The Fountainhead of Human Creativity

Greg Bayles

Research Paper

Dr. Gideon Burton

6/4/2012

The Fountainhead of Human Creativity

From the very genesis of recorded history, mankind has sought to create, to bring his thoughts into reality and leave his indelible mark upon the world around him. For some civilizations, that has meant erecting massive monuments to gods and men; others preserved their ideas and culture through literature, within epics and songs and the tales of the past. In the modern, globalized era, however, the rules of creativity seem to be changing. Especially over the last few decades, the desire to create has taken on new forms as the Internet and other digital media resources have revolutionized the realms of creativity and thought for the world as a whole. Ayn Rand, in her landmark novel, The Fountainhead, investigates the concept of creativity but warns against the collectivization of creative thought, indicating that in following after and yielding to the opinions of others, the creator compromises his virtue of self and betrays his individual creative identity. However, a thoughtful study of digital media through the lens of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead clearly reveals the value of independent creative thought and unveils digital media's role in providing a new and living medium through which creative thought may find expression.

In The Fountainhead, Rand presents the oppositional creative ideologies of Howard Roark and Peter Keating and in so doing provides a contrast that leads the reader to understand more fully the value of individual thought and creation. Expelled from his architectural school for non-adherence to Classical forms and styles, Roark embodies the independent fire of creativity and innovation and remains, throughout the novel, an entity unto himself, a brilliant and unapologetic creator. Keating, on the other hand, plays the game of popularity and people-pleasing, compromising any sense of personal creativity that might have once existed within him by simply rehashing the same antiquated styles and passing off Roark's brilliant designs for his own when a real bit of innovation is necessary. The different characters represent two extremes in relation to people in the online world – those who use digital media to create and innovate, and those who, to a lesser or greater degree, use it to recycle the same old memes and ideas, passing them off as their own in the pursuit of the ever-elusive “Likes” and +1's. It is interesting to note that Keating recognizes his own poor state in embracing this latter, attention-hungry and fickle creative ideal, stating that those who follow after it “...kill some part of themselves. They change, they deny, they contradict–and they call it growth. At the end there’s nothing left, nothing unrevered or unbetrayed; as if there had never been any entity, only a succession of adjectives fading in and out on an unformed mass.” Rand's views on the matter are, perhaps, too stark, too black-and-white, for the vast majority of people, but her general concept holds a definite beauty and a certain truth: a person may, by virtue of his own integrity and dedication, come to discover his own creative identity and make a gift to humanity through the works that he brings to life. Similarly, if, as author Joyce Carol Oates writes, art truly is “... a genuinely transcendental function—a means by which we rise out of limited, parochial states of mind,” a person, though perhaps inspired by the creators whom he emulates, will not be able to fully discover his creative potential until he steps beyond his fears and his notions of second-hand creativity. Some modernly view the independent creator as a creature of the past, a dying breed. James Montmarquet, for example, in his article, “Prometheus: Rand's Epic of Creation,” discusses the state of the so-called 'Promethean creator' as that of an “endangered species,” a being that because of the pressures of conformity and orthodoxy placed upon him, trembles on the brink of extinction. If, however, there remains a hope for the Promethean or Roarkian creator, if there is to be new life for the independent creative ideal, then it courses through the veins of digital media. The Internet, in rekindling the dying embers of creativity and original thought, has become a fountainhead of creative expression.

For Howard Roark, granite was not just granite. It was a medium and a muse, a block from which could be hewn great, strong walls or delicate, airy sculptures. He viewed the terrain, the resources, the space as living, and his creative works sought to incorporate the integrity of each of these elements. For the modern creator, however, the Internet is the new and living medium through which creativity finds its expression. Digital media stretches the mind, frees people from the limiting confines of their immediate environs, providing access to a world unknown and almost magical in its possibilities. It provides creators with a means whereby to discover and share their creative ideal. Joseph Tabenkin, a young and aspiring musician and Rand enthusiast, uses Youtube and other social media sites to promote his band's music and has been able to use his experiences with social media to begin an actual career in music. Audrey Mereu, another Youtube user, shared her journey through The Fountainhead in the form of a video book review. She remarked, “The Fountainhead was the first book that truly inspired me to define the morals I want to live by.” In some sense, digital media can serve, as did The Fountainhead for Audrey, as a tool in individual self-actualization. Some creators will find their voice in making and posting videos online; others will take up blogging and uncover a whole new world of expression and thought. Yet others will discover a sense of wonder and imagination in the verdant groves of online photo galleries and 3D environments. The world of digital media, however, is not just a filing cabinet, apathetic towards its contents and unconcerned with whom contributes or what they have to say but is rather a living, breathing organism that grows and changes and finds life in the contributions of millions and millions of independent creators from all around the world. The call of the creator is to express, however clumsily, the yearnings and trepidations of the human soul, to capture in words or pixels an emotion, a thought, a realization.

