Man, besides exploring the external world, is increasingly seeking to explore his inner space, including the mechanisms of imagination, creativity, and innovation. Deepak Kaura distinguishes these concepts by illustrating their complexity. Creativity and artistic talent are presented as rare qualities, exemplified by the experience with Claude Lemesle, a prolific lyricist and a modern-day example of a bard. Digital tools open new creative possibilities, but drawing inspiration from talented artists like Claude Lemesle remains essential to enrich our own creative universe.
E. Krieger
Not content with exploring the confines of the planet and our solar system, man undertakes to explore his inner space more and more each day. Topologically, this is much more complex than sailing towards America or the poles. Homer showed us that some odysseys have the merit of revealing ourselves, even if this quest led Ulysses away from Ithaca for nearly twenty years.
While we can increasingly precisely locate the theater of our emotions in various areas of our brain, the mechanisms of our creativity remain, in many ways, a mystery. Deepak Kaura, an eminent radiologist passionate about innovation, makes the following distinctions on this subject:
- Imagination consists of picturing, for example, simply by closing our eyes, a monkey perched on our shoulder, wearing a red hat and ringing a bell.
- Creativity allows us to represent this monkey through a drawing, a sculpture, or any other form of representation.
- Innovation, on the other hand, involves solving problems: it is creativity applied to an unsatisfied need.
At the end of his presentation, Dr. Kaura was surprised when a participant handed him a sheet of paper on which our dashing radiologist was depicted, accompanied by a tinkling monkey wearing a red hat…
What distance separates us from an accomplished artist?
However, there are several degrees of creativity. An enlightened amateur or an artisan may not necessarily possess the same talent as an artist, especially when the latter is also a genius. Amateur cultural practices help us grasp the complexity of the creative process and the immeasurable distance that generally separates us from a confirmed artist.
More than ten years ago, I had the privilege of getting to know Claude Lemesle, a wizard of words imbued with humor and humanism. Claude has written over 3000 songs for various artists, such as Isabelle Aubret, Gilbert Bécaud, Michel Fugain, Joe Dassin, Michel Sardou, and Serge Reggiani. Twice elected president of SACEM, he leads songwriting workshops that allow us to meet numerous authors, composers, performers, and even screenwriters, editors, and producers, testifying to the vitality of the French cultural industry.
The « Lemesle workshops »: catalysts for creative writing
I have participated in several of these « Lemesle workshops, » and I cherish an unforgettable memory of them. Usually, we started with a theme proposed by our witty teacher. As I delved into the depths of my computer, I found some intriguing and timeless ones:
- « Completely round. »
- « The hidden side of absence. »
- « If Mozart had passed his baccalaureate. »
- « The extraordinary banality. »
- « A rose or a worry. »
- « Memories of a pillow. »
- « News item in January. »
- « Letter to the postman. »
- …
While the majority of participants struggled to find a hook and tell a story that could defy the laws of gravitation, those privileged enough to be part of the group working with Claude Lemesle simply had to become scribes of our host’s inspirations. Indeed, he created with disconcerting ease texts of extraordinary finesse and humor.
Since then, I listen more attentively to songs with lyrics. They invariably take me back to these writing workshops organized by our generous genius.
Songwriters: the bards of modern times?
In both art and science, creation is often a collective process, and a single work can have various fates. This is the case with « Et si tu n’existais pas, » a song written in 1975 by Claude Lemesle and Pierre Delanoé for Joe Dassin. This song has been performed by many artists, including Iggy Pop.
(…)
And if you didn’t exist,
I believe I would have found
The secret of life, the why,
Simply to create you
And to look at you.
In the lineage of Homer, authors like Claude Lemesle are the bards of modern times.
Digital tools allow us to multiply our creative capabilities. With or without these digital assistants, it is up to us to invent the world in which we will be the heroes, drawing inspiration from artists who sometimes graciously make themselves accessible, even though several galaxies separate us from them.
Adapted from Krieger E. (2017) « La galaxie des talents », La Revue du Cube #12, « Tous créateurs ! », Mai 2017. Also published on: http://www.ikigai-colors.com/index.php/2023/07/31/la-galaxie-des-talents-2/
