, who donated to legal fees. On April 6 of that same year, the same judge dismissed the case and said that even if the allegations were true, the five–year statute of limitations had run out on the two most specific rape allegations. The lawsuit went on until a settlement was reached in 2023, but between that time, Kesha continued to make music under Dr. Luke, and also made songs and did performances in defiance of him.
Kesha is a spiritual person who believes in a higher power and has created music through it. In the song “Praying,” Kesha uses her spirituality to express how she has found a sense of peace by forgiving those who have caused her pain. While the song is about her own trauma, it is not about revenge; it is a message of hope for both the survivor and the abuser. Nick Cave has also processed his trauma through religion and music. He does identify with Christianity, but the way he describes his process of writing being influenced by religion sounds more like a transcendental experience. Both of their processes with religion and music seem like a force is helping drive their process. Nick Cave’s new album, Skeleton Tree, has a lot of religious influence. When he was writing it, he describes it as if he were in a flow state. Both of these creatives have faced hardships, but use spirituality to drive their music towards healing.
Garry Kasparov is arguably one the most dominant and greatest chess players to have ever lived. Rivaling names such as Fischer, Spassky, and even current age champions like Gukesh and Carlsen, Kasparov was a dominant leader in the chess community. He was born on April 13th, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan which during that time was part of the USSR. At 22, he was declared the undisputed world champion when he defeated USSR member Anatoly Karpov, a record which held until recently in 2024, however this title is disputed. He defended his title 3 times against Karpov in 1986, 1987 and 1990. He retired from chess in the early 2000s and spent time mentoring many who would threaten to be future world champions, including Magnus Carlsen. He also joined many political activist groups to resist the rise of Vladimir Putin in 2008, and even made an attempt to run for president. Due to logistical errors he had to withdraw, and following mass protests and possible persecution he left Russia to go to New York and eventually Croatia where he now resides. he's still part of numerous groups and organizations that help work towards human rights, and was even chairman of the Human Rights Foundation from 2011-2024.
Kasparov's biggest accomplishment, however, was sitting before an unimaginable opponent in chess that was rising in the ranks back in 1996. This was no ordinary player, however, for this was Deep Blue AI. The strongest and rapidly growing chess machine to exist. Many AIs had existed prior to Deep Blue, but none stood nearly as strong of a chance to compete as Deep Blue did. Kasparov arranged a 6 game show match with the bot, to further the claim that AI was on a rise. While many believed Kasparov and his dominant form would be able to prove humans were stronger than robots, the match actually was much closer than expected. Kasparov ultimately won the match, winning 4-2. However, it was no easy task. He lost the first game, before coming back to win the second. Then after game 3 and 4 were draws, Kasparov came back to defeat the AI in the final two games. While this was a victory for Kasparov, it proceeded to begin the Age of AI, as this was the first time an AI had ever won a game against a reining world champion. A rematch was later held in 1997, where Kasparov was ultimately defeated 3.5-2.5. Marking the last moment in which humans could defeat AI in chess.
In The Code Breaker by Walter Issacson, there is the discussion of CRISPR and its possibilities and moral dilemmas that approach as we discovered this. There were many when CRISPR first came out who believed that its immoral and wrong to use. This hindered its place in the world. Others embraced the idea and further tried to expand on it. This interesting dilemma translates over to these games of chess. This ushered in a new dawn of AI taking over the world of chess, and some even questioned if these computers should have even been made. From here both good and bad ideas and things have expanded from computers in the chess world. There have been many cheating scandals, many interesting stories of its adaptation, but also has helped usher in new forms of masters, using AI to advance their personal studies and making it easier for them to find new ideas to play the game. Ultimately, this will be the last time someone ever defeats AI in head to head combat, especially since with the rise of AI the ratings are no where near where humans are at. To put in in perspective, humans have peaked around 2900 rated, while Stockfish, one of the highest current engines, just hit about 4000. However it was this moment, along with the similar moment of discovering CRISPR, that ushered in a new age of good and bad ideas to flourish in the world. Where these ideas end up is in the hands of the future, and hopefully they will not be regretted.
