Sunday, April 6, 2025
Florence Pugh: Creativity Through Authenticity
Tina Fey: Breaking the Mould
When thinking of SNL, many can reference the great comics that came from the show like Will Ferrell or Jimmy Fallon. However, Tina Fey is a comedian who surpasses the usual stardom with her quick wit and insightful commentary.
At the University of Virginia, Fey studied playwriting and comedy before fully graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in drama. After graduation, she moved to Chicago to begin taking classes at Second City while also folding towels and working the front desk at a YMCA in Evanston. Fey lived in Chicago for several years before moving to New York City. While in New York, Fey was hired as a writer for “Saturday Night Live” and became the show’s first female head writer for its 25th season in 1997. In her own memoir, Fey described her time on SNL as chaotic but incredibly fulfilling creatively. Often working in writing rooms that were male-dominated, Fey felt like a fraud and sometimes had a harder time “fitting-in”. Despite these struggles, she kept honing in her craft and made huge strides, especially with her impression of 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Departing from SNL, Fey was offered her own sitcom by NBC which led to the creation of “30 Rock”. Fey drew from her experiences at SNL when writing the sitcom, and many can see the stylistic dark humor that she is known for written in every episode. In fact, many of the stylistic choices Tina Fey made for her show broke the mould of TV show comedy. According to PBS, “Tina Fey’s pioneering sitcom “30 Rock” veered from the traditional three-camera setup employed by prior sitcoms, opting instead for a more intimate single-camera approach, filmed without the aid of a live studio audience.” Much like Fey, Nick Cave’s songwriting and introspection came from being able to be vulnerable in his work. With writing her book Bossypants, she revealed not only her personal insecurities and failures, but shared her triumphs and the joy she felt in her comedy along with the vulnerability she had while creating shows that anyone can find humor in. Even today, Fey is traveling with her fellow former SNL co-star Amy Poehler in their “Restless Leg Tour”, captivating their audiences with the comedy that shaped the entire TV Show category since Fey’s debut.
https://www.secondcity.com/people/tina-fey
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/pioneers-of-television/pioneering-people/tina-fey/
Nora Brown
At only eighteen years old, Nora Brown has already released three albums, toured internationally, played in The Newport Folk Festival, and has had two NPR tiny desk concerts. She was introduced to traditional music at six years old in Brooklyn, New York, and has studied fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo, with banjo being her primary instrument. She grew up going to Appalachia for music festivals to be immersed in old time music where she studied under masters of their craft.
Here is a link to one of her NPR tiny desk concerts: https://youtu.be/GxjyFQS2nIY?si=mhJtmCsCA1eC4KBW
This NPR concert was filmed during covid-19 when she was only fifteen years old. She speaks and sings with a maturity far beyond her age, connecting with the history and stories behind the music she plays.
One aspect of Nora Brown that makes her such a successful musician is her ability to collaborate with others as well as an intense drive to learn new things. I actually witnessed this first-hand when I was younger at an old time Kentucky music camp in Appalachia that Nora was also at. She was always wanting to join in playing music with others and wanted to learn everything the instructors had to offer. She also learned extremely quickly and was very effective in her ability to collaborate with other musicians (and this is when she was around only eleven). In Rick Rubin’s book “The Creative Act” he discusses how all work is collaborative because art is in collaboration with what came before and what is to come after. Brown understood this and had a drive to collaborate and learn all the old-time music that had been passed down for generations so that she could take it and create her own art in collaboration with the old art.
Galdive: Music as a Canvas
Introduction
Galdive is a band made up of mainly two people, Wiana and Osvaldorio, who are from Jakarta, Indonesia. Their music incorporates many genres including jazz, classical, and electronic music. Some of their songs include “Sorbet,” “A Friend,” and their recently released single, “Teach Me How to Love.” They have also released an album called Canvas in 2021.
Creative Process
In the Youtube video “Galdive - this is our Canvas,” they briefly talked about their creative process. When they are making music, they start with a sound that they are familiar with and grew up with. Then, they add sounds they created, often incorporating both contrasting and similar sounds.
Music and Visual Art
Galdive describes music as a blank canvas where every stroke matters. Galdive is not only a band but a whole world that incorporates both auditory and visual elements, where the artwork Wiana creates helps visualize how they feel about their music.
In Connection with Faith, Hope, and Carnage
Like Nick Cave and Warren, Wiana and Osvaldorio are close collaborators, where Wiana mainly takes the role of singer and lyricist and Osvaldiorio takes the role of producer. Though Osvaldorio and Wiana mainly work with each other on visual art, music, and videos, they have moments where they have a vision that involves other people. For example, their music video for their song “Fond Adieu” starrs Alexandrea Meyer and Brett Kenyon. Having those extra people was vital and enhanced their music video. In the same way, Nick and Warren had a moment where a suggestion made by Chris Martin was vital to the sound of their song and ultimately made it better, proving that having new collaborators can give their music new flavors and enhance creativity.
Sources
https://www.galdive.me/gallery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sas3gbW6Ys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUMOC1J3Q9g
Les Claypool & Primus: The Weirdos of Rock
In the early 90s, a young musician auditioned as a replacement bassist for the band Metallica, but despite being impressed by his talent they turned him down due to his unusual manner and weird style. The musician was Les Claypool, and afterward he would go on to start the most unique metal band to record music, Primus. They are best known for their unique combination of rock, metal, funk, and other genres into a distinct sound, often leaving new listeners to ask: “What the hell am I listening to?”. Their music combines Claypool’s technically proficient and percussive “slap” bass style with his bandmates’ confusingly catchy and complex guitar melodies and elaborate rhythms on drums. The lyrics, written by Les Claypool, blend humor and spontaneity, immersing the listener in a ridiculous story within each song. Les Claypool grew up fishing every weekend with his father, which led fishing or the sea to be a continuous theme throughout their albums. The first song of their debut album “Fisherman’s Chronicles” is one of their most popular songs titled John the Fisherman, a story about a fisherman who dies while returning his catch for his community. Despite the dismal nature of the lyrics, they are sung in a somewhat “goofy” voice by Les over a whimsical and funky instrumental. This song is a perfect example of the classic Primus sound that so many enjoy. They are also known for creating South Park’s iconic theme song, turning down the meager $74 they were offered by the writers and sending in more than one recording all out of their respect for fellow artists and enjoyment of their craft. Primus opened the door for many other bands, like Tool, to embrace their weird and unique sounds as well.