As a creative medium, the Internet and other digital media resources serve as both a source of inspiration and a means whereby creativity can be shared. Creative expression represents only a small part of the creative process, and as such, the value of the Internet in exposing creators to new ideas and in forming their creative backgrounds is inestimable (Graham Wallas, Art of Thought). With the knowledge and wisdom of the ages at the click of a mouse button, creators, now more than ever, can find inspiration in the muses of modern media. Emily Coleman, a student studying digital literacy at Brigham Young University, echoed this sentiment, stating, “there are countless people who never would have dreamed of creating anything except that they saw someone else do it... [T]he Internet is a source of inspiration, if not the actual creativity itself.” Digital media resources do not, in themselves, cause people to become more or less creative. There is no magical link that upon clicking makes people suddenly burst forth in song or pen a line that captures the enigma of the human soul. Nor is there a website that instantly drains a person of all sense of creative vision and compels him/her to post pictures of cats with misspelled subtitles. Rather, the Internet gives mankind the ability to enact his creative visions by providing access to both the resources and audiences necessary to realize his specific creative aspirations. Some argue that the Internet and, more particularly, social media detract from the creative spirit, as some contributors tend to rehash and recycle the same content over and over without any intent to create for themselves. The Internet, however, is not at conflict with creativity and rather exists a medium, like stone or paint, that can be used to bring life to an idea or an emotion. One Facebook user, Stella Knickerson, expressed her thoughts on the matter, stating that, "New technologies have no power to change who people are at the core. If you could somehow objectively measure pure 'creativity,' I don't think the internet would change what's inside of people." Indeed, the modern creator must look to his/her inner creative vision in determining how he/she will make use of digital media's potential, as did Howard Roark:

He looked at the granite. To be cut, he thought, and made into walls. He looked at a tree. To be split and made into rafters. He looked at a streak of rust on the stone and thought of iron ore under the ground. To be melted and to emerge as girders against the sky... These rocks, he thought, are here for me; waiting for the drill, the dynamite and my voice; waiting to be split, ripped, pounded, reborn; waiting for the shape my hands will give them.

Again, within Rand's words is perhaps an excessive intensity, but her idea holds true, that mankind, in coming to realize the potential of a medium, can accomplish great feats in the realms of creativity and thought. With regard to digital media, it is not about novelty for the sake of novelty but rather about seeing the things that the Internet can do for creativity that traditional methods cannot. As Adam Sorenson, a student in digital literacy, stated, “[T]he creator takes the spark that is already there and uses digital media as one of his mediums [sic recta media], just as an architect uses many different materials. The person already has the creative spark, but... digital media allows them to amplify that spark and disseminate its effects across the world."

To a certain extent, the use of digital media itself represents a departure from the doldrums of conformity and creative stagnation. The way of the modern philosopher, of the thinker, of the dreamer, of the revolutionary lies not in dusty tomes in dustier libraries but in the living, breathing atmosphere of the now, in the coursing, pulsating vitality of modern media, of innovation, of change. In The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand champions the value of individual creation, encouraging her readers to break away from stale and unfeeling orthodoxy in creating, to be true to one's own personal vision in denying the structured arbitrariness of conventional thought. Ultimately, creativity is a manifestation of the human soul and intellect, and the Internet is a facilitator of that creativity, a vehicle through which the creator can make known his thoughts and dreams. The ideas of others will, of course, serve their purpose in shaping a creator's ideas, but the creator must find within himself and within the world about him the courage, integrity, and confidence to go forward with his labors and bring the spark of creation to the world. The value of the Internet and digital media in the creative process is perhaps best summarized with the simple affirmation of an online blogger, offered up by one small person in a very big world: "[m]y voice matters."