The
Study of Creativity
Examining
creativity and personal growth are difficult subjects of study. They are elusive, subjective and easily
misinterpreted. Theories on creativity
range from divine revelation to conscious deliberation. When dealing with creative theory, it can be
helpful to isolate a work of art and evaluate it against a reputable theory. Vik Muniz’s Sugar Children is a respected collection of photographs reflective
of the human condition. The artist’s
life and narrative are essential aspects for understanding the work’s depth and
Muniz’s creativity. Abraham Maslow’s
theory of creativity, from “Creativity
in Self-Actualizing People,” is primarily based on the artist’s personality and
secondarily on their achievements.
Maslow’s theory is well suited to isolate the creative aspects of Muniz’s
Sugar Children. More specifically, Maslow’s theory, as
applied to Muniz’s Sugar Children,
will reveal that Muniz crosses the threshold of self-actualizing integrated
creativity, and the theory will illustrate how integrated creativity promotes
personal growth.
The
analysis will address key aspects of Maslow’s theory, a review of Muniz’s Sugar Children, and a comparative analysis
between Muniz’s work and Maslow’s theory.
The analysis will illustrate Muniz’s use of primary, secondary, and
integrated creativity in the formation of Muniz’s Sugar Children.
Maslow’s theory suggests creativity manifests
in people who are self-actualizing, and it stresses people’s personalities
rather than their achievements (144). In
other words, personality traits become causal factors encouraging creativity,
and they serve as the genesis for creative acts. Maslow theorized that the normal adjustments
for average people create a split within them (141). More specifically, “It means that the person
turns his back on much in himself because it [raw human nature] is dangerous”
(141). Through this process, people tend
to suppress play, enthusiasm, humor, and imagination that are essential
elements relative to creativity (141).
People who are self-actualizing embrace the positive traits and as a
result, their creative acts heal the inner split and the person moves towards
wholeness (141). Maslow’s ideas are
holistic in their approach and suggest self-actualizing creativity is a state
of being that promotes healing and conducive to personal growth.
Muniz’s
Sugar Children is an impressive work
of art that reveals the personality and state of being for Muniz. On its own, the work reveals intimate
portraits of children drawn in sugar.
The power of the work and creativity is revealed through Muniz’s
narrative. In 1995, Muniz vacationed at
the island of St. Kitts, and over time, befriended several children (Muniz
Reflex 59). Muniz writes, “I knew each
of their names and a few things about their personalities” (59). He was invited to meet their parents and
immediately saw a strong contrast. He
notes the children exhibited a “sweet demeanor” and the parents were “weary and
bitter” (59). The parent’s demeanor was
the result of “long, backbreaking hours of labor at the sugar-cane plantation
for meager, survival based-salary” (59).
Muniz had photographed the children, and upon returning to New York, purchased
black paper and sugar to be used as mediums for the creation of the portraits. When he was done with a portrait, he would
photograph it, move the sugar into a jar and then label the jar with an image
of the child.
Muniz
pondered the future lives of the children when he returned to New York. In addition, he had read a poem that spoke to
the origins of sugar and sugar plantations.
Muniz writes, “The radiant childhood of those youngsters would almost
certainly be transformed by sugar; those children would become merely the
residue of the sugar we consume” (Muniz Reflex 60). He also notes, “I knew that some
mysterious, poisonous potion would transform those bright eyed island children
and give them their parents’ aspect of hopelessness” (60). It is reasonable to state that using sugar,
the commodity having a profound impact on the lives of the children, was a
highly inspiring and creative act.
Muniz’s
experience is reflective of Maslow’s first level of creativity, that is,
primary creativity. Maslow suggests that
creative people in this phase are spontaneous and open to new experiences,
exercise sophisticated minds and possess an “easy kind of freedom” with their
expression (136-137). He writes, “ … this
is precisely what the great artist does.
He is able to bring together clashing colors, forms that fight each
other, dissonances, of all kinds, into a unity” (139). The sugar images pair universal themes. It represents the sweetness of the children
against the bitterness of the parents.
It shows the hardships of a people against the luxury and indifference
of the final consumer. Most importantly,
as described by Vanessa Silberman, “Muniz’s use of sugar, a perishable
substance, to represent the children accentuates their precarious future,
leaving the impression that they are destined to be consumed, disposed of, and
ultimately forgotten” (170). Muniz
refers to the final jars, with the children’s portraits, as urns (Muniz Reflex 60). The
exploitation of a people, for a commodity, is a universal theme. It can be applied to the diamond mines in
Africa, gold mines in Brazil, or migrant workers in America. The power of Muniz’s Sugar Children is the direct projection of hardship on the
innocence of childhood. Maslow’s notion
that primary creativity is predominantly based on the artist’s personality is reflected
by Muniz’s own words: “The artist simply has to portray the world as he sees
it” (Silberman 170). Muniz’s creative
inspiration came from new experiences, the formation of personal relationships,
his outlook on the world and his ability to reflect on the humanity of
others. Muniz’s traits illustrate the
application of Maslow’s theory of primary creativity.