The process of writing such a unique song surprisingly starts off like most. Primus frequently has studio sessions that start with the band jamming together, feeling the rhythm and style of the other players, and building off each part into a fully developed sound and structure. During this process they also incorporate Claypool’s lyrics, which he often writes on his own. To aid this process, he keeps a notebook full of ramblings, rantings and thoughts, any really any line of nonsense that gets stuck in his head. Another aspect that makes them so special is their use of rare instruments and effects in their songs, including a six-string bass and the “whamola,” a homemade electric bass that Claypool constructed for a very specific sound. Primus’ creative albums and music are a perfect example of technical skill meeting absurdity.
In The Creative Spark, by Agustin Fuentes, creativity is part of what diversifies humans and fuels their progress in nature. He also claims that leaps in human progress occur only when people disrupt or challenge norms, which is exactly what Primus does with music. They can’t be labeled or confined to a specific genre like rock, prog-rock, or alternative, they just create their own thing. An inside joke amongst Primus fans is chanting “Primus sucks!”, not as a form of hate, but as a show of their pride in enjoying weird and unusual music that would make most say “this band sucks.”
Sources:
https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2011/09/01/still-fishin-an-exclusive-interview-with-les-claypool/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkFMJ4-ai1I
The Creative Spark, Agustin FuentesBreaking Codes and Black Mirrors: The Ethics of Innovation
In The Code Breaker, Walter Isaacson tells the story of Jennifer Doudna, a biochemist whose work with CRISPR gene editing is shaping the future of science – and humanity. With CRISPR, scientists can now “cut and paste” DNA, opening the door to treating genetic diseases, improving agriculture, and even editing human embryos. But what struck me most while reading about Doudna was not just the innovation – it was how seriously she takes the ethical questions that come with it. From the start, she has asked herself as well as those around her: Just because we can edit life, does that mean we should?
That same spirit of questioning and curiosity fuels the creative work of Charlton (Charlie) Brooker, the mind behind Black Mirror. Though Brooker is not a scientist, his creativity thrives on imagining the implications of technological advancement – what it might mean for identity, relationships, and society as a whole. Each episode of Black Mirror presents a different “what if” scenario: What if grief could be eased by AI? What if your entire memory could be replayed on demand? What if surveillance technology went too far? These stories are not pure fantasy – they are often unsettlingly close to our reality.
The parallel between Doudna and Brooker lies in how they both use creativity to explore future possibilities. For Doudna, the creative process involves building on scientific discoveries, experimenting, and collaborating with other researchers. In The Code Breaker, Isaacson describes how Doudna and her team worked relentlessly, often through trial and error, to develop CRISPR. But what sets her apart is that her creativity is guided by a strong moral compass. She did not stop at innovation – she helped organize global discussions on bioethics and gene editing, even urging scientists to pause before editing human embryos.
Brooker’s creative process is different in form but similar in intention. In interviews, he has spoken about how his ideas often come from observing small changes in technology or human behavior and imagining where they might lead. He works closely with a team of writers and producers to bring these ideas to life, blending humor, horror, and vulnerability. Like Doudna, Brooker does not just showcase what is possible – he wants us to ask whether it is desirable.
Both Brooker and Doudna reflect what Augustín Fuentes refers to in The Creative Spark as the deeply social nature of creativity. Doudna’s breakthroughs were only possible through collaboration – sharing ideas, debating possibilities, and refining experiments. Similarly, Brooker’s shows thrive on input from actors, designers, editors, and even the audience. Creativity, Fuentes argues, is not just about making something new – it is about solving problems and shaping meaning through connection and conversation. In their own ways, both creators are using their fields to reflect the human condition – and to question how far we should go in reshaping it.
Both The Code Breaker and Black Mirror challenge us to think critically about the innovations we celebrate. They show that truly creative people do not just build the future – they question it. And in doing so, they invite the rest of us to think more deeply about the kind of world we want to live in. Whether you are holding a pipette or a pen, the most powerful question you can ask is: What kind of future am I helping to create?
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was a creative in the architectural world. He is best known for his unique takes on architecture, along with his writings. His creative work life spanned a total of 70+ years. Wright also had a particular creative process. It began in the planning stages, where Wright would try to blend his architecture to the surrounding environment and surrounding nature. Wright would use models of his building plans and see if they made sense in the larger model of the surrounding area. One of the products by Wright you can see here in Chicagoland is the Frank Lloyd Wright home in Oak Park. This was established by him as both a home to raise his family, but also as his main architectural studio. In his Oak Park home you can see the vision of having the building blend into the surrounding area, while maintaining particular sharp corners and edges. It appears almost as if it is nuzzled into the nature scene.
Agustin Fuentes' book The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional discusses different aspects of human creativity through an evolutionary lens. One particular part of the book that stood out to me is where Fuentes describes his experience trying to learn how to carve wooden masks from a master crafter in Indonesia. He had to apply the ideas of shaping nature, in this case a block of wood, to a new shape that is not natural; a mask. This is very similar to how Wright tried to shape and bend his architecture around nature while still respecting the natural world and getting it to flow together in harmony.
