The
Fountainhead of Human Creativity
From
the very genesis of recorded history, mankind has sought to create,
to bring his thoughts into reality and to 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 are 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 made accessible the realms of
thought and creativity for the world as a whole. Ayn Rand, in her
landmark novel, The
Fountainhead,
investigates the concept of creativity, championing the individual
creative ideal and warning against the collectivization of creative
thought. Rand died years before the invention of the Internet and a
great many other modern digital resources, yet her commentary on
creativity and thought abide today as a lasting monument to the human
spirit of creativity. A thoughtful study of digital media through the
lens of Ayn Rand's The
Fountainhead clearly
reveals the value of independent creativity and unveils digital
media's role in providing a new and living medium through which
creative thought may find expression.
The
value of digital media in the creative process has been debated often
in academic spheres, and there yet remains a dichotomy between those
advocating collectivism and those of an individualist
persuasion. Doctors Kylie Peppler and Maria Solomou of Indiana
University, in their study of creativity through online, social
learning spheres, propose that creativity manifests itself as a
broad, “socially determined process.” Peppler, in commenting on a
blog post by the author, states, “Creativity is really about
learning more about what has been done and posing something new from
your unique vantage point...” While social interaction certainly
plays a role in the formation of an individual creator's ideas, this
concept of collective creativity represents a false paradigm and
discords sharply with the individualistic ideas presented in Rand's
work. Creative progress finds its footings in the efforts of
individuals rather than those of a collective and unified body. Each
individual creative endeavor represents the labors and strivings of a
single person or a small group of individuals, and collaborative
projects are simply the summation of these individual efforts
(Shoshana Milgram Knapp, personal communication, May 25, 2012). Many
modern scholars, like Alan Kirby of Oxford University, have spoken
out sharply against the idea of collective creativity, stating that
globalization and the development of social media have caused much of
modern 'creativity' to become “unreal, trite, vapid, conformist,
consumerist, meaningless and brainless.” Others have taken a
different approach in their denunciation of the ideal of joint
creativity. William Thomas, for example, a Randian scholar associated
with the Atlas Society, proposes that while more interaction is
possible through the medium of the Internet, creativity itself is
actually isolated and individualized as part of the process (personal
communication, June 2, 2012). The value of creativity as a whole,
then, rests in the potential of individuals to create and innovate.
Ayn
Rand's ideological foundation finds its abode within this
individualistic realm of thought. 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 a fuller understanding of the value of individual thought
and creation. Expelled from his architectural academy for
non-adherence to classical forms and styles, Roark embodies the
independent fire of creativity and innovation. As such, he remains,
throughout the novel, an entity unto himself– a brilliant and
unapologetic creator. Keating, on the other hand, relinquishes his
innate sense of creativity in exchange for social acceptance,
rehashing the same antiquated styles and passing off Roark's
brilliant designs for his own when a real bit of innovation is
necessary. These oppositional, almost one-dimensional characters can
be related to two extremes within the online world: while a great
many employ digital media to create and innovate, others use it
simply to recycle existing memes and ideas, passing them off as their
own in the pursuit of the ever-elusive “Likes” and +1's (Fand
488). Steven Mallory, a lesser character in The
Fountainhead,
recognizes at one point the fallen state of those who embrace this
latter, attention-hungry and hollow creative ideal, stating that in
following after it they “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” (452). Rand's contrast is too
polarized, too black-and-white to represent the span and production
of creativity, yet her argument holds true: a person may, by virtue
of his own integrity and dedication, come to discover his creative
identity and make a gift to humanity through the works that he brings
to life (Young). If, as author Joyce Carol Oates writes, art
constitutes “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
safeguards of second-hand creativity.
Scholars
of digital literacy sometimes receive this idea of personal
aspiration and discovery in creation as foolishness, painting the
independent creator as a creature of the past, a dying breed. Others,
like James Montmarquet, a Randian scholar from Tennessee State
University, conversely declare the need to reclaim the independent
creative ideal. In his article, “Prometheus: Rand's Epic of
Creation,” Montmarquet describes 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. Digital media, however,
offers a new promise and a haven for the creative self, granting
access to a rich habitat wherein the independent creator can develop
his ideas and grow in his ability to convey meaning through creation.