Everyone knows Orville and Wilburt Wright as the pioneers of aviation, achieving flight for the first time on Dec. 17, 1903. However, the story of their experimental designs are worth further understanding through the lens of their creative process.
The brothers originally took inspiration from German glider pioneer, Otto Lilienthal, as well as the mechanics of birds in flight. This curiosity led them to further their research into how balance and control can be maintained in the air. In this research they found many attempts and scientific papers detailing failed attempts at manufacturing flight. While this was important insight, there was a ceiling to how far this research could take them, forcing them to develop a scientific approach of their own.
They began building kites and gliders to experiment with different shapes for balance and systems of control. In Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act: A Way of Being, experimentation is labeled as the “second stage”, entering after the beginning seeds have been collected. For the wright brothers, the seeds were their inspiration and research and they intuitively advanced into experimentation when the starting points were no longer progressing their agenda.
Rubin also writes about how the experimentation stage should be focused on ideas that flourish and generating possibilities. The Wright brothers’ construction of the wind tunnel to test their designs is an example of this as it opened the door to new experimental possibilities. They focused on this largely successful idea, and it led them to trial and error thoroughly, eventually leading them to build the first functioning flying machine.
Their experimental process was challenging with many surprises along the way. According to Rubin, mystery is the heart of experiment. This was the case for the Wright brothers, as the unknown drove their curiosity and sparked their experimental design process, leading them to create the possibility of human flight.
Banksy, who, I am sure, most people are at least familiar with, is an anonymous English street artist. He has been active for over thirty years, creating art as a political and social statement. One of his most famous works is "Balloon Girl", which is a stencil that depicts a young girl reaching out to a red balloon, which happens to be the only color throughout the artwork. Banksy’s painting of "Balloon Girl" was sold at an auction in 2018, and right when it was sold, the picture frame started to shred the painting. This was the first artwork to be created live during an auction. Banksy did this in protest of the commercialism in the art world, which did end up backfiring because the painting was then worth even more.
Most of Banksy’s work all has some message to it. "Balloon girl", for example, symbolizes the lost innocence that children in conflict and war zones experience. Others include “Love is in the Air,” which depicts a protester with a mask on, throwing flowers instead of something harmful. This represents the choice to turn violence into peace. There are many more powerful artworks that Banksy has created; however, those are the ones that are most well-known.
In Culture Care, Fujimara mentions how we have done little to cultivate the soil of culture for the next generation and how efforts made to plant seeds culturally will most likely not yield any significant results for some time. He does then go on to mention how, when under the right conditions and care, “rapid regeneration” is possible after a major disaster. Fujimara uses the example of volcanoes and forest fires. Banksy’s work is a good example of how regeneration is possible. His work has a clear message and has reached a lot of people. His work didn't necessarily happen as a result of a major disaster, but more as a result of a buildup of tensions, politically and socially.
In August I got the opportunity to see My Chemical Romance in concert at Soldier Field and was absolutely blown away by the band’s musical talent, stage presence, and performance. All of these were things that I expected from the band yet still stood in astonishment at being able to witness it live. While I could go on and on about the performance aspects and musicality of the band there is a less spoken feature that I wanted to dive into: the storytelling and art.
Album cover art done by Way for Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
Gerard Way is the lead singer and frontman of My Chemical Romance. It was his idea to create the band in response to the events of 9/11. Something special about Way that sets both himself and the band apart from others is his background in visual arts. Way attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999. Outside of the band, he is an accomplished comic book writer and artist with his most notable series being The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys and The Umbrella Academy, the former gaining a Netflix adaptation in 2019.
