
By Chris Dunmire
No
matter what creative discipline(s) we are engaged in, we are
often inclined to create "pretty things" to please
the approval eye of others. Sometimes it's quite necessary
we do, other times it's not. This is about those times it's
not.
This exercise in silliness goes beyond the perimeters of the
cubed box. It is exact permission to embrace the odd, the zany,
the goofy ideas that pop into your head before you quickly
swat them away like flies with an embarrassed "Shoo!" Go
ahead and follow your instincts and make those silly things.
Go on, do it!
What are silly things? Anything you think is silly. It could
be painting the sun blue and the grass red in your picture,
incorporating Picasso-esque exaggerations or perspectives
in your art, or inventing satirical
eBay stories that
never happened. Gluing googly
eyes onto peanuts surely falls into the silly category.
As does an interview
with a cartoon character. Anything
that makes the conventional critics squirm and your pulse race
because you very well know that what you're doing may end up
being for your amusement only.
Dare to be silly. Try it and see what happens. You never know
what will become of your creations when you purposely make
them unusual or odd. Want to see what happened to one of mine?
It wasn't my intention to get my Peanut Pets project
published, but a newspaper in Maryland, USA, contacted me for
permission to print it. Yes, it found its way to black and
white newsprint states away in the April Fool's issue of the Montgomery
County Sentinel (see
clipping here). And this serendipitous thing happened why?
Because I dared to be
silly.
P.S. This Web site has many examples of silly things I've
made to amuse myself. You can see more of them in my humor/fun section. •
© 2006, 2007 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com.
All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce this article without my permission. |