David Lynch is no more. David Lynch, the film director who left you dazzled after watching Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, and many more. The storyteller whose opening scene from Lost Highway inspired me to make a ’90s slide photography movie in art school.
David Lynch was an ambassador for creative thinking and shared his down-to-earth insights in different keynotes. Let’s honor David Lynch and share what he had to say about ‘where ideas come from’. Because, around creativity, a lot of myths are involved. And it’s time to debunk them.
Myth 1: Ideas happen to you all at once
The myth of the creative genius in his or her creative space, staring at a white screen or paper and ideas suddenly popping up with an awesome outcome as a result, is nonsense. In the video Where Ideas Come From, ideas are being generated from daydreaming but can also be generated from places. In that case, leaving your space and using your senses can be an idea trigger. Sometimes you get triggered by tiny details, such as a reflection in a puddle of water, which leads to another idea.
In art school, we were stimulated to leave our classrooms and get inspiration from what we experienced with all our senses outside. With this approach, you stimulate your senses and enlarge the ‘idea library’ in your head. Documenting what you experience around you, such as writing or drawing in a sketchbook, stimulates the capture of ideas even more. I like to call that ‘Wanderlust’.
Myth 2: No action is required for creativity
David Lynch states that ideas are generated in bits and pieces, like parts of a puzzle. You start with one piece of a puzzle, without knowing the other pieces. The other pieces are discovered one by one until you have a story or a creative concept ready. It takes time, iteration, and effort.
Creativity flows in a state of happiness and ideas are easier to catch.
Myth 3: Creativity requires suffering
According to David Lynch, suffering cramps creativity, and I couldn’t agree more with it. If you are under stress, creativity is blocked. Ideas don’t flow.
The video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFsBaa_MEzM