The band members as their characters
Way’s comic talent has played a huge part in My Chemical Romance from his illustration for their Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album to creating a distinct storyline and visuals for their Danger Days album. Way has stated that he takes strong inspiration from comics such as Grant Morison’s Doom Patrol, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. When creating the characters and storyline for My Chemical Romance’s Danger Days album, Way gave each of the members a character that tied into the world of his comic series The True Lives of Fabulous Killjoys making the album a kind of prequel to the events in the series. Way would create the sketches for costumes, props, and sets of the album’s photoshoots and music videos which would then be brought to life by a creative team. Even the songs of the album are coherent to the world that Way has created with the members having written the lyrics for the songs while consulting with Way’s creative vision.
Way's sketch for guitarist Frank Iero's character "Fun Ghoul"
Augustin Fuentes’s The Creative Spark discusses aesthetics and symbolism which is found all over Way’s art for My Chemical Romance. On page 9, Fuentes writes “We humans have the distinctive ability to think about times and places in the past and the future and to convey the information via language and symbol”. This ties in immensely to Way’s art and writing for Danger Days as it is a story set in a future dystopia where creativity is dulled by an overlord company called “Better Living Industries”. The concept provides commentary on creativity, self-expression, and humanity in a futuristic lens. Along with this there is heavy metaphorical and literal symbolism in the album as Way created distinct symbols to represent each of the band member’s characters. Way’s multidisciplinary approach enhances the band’s music and welcomes fans to a world where sound, story, and visual art collide.
Opening in June 2022, the AIDS Garden Chicago serves as both a public monument and a place of reflection, honoring the early days of Chicago's HIV epidemic and the countless individuals whose lives were affected by it. The Garden stands as a tribute not only to those who were lost but also to those who continue to fight for awareness and prevention today. One of its most striking features is Keith Haring's Self-Portrait, a vibrant and dynamic sculpture that marked the completion of the Garden's first phase when it was installed in 2019.
The piece was donated by the Keith Haring Foundation, reinforcing the artist's lifelong commitment to using art as a tool for advocacy and social change. By including Haring's work at the Garden's entrance, the installation bridges art and activism, reminding visitors of the intersection between creativity, community, and resilience.
Gaining popularity during the 1980's New York art scene, Haring became a prominent figure whose art was deeply intertwined with the social and political issues of his time. He used his creativity not just for aesthetic purposes but as a powerful medium for communication and resistance. Through his murals, subway drawings, and public installations, Haring responded to urgent global concerns, including the AIDS crisis, the fight to end apartheid in South Africa, and the struggles against drug abuse.
Rather than confining his work to galleries, Haring chose the streets of New York City as his canvas, believing that art should be accessible to everyone, regardless of class or background. He said, "This was the first time I realized how many people could enjoy art if they were given the chance. These were not the people I saw in the museums or in the galleries but a cross-section of humanity that cuts across all boundaries" ("Five Things to Know: Keith Haring"). His dedication to public art reshaped how people experienced creativity, transforming everyday city spaces into inclusive environments for dialogue, joy, and awareness.
The faceless figure in Haring's Self-Portrait captures the essence of his artistic philosophy. The simplified human form can be interpreted in multiple ways: perhaps marching, dancing, stomping, or protesting. This ambiguity invites viewers to engage with the piece and project their own emotions and experiences onto it.
Originally conceived as a small cardboard maquette, the sculpture was later scaled up into the full-sized version that stands today. Its transformation from a modest model to a monumental artwork mirrors Haring's rise from underground street artist to internationally recognized cultural icon.
Within the context of the AIDS Garden Chicago, Self-Portrait stands as a lasting reminder of Haring's legacy. An embodiment of hope, solidarity, and the enduring power of art to inspire change.
During the grunge movement of the 90s, Chris Cornell rose to fame as the lead singer of the band Soundgarden until it dissolved in 1997. After, he did solo work and formed a new band, Audioslave, in 2001 alongside former members of another 90s rock band, Rage Against the Machine. Cornell is considered one of the most influential figures in grunge and 90s rock as a whole, thanks to his unique songwriting and singing styles.
