Are people naturally born artistic?

reply to post by cenpuppie


So, would you say that our genes, play a role of being naturally artistic?

Mostly so, but it can also happen by having brain trauma and resulting neuroplasticity. Some people might bash their head real good while still young, and others develop artistic talents towards the end of their lives when psychosis starts chiming in. What you need to be a good artist is to have the right amount of chaos running through the mind, and enough analytical processing to find order in the chaos and put it out for public display.

I have also heard of the opposite effect, when people are artistic and then they have a brain injury, there artistic skills went away.

Originally posted by MikeboydUS
reply to post by LeaderOfProgress

 

The technical aspect of it can be taught over time. A person with no artistic talent can eventually produce photorealistic art with the proper training.

Creativity on the other hand is something that cannot be taught.

There is a huge difference between still life images and portraits and say the works of Salvador Dali and H.R. Giger.

This has been my experience. My mother paints quite well. I can't draw a stick man. BUT if inspired I can whip up a story that might keep your attention. It's what you were born with.

BTW, The Persistence of Memory is my favorite painting. Quite amazing imo.

reply to post by intrepid


Do you agree, people are born artists?

Originally posted by Maddogkull
Do you agree, people are born artists?

I believe that people were endowed with certain gifts, yes. That said, those gifts have to be honed. It's a difference between being an artist and playing at it. If you just play with it you aren't going to reach the potential that you were born with. Then there are prodigies. Naturals.

Originally posted by intrepid

Originally posted by Maddogkull
Do you agree, people are born artists?

I believe that people were endowed with certain gifts, yes. That said, those gifts have to be honed. It's a difference between being an artist and playing at it. If you just play with it you aren't going to reach the potential that you were born with. Then there are prodigies. Naturals.

couldn't agree more. oddly enough not all forms of art are capable of having prodigies. at least not that many. take piano and guitar for instance. you may see half a dozen 6 year old piano prodigies (in the truest sense of the word) in less than 30 min on youtube. with guitar however the number is significantly reduced.

i wish i coudl find the video of the autistic man playing complex jazz and classical songs on piano from one hearing alone and never having played before. it's stunning to say the least. a million dollars says that this could never be done on guitar.

likewise with writing, it takes a mountain of a brain to compose a coherent book. obviously it's not nearly as hard if you have people working for you. but on your own it's a major accomplishment that has every bit as much to do with hard work as it does creativity.

as a side note, the egyptians have a glyph in the book of the dead that outlines their path to enlightenment. highly secret at the time of course, and i'd imagine it still is. but there's not much to worry about i'm sure most peopel won't read this or care even if they do. much less attempt it. but to reach your full capabilites as a human you'er supposed to study music, art , reading/writing, and philosophy. the catch is tha tyou have to study them all at the same time, not one for a few years then another. it triggers an understanding of teh 3rd dimension that just can't be realized otherwise.

reply to post by Maddogkull


Sure that could happen, and it doesn't have to stop with artistic ability. You could have someone who was a calendar savant or any other type of splinter skill lose it from brain trauma. Ever seen the movie PI? If not, check it out. It was a favorite of mine growing up.

Originally posted by Maddogkull Now I ask you ATS; Are people naturally artistic? I would also like to extend this to being a genius in mathematics and other subjects. Are people more inclined to being a genius then other people? Like people who can read novels at age 3-4?

Great topic!

In my opinion, the word you're looking for is creative. This covers everything from science and inventivity to the arts. There really is no difference between objectively figuring out how the world and universe works compared to making something subjectively pleasing to the senses.

Metallurgy, archaeology, theology and philosophy are all processes which constantly require fine tuning. No science or logical thought is EVER set in stone simply because tomorrow or next year, someone somewhere will upset the apple cart with a brilliant IDEA that changes how we do or understand things.

Creativity ties everything together.

No painter, writer, poet, inventor, theorist, carpenter or mechanic has all the answers all to themselves... we learn from each other. We share ideas and continually improve our methods. We all like to tinker, whether it's in a garden or on roof trusses, looking for a better way. When an idea proves to be successful, we pass it on to others so that everyone benefits.

We honed our creativity as hunter-gatherers, working together to bring down larger game in sufficient quantities to feed more that just our family, but the whole tribe as well and we are always finding new sources of tubers and plants to sustain ourselves.