The
next phase of Maslow’s theory is secondary creativity. Maslow identifies this stage as the hard work
and it is reflective of craft and production (142). The artist needs to apply his learned skills to
compose, produce and present his work, in a manner that communicates the
artist’s message. As Maslow writes, “A
peak-experience happens to a person, but the person makes the product great”
(143). A subjective viewing of the work
reveals striking black and white portraits displaying life-like images
indicative of artistic knowledge and craft.
An objective view reveals that Muniz’s Sugar Children received favorable reviews, and it has had numerous
showings at prestigious museums throughout the world (Muniz Reflex). In short, Muniz’s Sugar Children is recognized internationally as a respected artistic
collection, and it establishes that Muniz’s craft meets the expectations of
secondary creativity.
The
final element to Maslow’s theory is integrated creativity. Primary creativity can be applied to anyone
that demonstrates insights, inspiration and creativity. It can be associated with a child like
creativity that has no fear of expression (Maslow 142). Secondary creativity speaks to succeeding on
the initial inspiration, and it is associated with production, construction and
scientific experimentation (142).
Integrated creativity is, “That creativity which uses both types of
process easily and well, in good fusion or in good succession” (142). Muniz is consistent in his account of Sugar Children through his books,
lectures and interviews. The creative act
is revealed as an experience, a genuine exploration of people, the strike of
inspiration and the physical work that goes into the making of a great piece of
art (Muniz Reflex 59-63). Muniz implies
a linear and natural ease with the creation of the project. Understanding the
meaning of the work, in conjunction
with his artistic craft, demonstrates the seamless fusion of Maslow’s primary
and secondary creativity into integrated creativity. Muniz’s Sugar
Children clearly illustrates Maslow’s theory of creativity in
self-actualizing people.
The
larger theme of Maslow’s theory of creativity speaks to personal growth and
wholeness of an individual (145). The
elements of Muniz’s Sugar Children,
identified by Maslow’s theory, can be applied to later works of Muniz that
speak to the human condition. Muniz
writes, “ … for the first time ever I felt they were something to be really
proud of” (Muniz Reflex 60). He also
writes that this work started “ … [a] series of collaborations with children
that have increasingly nurtured my work” (60).
He would travel to São Paulo to photograph homeless children. However, he first had to build trust with the
children, and then he showed them iconic portraits because the children had
never posed for a photograph (64). The
pairings were the forgotten against the famous, poverty against wealth, and
“the still-living child inside those weary little grown-ups” (64). The theme of expressing pairings, through
unique mediums, continued with his work on Wasteland
(Muniz) and Pictures of Diamonds (Muniz).
In addition, working with sugar and constantly licking his fingers, would
inspire future works with chocolate, peanut butter and spaghetti as artistic mediums. Muniz possesses a natural process of
experience, human connections and unique mediums to articulate his portrayal of
the world. He wrote that Sugar Children (Muniz Sugar) was the
start of something that nurtured his work.
It is reasonable to infer the experience with the children of St. Kitts
generated a process allowing Muniz greater personal insights and the ability to
more fully explore the human condition.
These are elements directly associated with Maslow’s greater theme of
wholeness and personal growth.
Exploring
the nature of creativity is subjective and elusive. Numerous competing opinions and theories
exacerbate an already nebulous field of study.
However, there are theories and artists that stand apart. They reflect the realization of creativity
and provide a substantive approach to its study. Vik Muniz’s Sugar Children is the realization of an expression speaking to the
heart of humanity. Abraham Maslow’s
theory on creativity provides tools to explore the successful elements of a
creative artist through their work.
Together, Muniz and Maslow provide insights to the nature of creativity
and how creativity can lead to deep personal growth.
Works
Cited
Maslow,
Abraham. “Creativity in Self-Actualizing People.” Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
1968. 135-145. Print.
Muniz,
Vik. Pictures of Diamond. 2004.
Private Collection. Reflex A Vik Muniz
Primer. New York: Aperture Foundation. 2005. 97-99. Print.
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Reflex A Vik Muniz Primer. New York: Aperture
Foundation. 2005. Print.
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Sugar Children. 1995. Private
Collection. Reflex A Vik Muniz Primer.
New York: Aperture Foundation. 2005. 60-63. Print.
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“Vik Muniz: Art with Wire, Sugar, Chocolate and String.” TED. The Sapling Foundation. April 2007. Web. June 5, 2013.
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Wasteland. Dir. Lucy Walker. Perf.
Vik Muniz. Arthouse Films. 2010. Film
Silberman,
Vanessa. “Vik Muniz’s Ten Ten’s Weed Necklace.” Gastronomica 7.3. (2007)
170-173. Web. 12 June 2013.
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