Recent years have seen the genesis of new forms of expression and
renewed courage to create as the Internet has injected life into a
dying ideal. If, in fact, 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.
Indeed, the Internet, in rekindling the dying embers of creativity
and original thought, has become a veritable fountainhead of creative
expression, a well of living water to quench creation's thirst.
In
order to truly draw from the well of creativity that is the Internet
and other digital media resources, the student of digital literacy
must come to understand the potentialities of the medium. For Howard
Roark, granite was not just
granite.
It was a medium and a muse, a block from which could be hewn great,
triumphant walls or delicate, airy sculptures. He viewed the terrain,
the resources, the space not as mere materials but rather as a sort
of language of expression; armed with this perspective, he sought to
incorporate into his work the integrity of each of these elements.
For the modern creator, the Internet is the new and living medium
through which creativity finds expression. Digital media frees people
from the limiting confines of their immediate environs and opens the
way to a world unknown and almost magical in its possibilities. Roark
remarked, “I thought of the potentialities of our modern world. The
new materials, the means, the chances to take and use. There are so
many products of man's genius around us today. There are such great
possibilities” (E-book 466). Indeed, in coming to more fully
understand the role of digital media in the creative process, one
realizes its potential in providing a dynamic mode of expression for
creators.
The
digital world supplies creators with a means whereby to discover and
share their creative ideas. Joseph Tabenkin, for example, a young and
aspiring musician and Rand enthusiast, uses Youtube and other social
media sites to promote his band's music. He has used his experiences
with social media to begin a professional career in music. Audrey
Mereu, another Youtube user, shared her thoughts on The
Fountainhead in
an online book review, a process which played a distinct role in her
coming to understand her own individual ideals (personal
communication, 14 May 2012). In some sense, digital media can serve,
as did The
Fountainhead for
Mereu, as a tool in the self-actualization of creators. Some find
their voice in making and posting videos online; others take up
blogging and uncover a new bourne of expression and thought. Yet
others discover a sense of wonder and imagination in 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 expands and adapts and finds life in the contributions of
millions and millions of independent creators from all around the
world. The call of the creator, then, is to express, however
clumsily, the yearnings and trepidations of the human soul, to
capture in words or music or images an emotion, a thought, a
realization. Indeed, it is in the summation of these independent acts
of creation– these words, these images– that the Internet truly
finds its soul.
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 itself represents only a small
portion of the creative process, and as such, the Internet holds
inestimable value in its potential to expose creators to new ideas
and to contribute to the formation of their respective creative
identities (Wallas). With humanity's collective knowledge and
experience available 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, for example, 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 does there
exist a website that instantly drains a person of all sense of
creative vision and compels him 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
endeavors. James Montmarquet commented, “Machines will be common to
a free and an unfree society,” to one fed by or starved of
creation's lifeblood (personal communication, May 25, 2012). “If,
then, a difference emerges... it must be something that an
individual, or perhaps collection of individuals do, by way of using
the machines for creative purposes.” For individuals and
collectives alike, these machines, these new media, serve as vehicles
along the road of creative progress and discovery.
Some
have argued that the Internet and, more particularly, social media
actually detract from the creative spirit, founding their argument
upon the 'rehash and recycle' culture that has evolved on social
media sites like Myspace and Facebook. The Internet, however, is not
at conflict with creativity. Rather, it serves as a medium, like
stone or paint, that can be used to bring life to an idea or an
emotion (Sorenson). One Facebook user, Stella Knickerson, expressed
her thoughts on the matter, stating, "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" (personal communication,
May 22, 2012). Indeed, the modern creator must look to his inner
creative vision in determining how he 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 (4).
Digital
culture has spawned a variety of forms of new media that creators and
innovators are able to harness in developing and sharing their ideas.
Recent years, for example have seen the birth of Minecraft, an online
'block world' wherein players extract virtual resource blocks to
construct any imaginable virtual object. One Minecraft user
captivated Rand enthusiasts in crafting a true-to-form, block replica
of Atlas, the namesake of Rand's paramount work, Atlas Shrugged.
