[Today’s featured artwork for Day 31 of the 365 Days Project is by Ronit Baranga.]
Everyone talks about Thinking Outside the Box. Artists do it every day.
#31 – Artists are definitely Outside the Box. And that can be a very challenging place.
Creative thinking is one the biggest corporate buzzwords today. Artists have been doing it for centuries. Those who say they want out-of-the-box thinking, however, often really don’t. It means exploring ideas that may not make immediate sense or pushing boundaries that a business may not want to disturb. Out-of-the-box thinkers ask questions, change things, turn systems upside down, challenge the status quo.
When I was deep in the corporate world prior to my career as an artist, I was lucky to have worked in the travel industry where the day-to-day required fluid, creative thinking. But there were still limits. A business can’t change overnight, although I did manage to instigate new ideas.
As an artist in my studio, however, I never have to worry about “thinking outside the box” because there is no “box” to begin with. It’s the ultimate freedom which leads to the greatest discoveries since I am a business of “one.” Even so, new ideas sometimes have to be presented in a way that lets people in little by little. The corporate world taught me how to reach those who are comfortably inside the box. Maybe that’s one of the things artists can teach others. The world needs all of us to use our creative minds to find new solutions to old problems. Who knows what a truly creative thinker might conjure up?
“Creativity is not just for artists. It’s for businesspeople looking for a new way to close a sale; it’s for engineers trying to solve a problem; it’s for parents who want their children to see the world in more than one way.”
Twyla Tharp
Think outside of the box.
Work outside of the box.
Dream outside of the box.
Succeed outside of the box.
The ordinary think inside of the box,
the extraordinary think outside of the box,
but genius thinks inside, outside, below and above the box.
Matshona Dhliwayo
Ronit Baranga’s artwork can be viewed at: Ronit Baranga
The 365 Days Project
In 2012, Serena Kovalosky committed to writing an article a day for 365 days as an exploration into the lives of artists and the value of creative thinking in our society.
Experience the full evolution of the project! Click below to read the entire collection of articles.
Descriptions of the images included in this post:
Running Cups
Ronit Baranga, Israel
Clay
Stones
Ronit Baranga, Israel
Clay
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