Create and Perform

October 11th, 2006 Fred McVittie Posted in Creativity, Cycle, Illumination, Performance |

‘Performance’, in addition to signifying a particular set of cultural practices associated with entertainment, display, ritual etc, can also be understood as a moment or phase in the cycle of a creative process, and indeed all behavioral sequences. Robert Crease revealingly uses this term to indicate the actual carrying out of an experiment in the sequence of events which make up a scientific enquiry, distinguishing it from other phases in which, for example, hypotheses are developed, results analysed etc.

In terms of creativity, the moment of performance corresponds to the ‘illumination’ stage (Wallas), in which the idea or problem that is the subject of creative attention emerges from the wings of non-conscious cognition onto the stage of conscious awareness.