This and other similar re-adaptations to new media formats are
broadening the scope of creativity and expanding digital society's
ability to experience ideas through various forms of art and
expression. The point in utilizing digital media, though, is not so
much about novelty for the sake of novelty as it is about both
recognizing the things that digital media can do for creativity and
learning to make maximum use of these advantages (Fand 489). As Adam
Sorenson, a student of digital literacy, stated, “[T]he creator
takes the spark that is already there and uses digital media as one
of his mediums, 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 arcane tomes in forgotten 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 proclaims the value of individual creation, encouraging her
readers to break away from stale and unfeeling orthodoxy in deference
to personal vision; she invites the reader to deny the structured
arbitrariness of conventional form and thought in favor of authentic
innovation, presenting the reader with the character of Howard Roark
as a far-off, creative ideal, a goal to which man might aspire. Algis
Valiuenas, a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, carried
on this idea:
These
great figures are meant to inspire readers to go out and do likewise.
When an unnamed young man with sublime but indefinite longings sees a
summer resort designed by Howard Roark, he feels a strength that will
sustain him in his ambition to realize his vision, whatever that may
be. “Don't work for my happiness, my brothers – show me yours –
show me that it is possible – show me your achievement – and the
knowledge will give me the courage for mine.” Rand wants to send
tremors of possibility through her readership (62).
Go
and do – Rand's message to all creators. Ultimately, creativity is
a manifestation of the human soul and intellect, and the Internet
acts as a facilitator of that creativity, a vehicle through which the
creator can infuse personality and soul into his work. The ideas of
others will, of course, inspire and shape a creator's ideas, but each
creator must find within himself and within the world about him–
within the sea of digital media and whatever is to follow– the
courage, integrity, and confidence to go forward with his labors and
bring the spark of creation to the world.
Works
Cited
Coleman,
Emily. “Re: At One with our Creative Ideal: Paper-in-a-Post.” New
Horizons. 30
May, 2012. Online. 30 May, 2012.
https://plus.google.com/114528068819576237299/posts/KwMy2TKFWUh
Fand,
Roxanne J. "Reading the Fountainhead: The Missing Self in Ayn
Rand's Ethical Individualism." College English 2009:
486-505. Print.
Hickey,
Alan. “Pseduo-Modernism: the Conformity of the Collective.”
Bravely Becoming a Part of the New World. May 29, 2012.Online.
3 June, 2012.
Hunt,
Lester H. "Thus Spake Howard Roark: Nietzschean Ideas in the
Fountainhead." Philosophy and Literature 2006: 79-101. Print.
Kirby,
Alan. “The Death of Postmodernism and Beyond.” Philosophy Now
2006. Online.
Mereu,
Audrey. “Book Review: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.” Youtube.
June 28, 2011. Online. 7 May, 2012.
Montmarquet,
James. "Prometheus: Ayn Rand's Ethic of Creation." Journal
of Ayn Rand Studies 2011: 3-18. Print.1 May, 2012
Peppler,
Kylie A. and Solomou, Maria. "Building Creativity: Collaborative
Learning and Creativity in Social Media Environments." On the
Horizon 2011: 13-23. Print.
Powell,
Robert L. "Ayn Rand's Heroes: Between and Beyond Good and Evil."
2007. Print.
Rand,
Ayn. The Fountainhead. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co, 1943.
E-book.
---.The
Fountainhead. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co, 1943. Print.
Rand,
Ayn. Dir. Henry Blanke. Perf. Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond
Massey. The Fountainhead. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video,
2006. DVD.
Sorenson,
Adam. “Re: At One with our Creative Ideal: Paper-in-a-Post.” New
Horizons. 30
May 2012. Online. 30 May,
2012.https://plus.google.com/114528068819576237299/posts/KwMy2TKFWUh
Tabenkin,
Joseph. “What For ft. Barry Quinn - Joseph and The Familiar
Strangers.” Youtube. 1 May 2012. Online. 7 May, 2012
Valiunas,
Algis. "Who Needs Ayn Rand?". Commentary 2005: 59-62.
Print.
Wallas,
Graham. Art
of Thought. Oxford:
Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1926. Print.
Young,
Cathy. “Ayn Rand at 100.” Reason. Reason Mag. , March
2005. Online. 22 May, 2012.
I like the changes you made. Good stuff. :)
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