Dear Chris and Ken,
At a time when we are facing such bleak and gloomy news, thank you for your postings which I read at approxiamtely 11.58 this morning!
Philippa Ashton
> ----------
> From: Chris RUST(SCS)
> Reply To: Chris RUST(SCS)
> Sent: Tuesday, April 1, 2003 7:02 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Zeke and Creativity
>
> A number of list members have contacted me to find out if Professor Zeke Conran
> has any thoughts to share on the topic of creativity which has been the subject
> of such heated debate on this list. Old hands will remember that Prof Zeke is
> the internationally famous art historian (formerly contemporary acquisitions
> advisor to Queen Sabena of the Low Countries) who first drew our attention to
> the surprising fact that Picasso really wanted a PhD.
>
> Anyway Zeke has this new idea that he is calling the theory of creative
> relativity, it's a kind of modified romantic outlook. It goes like this:
>
> If you are a creative person, although other creative people are building their
> ideas on the rich heritage of previous work (standing on the shoulders of
> giants in fact), your contribution is unique and original and owes nothing to
> anybody else. Amazingly Zeke has found, through careful measurements, that
> this is true, no matter which creative person's viewpoint you take. He has been
> conducting some powerful thought experiments to work out how this paradox comes
> about and has developed a brilliant explanation.
>
> Apparently, when you are in a creative state, the size of anything that you can
> observe becomes compressed axially in relation to yourself. Literally it loses
> depth relative to you and you experience that as a loss of perspective - you
> are unable to perceive depth in anybody else's creative efforts. Even though,
> to everybody else, they appear rich and multi-dimensional, to you they are flat
> and unconvincing, so, of course, it is impossible that your creativity can be
> influenced by them in any way. This loss of perspective is relative - if you
> are trying to decide what kind of sandwich to make for lunch it is slight but
> when you are painting the Sistine Chapel it is total.
>
> Try this for yourself - make a really creative sandwich (smoked salmon with
> caramelised chilli relish and truffle sorbet on a patagonian unleavened hyrax
> bread) then, just before you bite into it, look around at everybody else's
> factory sliced bread with processed cheese. That's right, their sandwiches are
> flat. It works every time. (this experiment may not apply outside the
> anglo-saxon community). One of the consequences of this phenomenon is that Prof
> Zeke may have discovered a new form of instantaneous matter transference. If
> you can get together a whole bunch of really creative people (eg the staff of a
> large accountancy firm) to concentrate their maximum creative effort at the
> same time, it is quite possible that they will reduce the distance to anywhere
> in any direction to zero enabling them to deliver pizzas, lawsuits, war
> correspondents etc etc anywhere in the universe instantly.
>
> any comments or questions please contact Professor Zeke Conran directly at the
> Institute for Design In Other Times
>
> Copyright (c) Zeke Conran, 32 March 2003
>
> best wishes from Sheffield
> Chris
>
> *******************************************
> Professor Chris Rust
> Art and Design Research Centre
> Sheffield Hallam University UK
> www.shu.ac.uk/design
>
> [log in to unmask]
> tel +44 114 225 2706
> fax +44 114 225 2603
> Psalter Lane, Sheffield S11 8UZ, UK
>
>
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