Piss Christ

One of the most controversial works in modern art is Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ".  This work was released in 1987 and it has been debated whether this is art at all.  It is a photograph of a cheap white crucifix submerged in Serrano's urine.  Many people found this extremely offensive.  A senator from New York said, "this so-called piece of art is a despicable, deplorable display of vulgarity."  Another Senator from North Carolina said, " I do not now Mr. Serrano and I hope I never meet him because he is not an artist, he is a jerk...let him be a jerk on his own time and with his own sources.  Do not dishonor the Lord!"  In response to these statements Serrano said, "You cannot have the sacred without the profane."- "People ask why I use fluids [blood, milk, semen, urine, etc..]  First of all I feel like I'm painting with light, and the fluids, besides being a symbol of life's vital fluids, loaded with meaning- also give me beautiful light."  This brings up many interesting questions about creativity.  Many people would not consider this creative because it is so offensive to them, but at the same time it seems that Serrano is only using urine to symbolize life and intensify the heaven-like light shining on Christ.  To me this suggests that whether or not something is creative not only has to do with whether it is useful or novel, but also how people interpret it.  If something is misunderstood it is easy to write it off as indecent and discredit it as art.  I believe that one factor or creativity is how something is interpreted so one cannot simply mark something as creative or non-creative, it varies with each individual's interpretation. 

Andres Serrano "Piss Christ" 1987

Einstein's Brain

I have been researching how creativity works in the brain over the past couple of months and I have found some interesting information.  During my research I found that highly creative individuals may actually have a specialized brain that is wired differently then others.  One such is example is Albert Einstein.  It has been recorded that Einstein did not speak until at the least age 4.  This suggests that the left side of his brain developed abnormally which allowed the right side of his brain to become highly specialized.  The right side of the brain in used for spatial computations which is used in mathematics.  Instead of simply memorizing formulas and using numbers, Einstein actually visualized math problems.  I believe that this unique way of solving math problems gave him an advantage because he was a different perspective and maybe more insight than others.  Einstein donated his brain to be studied when he died, and scientists took many pictures of it.  When reviewing the pictures they found that the area of the brain that separates the left and right cortex was so severely underdeveloped that it was almost non existent.  This suggests that Einstein's brain was very highly connected and he could draw connections between parts of the brain that others could not.  This may help explain how Einstein was able to come up with so many important and mind-blowing ideas.