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Creatives: Generate Your New Ideas by Appreciating Other Forms of Art
Your next big idea may be seeded within an art form you seldom consider, so be curious and explore!
The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9
I occasionally listen to a chapter from the outstanding audiobook, Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon. He argues that all creative ideas are “stolen” or inspired in some form. So, instead of trying to innovate the next big thing, creatives should consume and study art that speaks to our souls.
With this in mind, I considered the ideas “stolen” and reworked by some of my favorite artists. For example, Salvador Dalí’s obsession with The Angelus by Jean-François Millet led to his creating a myriad of paintings, including:
- Archeological Reminiscence of Millet’s Angelus
- Mystique de la Gare de Perpignan
- The Angelus of Gala
- Millet Architectonic Angelus (my favorite)
- and many more works are found here
If you’re feeling uninspired, spend time with work that moves you. Then explore and artistically express the magic you feel within your own creative spaces.
Dali’s deep obsession with “The Angelus” was due to his belief that something else was going on in that painting. He was correct. It was later discovered that the original painting was that of two parents mourning the loss of a small newborn. The baby basket was later transformed into a bread basket to increase its marketability.
Millet’s two humble characters have inspired many of Dali’s drawings, paintings, and writings throughout his career. I wonder how different his art would have been had he never met these characters.