Typically when musicians write songs, it’s common to stick to a singular key because it contains all the notes and chords to make a good melody. In Black Hole Sun, a famous Soundgarden song, Cornell upends this by making many key changes within a short time frame, creating the surreal sound which earned the song its fame. He wrote the song after he thought he heard a weatherman say “black hole sun”, and decided to write a song to match the visual. Cornell’s vast vocal range of almost four octaves allowed him a greater degree of creative freedom when writing, and he sometimes incorporated yells and vocalizations in his vocal parts. Additionally, his vocal style incorporates inspiration from many different genres including belts characteristic of soul music.
Apart from singing in several major bands and having a solo career, Cornell also collaborated with other artists, notably singing vocals for Alice in Chains’ “Right Turn” on their 1992 EP, Sap. An acoustic solo song titled “Seasons”, which he contributed to the movie Singles from the same year, beautifully captures the feeling of being stuck in an ever-changing world throughout the progression of the song. Written for a movie focusing on the Seattle grunge scene which he was a part of, it’s easy to hear the passion and authenticity in his singing.
In The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson, he writes about Jennifer Doudna’s preference for experiments that aren’t rigid and don’t require a strict protocol. This is the type of creative thinking which helped her develop CRISPR gene editing technology. Similarly, Cornell’s rapid key changes show his preference for not following typical music-making practices. His vocal range allows him more options when writing songs, and he doesn’t let those options go to waste by restricting himself to one key. In both of their fields, unconventional thinking has led them to new and fruitful ideas.
Cornell tragically died by suicide in 2017, but his iconic vocals and contributions to grunge cement him as one of the greatest rock musicians of all time. In recognition of this, he will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Soundgarden later this year.
Kenneth Anger is best remembered as a bold, envelope-pushing director, confident in the forms of occult imagery and taboo avant-garde. His film Fireworks is often cited as one of the first experimental gay films.
A young Kenneth Anger
Filmed in 1947, when the director was still just 20 years old, Fireworks is a strange, cacophonous mirage of homoerotic imagery, accompanied by men in naval outfits, grotesque explorations of the body, and a staggering encounter with a Christmas tree. Regardless of how incredibly ahead of its time the short film was, it is also incredibly creative and resourceful. The film was created in his family's basement over a weekend, and he used guerrilla methods to cast his fellow college-aged actors, sourcing them from UCLA film classes he was sitting in on. It's clear when watching this film, That Anger worked from a point of inspiration over necessity, prioritizing originality and a novel vision over being palatable.
A still from Fireworks (1947)
While the plot of Fireworks is difficult to follow, the artistic merit of the piece comes from its unabashed creative confidence. Even today, nearly 80 years after its release, people who I have shown this film to comment on how they have never seen anything like it. It feels like peering into someone's mind; a dark train of thought or a narcoleptic nightmare. Personally, I am a big fan, and I hope if you're reading this you'll give it a watch:
Fireworks – Kenneth Anger (~15 min)
In regards to the focus book I'm reading, The Code Breaker, I was reminded of Kenneth Anger when I read this guiding principle of one Dr. Jack W. Szostak: "Never do something that a thousand other people are doing". Above all other aspects of creativity that we have talked about in class, I find originality and novelty to be some of the most valuable. Both Jennifer Doudna and Kenneth Anger embody this by choosing to invest in fields of creation often overlooked, while simultaneously being important to their personal interests.
Once more, genuinely, I encourage you to give Fireworks a watch, and consider to what extent you weigh originality over other aspects of what makes art and creativity valuable.
Adele has been known for her music
and her powerful voice. She was born on May 5, 1988, when she grew up in London
and went to BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology. Adele started
singing at four years old, which is where she started to become interested in
singing. She had her first album, 19 released in 2008 and was UK’s bestselling
debut albums. Which she then proceeded to do another album 21 in 2011 which was
an international success and where you get the songs “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone
like You”. Then in 2015, she released another album 25 which had record
breaking first week's sales including the song “Hello”. The piece that I will be
sharing is the song “He Won’t Go”.
