Evolution as a Creative Process

Evolution as a Creative Process

Evolution is a process that has taken billions of years, and will continue for billions more.It takes hundreds of generations for an evolutionary change to occur, or an impending extinction to become evident. Humans find it difficult to see themselves evolving due to their longer life span, and fewer generations over time compared to other species. It has become a common misconception that humans are finished evolving, and that they have reached the best and most efficient beings possible. The same misconception can be carried over to art. The main questions being posed in this paper are: can evolution be viewed as a creative process like the art world? Can there be anything new in both art and evolution?

In the history of any kind of art, whether visual, musical, or technological there are

patterns that progress from the very simple to the more complex, the more successful forms of art are then recycled later on. This is much like the evolution of life on earth. The first organisms were tiny, and relatively simple. As creatures evolved they became more complex, and as extinctions occurred new creatures evolved, that were different versions of the past creatures. The first examples of visual art can be found in the Paleolithic era of human evolution. The art from this time period included cave paintings deep underground in Europe. These paintings depict hunting scenes, and different animals, on occasion a human, but very rarely. From these paintings more rock art and sculpture began to appear. Throughout the history of humans art has evolved, from basic cave art to temples, and sculptures, and murals. In modern history can new art be created? Art has already become abstract, what other for...

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...r niche to fill. There are infinite possibilities, and as Vincent Desiderio demonstrates in his new painting "Cockaigne" there are always new ways to be creative, even if it requires reworking the old(http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/evolit/s04/bubbling.html).

Humans will evolve, in what direction, it is not evident. The same is true for any artistic endeavors. The fact that evolution will continue is concrete both in art and in life, and that in itself if a proof of its creativity. Evolution's capability to surprise, and change humans' views of the world makes it the most creative force on our planet, and the most astonishing phenomenon to occur on Earth.

Bibliography

"A 10-year-long Art History Course"The New York Times, February 1, 2004

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/evolit/s04/bubbling.html

"Change"

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/