Creative Spirit Blog April 22,2023 Adaptation

"Deep Current" Mixed Media

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin

I have been giving “change” much thought lately. “Life happens” and not always the way we anticipate. My last year has been evidence of that. But I survived it and came out of it stronger. Not in the physical sense, but mentally and emotionally.

Life is not static, it’s constantly changing, and no matter how much we plan we never know what is going to happen. Within a split second our lives can be turned in a vastly different direction.

Some people can roll with it. Others find it difficult to adjust. I am not sure whether adaptability is by nature or nurture. But our survival depends on our adaptation to change.

Change also has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. For people who lean toward looking at life from the perspective of the glass being half empty, to move forward with change can be ominous because they think things could get worse. For people who lean toward looking at life with the perspective that the glass is half full, change is encouraging, because they think things could get better. To the confident, it might look like an opportunity or a challenge.

I have been trying to sit down and write a blog for the last month, but life kept happening and I had to keep up with each changing event. How does change affect our creative life? Sometimes it is as simple as events not allowing us the time we need for creative endeavors. But taking a broader view, let’s look at the art world as a whole.

Since Covid, art galleries as we know them are closing. Online galleries are popping up. E-commerce has become a big business. Communication with our patrons has gone from snail mail to e-mail or even text messaging. Advertising is on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

If we are on social media, we are bombarded with NFTs; which are physical collectors, but only digital. So instead of getting an actual painting to hang on the wall, the buyer gets a digital file instead. They also get exclusive ownership rights!

And what about the advent of Artificial Intelligence? Is art going to lose the human component? Are we as artists going to become obsolete?

Change has always had a bad reputation in our society. But in hindsight we know it hasn’t all been bad. In fact, change is necessary to keep us moving, to keep us growing, to keep us interested. Every major change in life has been met with those who have not been happy and those who rejoiced. For some adaptation was easy, for others it took time.

I have always been good at adaptation. I have always been able to view change as an opportunity. Maybe it’s my age, because when I must deal with many of these new changes, I find myself questioning their future value to society, and I don’t see them all as opportunities.

When this happens, I remember I paint for myself, for the joy it gives me. I hope someone else finds joy in them also and wants to own the painting and not the digital image of it. And I say a prayer that fine art will never lose its human component. But I will leave that to future generations, who will have their own changes to adapt to.

Maya Angelou spoke wise words when she said” If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.” The world changes to accommodate the future generations. We can only hope it for the better. Carolyn