“There
will be times
We'll try and give it up
Bursting at the seams, no doubt
We'll almost fall apart then burn the pieces
So watch them turn to dust
But nothing will ever taint us”
Relating to the book, he talks a lot
about trying things and not giving up, which is what is described in this set
of lyrics. During the song, it focuses on working to try to take risks and help
the person. In the book, Rick talks about taking risks and an example of a risk
that he took was when he stated his appendix burst that he did not get it
removed because he read that we should not trust doctors. It should be like both
Adele and Rick’s creative process is about taking risks. Adele was talking
about taking risks in her song and then Rick talks about taking risks within
his book. By creating the song, Adele went through relating it to her own
experiences and then adding on to that since the song is about close friends
where one helped the other get over their heroin addiction. Overall, both of
these people are very creative in their own ways, but they also have similar
ideas with how they are talking within their art.
References
Rubin,
Rick. The Creative Act: A Way of Being. Penguin Press, 2023.
When being an artist means sharing the very essence of yourself with the world, losing sight of your identity can feel catastrophic.
In 2016, Marina Diamandis, at the time going by the moniker Marina and the Diamonds, felt like she had lost her true self and her love for music along with it. Marina's music before her hiatus had frequently employed criticisms of the Hollywood machine, how it tore artists down to remold them into a more popular and palatable image, and now she herself was facing those intense external pressures. As she put it in an interview with Mark Savage for the BBC,
I had such a fractured sense of who I was because so much of my identity was attached to music - and if I didn't want to do that any more, then what can I contribute to the world? What am I good at? What's my purpose? What makes me feel happy?...I just didn't know. I had no idea. (2019)
In The Creative Act, A Way of Being, Rubin (2023) discusses how a creative might remedy incessant outside voices that become so internalized that they affect an artist's self-expression. In "Tuning Out (Undermining Voices)," Rubin says,
Any pressure you feel around the work - from the inside or outside - is a signal for self-examination. The artist's goal is to keep themselves pure and unattached. To avoid letting stress, responsibility, fear, and dependence on a particular outcome distract. And if it does, it's never too late to reset. (p. 255)
So, Marina went on hiatus in an effort to rediscover her identity and what it meant to truly be herself. One major step she took with this goal in mind was to drop "and the Diamonds" from her moniker, simply going by her name: Marina. Although many fans did not like this at all (as "and the Diamonds" was taken to mean her fanbase), she saw it as a way to draw appropriate boundaries between herself and her fans, to not "give them any illusion that they have any kind of entitlement" (Dazed Magazine, 2019). In doing so, she created a healthy sense of detachment from herself and the fans that consume her work, instead of letting outside pressure consume her.
One might expect that an artist going on hiatus is using all of those years as a creative retreat to create their next big thing. For Marina, a large part of her hiatus was abandoning music entirely. Instead, she chose to study psychology at Birkbeck University of London. Ironically, this clean break from music was the key to rediscovering peace within herself. Those years spent studying became meditative, and she realized that "once [she] allowed [herself] to quit, [she] felt like [she] opened up inside" (Savage, 2019).
Rubin (2023) writes about experiences similar to Marina's discovery in "Right Before Our Eyes." In this chapter, he encourages the reader to "think of an artistic impasse as another type of creation," and to surrender to that blockage instead of trying to think their way out of it. He reasons that, "Each time we surrender, we may come to find that the answer we seek is right before our eyes" (p. 263-264).
Such was Marina's experience with her hiatus, and in 2019, she returned to the music scene with her album "Love + Fear." Influence from her hiatus is strong in this album, particularly in the theme of the album itself, inspired by this quote from Swiss psychologist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross: "All positive emotions come from love, all negative emotions from fear…there is only love or fear. For we cannot feel these two emotions together at exactly the same time" (Kaplan, 2019). One song in particular, Handmade Heaven, references her past acceptance that she had to step away from music, and I think it is important to recognize that this song was not on the "Fear" part of the album, but rather part of "Love." By letting go, she learned to trust in herself and the strength of her identity, fully embodying Rubin's ideas of letting the boundless creativity of the universe flow through us and embolden us.
"I could no longer ignore / The ivy growing tall / This life don't suit me anymore / The writing's on the wall"