Our creative instincts are what made us social in the beginning.

We can point to it and say that's where tribes, city states and countries originated from. That's how natural and social laws came into being. We can lay EVERYTHING at the feet of the creative instinct that lies in each and every human being.

Yes... some may suck at drawing while others excel, but, the kicker is that the one who can't draw might be the one who designs the next best step in space exploration and carries us outwards to the stars. That seed of creativity rests in each and every human being. Allow that seed to grow and one never knows what magnificant results can be realized.

Restrain that seed and not only that individual suffers, but all of humanity too. Hold back everyone and dark ages ensue

The old saying that 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness" is BS... Creativity is truly the trait that is next to Godliness.

reply to post by Maddogkull


Compared to others of my age (13), I believe I'm a great artist. My friends always comment on how I'm so great at drawing, and I actually start to feel bad for them because their greatest works are crap compared to mine.

I believe that being artistic runs in the family, but is defiantly not genetic. I'll explain..

My sister is a terrific artist. When I was little, I would always envy her work. I wanted to be able to draw like her. That called for practice. I would try reading online articles and the tips in my how-to-draw books. In all of this, I found out that you cannot learn how to draw from books, you only gain skills from personal experience. One day I asked my sister to give me drawing lessons, so she did for about a week. She thought me more than a book ever could in just a few hours total.

All in all, being artistic is not a genetic trait. Becoming a great artist starts with someone else who influences you. It also helps if you grow up around art, like I did.

In a way, art is like this big mental competition among all artists everywhere. These people are always wanting to draw better than the next, and will spend lots of time trying to increase their skills. And there is only one way to do this: Keep making art and learn from your mistakes.

Same goes for the skills you mentioned and more. Its nothing genetic, it has to do with the environment you grew up in.

I think most people can learn to be great artists through perseverance and training, some genetic traits may make it easier for others to pick it up but that does not mean they will be a better artist. I can't draw worth a damn but i have never really bothered practicing, my handwriting is also absolutely atrocious..thankful we are moving in to a paperless society.

I believe we are all born, with certain strong points and talents.
Only, if you want something bad enough, and practice, practice, I think it can also be achieved.

The following articles should be of interest, firstly from the Daily Mail (I know...):

www.dailymail.co.uk...

and from our very own archives:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

If a stroke can "rewire" the brain to allow this phenomenon, then it would follow that such abilities are similar to a program, be it art, sport, mathematics, science, etc. Maybe one day we will find a way to write these neural programs, making these abilities somewhat mundane as anyone could have them, although initially just the wealthy.

Until then, I'm glad that natural talents are spread across the world and a kid playing football in a back alley of Rio could one day play in the Premier League, or a patent clerk can have his physics theories published.

Sendran.

I think it has to do with genetics a lot. The personality of someone has to do with their genetics to some extent. I wasn't born an artistic genuis, but I was born artistic in a lot of ways.

Define "artistic". A person can be an artist, with whatever they choose, or set their mind to, food, math, paints etc. I think everyone is born with some inherent "artistry" it's finding it that's the key, as when someone says 'artist" it's default that they mean painting, or drawing etc.

Myself, I draw quite well, I won some awards in school, but I always drew for myself and never really thought much about me being an artist, in the traditional sense. Having said that, my true "artistic talents" lie in the sword. I have spent my entire life learning the Way and herein lies the point I am trying to make, albeit badly.

Have I always been able to draw? Yes. Did it require a lot of work to gain mastery over it? Most definitely. Did it seem effortless? Never.

Now apply all the above answers to learning my particular form of Kenjutsu,except the last one. It always seemed effortless to learn new techniques,it's never been a hassle or a burden.

So,what I have come to realize is this is where my artistry lies, in my hands,my sword is an extension of myself,my feelings and my soul. Just as a paintbrush is to a painter or a pencil is to someone who draws or a knife to a chef etc etc.

An artist has a passion for what they do and it shows through in that, so regardless of what it is or whether or not it is seen as 'art" it is,just not in the conventional day to day sense of the word.


That's just my 2 pence worth.

sure, but there are factors of sociology that makes what you perceive as good art different than mineown.