I came across this article in the NY Times the other day, and it got me thinking about the concept of community and how that contributes to creativity. The article is about the archivist of the Lower East Side and a book that has been made of the photos he has taken over the past 30-odd years. They are pictures of the people and events that make a community, in this case a neighborhood.
A point is made that the creativity, the thing that made the Lower East Side a place for artists of all kinds to have ideas has kind of gone by the wayside to make room for condos and bars for college kids from the suburbs to feel comfortable in. It's weird, because I'll bet the reason a lot of people bought the condos in the first place is so they can be near the art.. to be there when the creativity happens. But it dosen't work that way. At least not in my experience. The first thing that happens to me when someone wants to watch me paint or make art is that I can't make it anymore. What I need to make the art is taken away. Maybe that's why there isn't a lot of research about artists and creativity in the creativity literature: the act of studying destroys the object of the study.
It's just something to think about... And a good article as well.
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