Posts Tagged ‘Editorial Artwork’
Universal Concern that Creativity is Suffering at Work and School
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The more research that I do I am finding that we are falling behind in our ability to be creative and support creativity at home, in schools and the workplace. Adobe released a study this past spring on how creativity is suffering. The results showed that Americans think their lack of time, money and tools are barriers to creativity. Rightly so, the American system is slowly grinding the gears of conceptual and critical thought to a halt by adopting an ideology that only looks at the productivity of test scores in the educational system. This has resulted in massive cuts to teachers jobs, and is disproportionately cutting History, Physical Education and both the Visual and Performing Arts. The arts represents at least 37% of the entire population who are visual thinkers and problem solvers. This is why I am working on the Born to Draw Art Program because it is a way to bring drawing and the arts to children and adults, to get people to use their hands and minds once again.
See the www.borntodraw.com website Let me know how we might be able to create a space where we can roll out the Born to Draw® art curriculum.
Universal Concern that Creativity is Suffering at Work and SchoolSAN JOSE, Calif. — April 23, 2012 — New research reveals a global creativity gap in five of the world’s largest economies, according to the Adobe® (Nasdaq:ADBE) State of Create global benchmark study. The research shows 8 in 10 people feel that unlocking creativity is critical to economic growth and nearly two-thirds of respondents feel creativity is valuable to society, yet a striking minority – only 1 in 4 people – believe they are living up to their own creative potential.
Interviews of 5,000 adults across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan expose surprising attitudes and beliefs about creativity, providing new insights into the role of creativity in business, education and society overall.
Workplace Creativity Gap The study reveals a workplace creativity gap, where 75% of respondents said they are under growing pressure to be productive rather than creative, despite the fact that they are increasingly expected to think creatively on the job. Across all of the countries surveyed, people said they spend only 25% of their time at work creating. Lack of time is seen as the biggest barrier to creativity (47% globally, 52% in United States).
Education Concerns More than half of those surveyed feel that creativity is being stifled by their education systems, and many believe creativity is taken for granted (52% globally, 70% in the United States).
“One of the myths of creativity is that very few people are really creative,” said Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D., an internationally recognized leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation. “The truth is that everyone has great capacities but not everyone develops them. One of the problems is that too often our educational systems don’t enable students to develop their natural creative powers. Instead, they promote uniformity and standardization. The result is that we’re draining people of their creative possibilities and, as this study reveals, producing a workforce that’s conditioned to prioritize conformity over creativity.”
Creativity Rating: Japan Ranked Most Creative The study sheds light on different cultural attitudes toward creativity. Japan ranked highest in the global tally as the most creative country while, conversely, Japanese citizens largely do not see themselves as creative. Globally, Tokyo ranked as the most creative city – except among Japanese – with New York ranking second. Outside of Japan, national pride in each country is evident, with residents of the United Kingdom, Germany and France ranking their own countries and cities next in line after Japan.
The United States ranked globally as the second most creative nation among the countries surveyed, except in the eyes of Americans, who see themselves as the most creative. Yet Americans also expressed the greatest sense of urgency and concern that they are not living up to their creative potential (United States at 82%, vs. the lowest level of concern in Germany at 64%).
Generational and gender differences are marginal, reinforcing the idea that everyone has the potential to create. Women ranked only slightly higher than men when asked if they self-identified as creative and whether they were tapping their own creative potential.
Four in 10 people believe that they do not have the tools or access to tools to create. Creative tools are perceived as the biggest driver to increase creativity (65% globally, 76% in the United States), and technology is recognized for its ability to help individuals overcome creative limitations (58% globally, 60% in the United States) and provide inspiration (53% globally, 62% in the United States).
About the Adobe State of Create Study The study was produced by research firm StrategyOne and conducted as an online survey among a total of 5,000 adults, 18 years or older, 1,000 each in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan. Interviewing took place from March 30 to April 9. The data set for each country is nationally representative of the population of that country.
For more information on the research results visit Adobe State of Create Global Benchmark Study and Adobe State of Create Infographic.
We invite you to read the NYT article by Nicolas Kristof. There have been other studios that Elaine Cimino Studios has been working with who have seen the Born to Draw iBooks and have commented on the environmental aspects of the books and said they would not want to stress these type of issues in their children’s educational programming. I am glad to see that this article was published and that it gives others the courage to teach sustainability in their classrooms.
I am teaching children how to draw by shape relationships emphasizing aesthetic valuing, perception and creative expression. Showing children the historical and cultural context of how different peoples come to their beliefs systems enables children to grasp the world around them and prepares them for their uncertain futures. The affects that climate change will have on future generations is substantial and they will have their challenges to overcome because our generation will have failed them by not raises our voices to the problems all humanity faces.
Yes! we can change the world by changing our communities right where we live and teaching our children they do have a voice. There is nothing so radical as teaching a child how to draw a Koala Bear, Bottle-nosed Dolphin, or African Elephant! After Recess: Change the World By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
A BATTLE between a class of fourth graders and a major movie studio would seem an unequal fight.
So it proved to be: the studio buckled. And therein lies a story of how new Internet tools are allowing very ordinary people to defeat some of the most powerful corporate and political interests around — by threatening the titans with the online equivalent of a tarring and feathering. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/kristof-after-recess-change-the-world.html?_r=1
Lorax image print as creative commons license all right reserved by Dr Seuss
Take Ted Wells’s fourth-grade class in Brookline, Mass. The kids read the Dr. Seuss story “The Lorax” and admired its emphasis on protecting nature, so they were delighted to hear that Universal Studios would be releasing a movie version in March. But when the kids went to the movie’s Web site, they were crushed that the site seemed to ignore the environmental themes. → Read more
When the Egyptian artist Ganzeer called for international artists to support Egypt’s revolution, Polish artists were among the first to rise to the graffiti challenge Ati Metwaly, Saturday 21 Jan 2012
11 / 16Gallery
Michał Klimczyk, detail, picture courtesy of the artist
“From January 13 to 25, the streets of Egypt will see an explosion of anti-military street art. If you are a street artist elsewhere in the world, please do what you can in your city to help us. If you’re a comic book artist, a musician, or filmmaker, whatever artistic talent you have can be of big help. If you can do something before the designated date, please do! We need all the help we can get.” — Ganzeer’s blog.
When on 20 December 2011 Egyptian graphic designer and artist Ganzeer (Mohamed Fahmy) posted on his blog “Mad Graffiti Week: An Appeal to Artists Everywhere,” the news spread like wildfire. Artists from Germany, the Czech Republic, Australia, among other countries, joined the initiative. Equally, Polish artists from all around the country expressed their solidarity in creating graffiti, stencils, posters, drawings, and comics, adding their voice to Egypt’s cause.