Moving from cleverness to creativity
A message from Milenko
We humans can be very clever. We spend a lot of our time preoccupied with activities that, in spite of their cleverness and ingenuity, result in increased obsolescence and a diminished world. Creativity, in contrast, requires us to think beyond the single clever solution and ask the question “what is it for?� Creativity makes us think on behalf of all the pieces, not just one.
The secret of creativity is to find the connections between big ideas and small actions.
A creative action enhances rather than destroys. It behaves in an interactive and responsive fashion. Its aim is to connect.
A creative action starts only when the meaning is understood. The process and end-result are inseparable; the integrity of each step creates the integrity of the end result.
Creativity results in work that is consistent, where details give substance to the larger vision. Because it is interactive, creativity exhibits reverence for materials and people’s talents. And because it is responsive, it can address parallel priorities and thus can achieve multiple victories.
Since the early days of Pomegranate Center (almost 22 years ago), our idea has been to base our work in creativity, not cleverness. Specifically, we believe that communities can be creative together to achieve great things. To us, art and design is not about self-expression, but about celebration of relationships.
Relational creativity is not an abstract idea to us. Rather, it represents a powerful way of performing work that accomplishes meaning, ownership, pride, safety, participation, sustainability, social cohesion—all ideas our world is thirsty for.
What do you think? Send us your thoughts on creativity, cleverness, or anything else!