In his The Act of Creation (1964), Arthur Koestler suggests that there are three types of creativity:
Type I: Artistic Originality:
A work of art is a distortion of reality ranging from dada to realism, as follows:
Dada
Abstract Expressionism
Cubism
Surrealism
Impressionism (Puntilism)
Expressionism
Realism
Camille Saint Saëns’ “Carnival of the Animals”
Ferde Grofé’s “On the Trail” from “Grand Canyon Suite” (Impressionism)
Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” (Expressionism)
Salvador Dali’s art (Surrealism)
Pablo Picasso’s art (Cubism)
Gertrude Stein’s writing (Cubism)
Jackson Pollock’s art (Abstract Expressionism)
Type II: Scientific Discover and Invention:
There are two types of scientific creativity: Discovery, and Invention.
Scientific discovery is epiphanal, and is accompanied by such expressions as
The Bisociative Click!
The Eureka Cry!
The epiphany! or
Das “aha” Erlebniss!
After scientists had discovered the relationships between the moon’s and sun’s gravitation pull, the ocean tides, amber (and static electricity), the lodestones, and the magnet field at the North Pole. They could invent magnets and compasses, AC and DC currents, electro-magnetic engines, etc.
Type III: Comic Inspiration:
But sometimes the bi-association or the incongruity and incongruity resolution, are greater than what is commonly seen in art or in science. This requires a greater suspension of disbelief, because the bi-association is thought to be Incongruous, Incompatible, Ironic, Ludicrous, Paradoxical, Ridiculous, Satiric, or Sardonic.
Examples would include such anachronisms in Science Fiction as the Grandfather’s paradox, where a person goes back in time and kills his own grandfather.
Other examples would be Othello with the hiccups, or a chess player who gives his opponent a double martini.
Fulton’s Folly was still another example of comic inspiration.
When Fulton told the world that he would be able to build a fire that would boil water to make steam to produce the power to make a paddle wheel steam boat paddle upstream, everybody showed up to watch him fail.
They thought that such an attempt was Ludicrous, Ridiculous, or Laughable.
But the audience was wrong. Fulton’s steam boat actually worked. That’s why Arthur Koestler calls this type of creativity “Comic Inspiration.”
Dear Don, very interesting questions you have raised again.
If you do not mind, well, there is one more eligible artist whose paintings may extend your collection: Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) (https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/practice/culture/the-metamorphoses-of-mc-escher).
Some effects from the second part (Scientific Discover and invention) are observed in education (e.g., SLA). Lightbown & Spada (2017:121) refer to "aha" moments in SLA when learners suddenly discover something new in the language or find a way to explain how something works in the language. Imho, humor can be helpful as a source that provides the opportunity to make the "discovery" or as a remedy, a relief after the learners put a lot of effort into the process of making a discovery. Moreover, humor may be a source of supplementary information to entrench the knowledge or immediately memorize it, or make salient some other facets of the "discovery".
Here I also have a question: if we spoke about neologisms of a different type, what group would they belong to? Neologisms have distinct structures as well as different communicative functions.
In general, I immediately started thinking of the Humor Elicitation Theory by Wyer & Collins (1992) because it's not merely about art or science but how the events are perceived by participants and observers and how they comment on those events. Imho, the presence of humor is always necessary.
Elena: Excellent. Check out Slide # 18 in this revised PowerPoint about "Humor and Art." Thanks for your help.
Dear Don, thank you very much for the ppt. I'm extremely glad that my little reference has caught your attention.
Recently, I also encountered some funny changes to classical paintings. The image of a cat for example can be found here: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/monalisa+cat
The Eternaly Waiting One (Zhdun): https://brainberries.co/funny/zhdun-what-is-this-thing/
Perhaps, such transformations may also contribute to the perception of classical art through humor. I was also thinking about the use of classical art in comics. Or parodies like the following one: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/84724036719226337/
Elena: I love your examples of parodies of classical art. I think that the Mona Lisa is most often parodied because of her enigmatic smile. What doe she know that we don't know?
Dear Don, I believe that this is a particularly relevant topic, especially when we consider the aura of solemnity and seriousness that has often accompanied art. However, I believe that some avant-garde movements and especially the emergence of art linked to the masses has brought a lot of humor into art galleries. In this sense, I consider that humor helps to break down certain invisible barriers that have often placed works of art in too elitist status. A good example of this break from a cynical perspective is the work of artists Yue Minjun, David Shrigley, and Maurizio Cattelan.
Jose: Thanks for your excellent insights. You have an excellent command of your field of expertise. Keep up the good work.
Dear Don, I have just sent you a huge message (ca. 133 MB - the reason I am not able to add the materials to the discussion). Hope, you have received this zip-file.
Best regards, Lena
Dear Don,
Thank you very much for appreciating my teeny tiny contributions to your collections.
Recently, I have encountered even more interesting things related to art parodies that are functioning in real life and we all witness them.
One of the interesting links is related to the existence of classical art parodies in contemporary social culture and politics.
Here is the link: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/america-after-the-fall-10-most-parodied-artworks
Another event happened in the Netherlands in February this year. The painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Vermeer was sent from its permanent
place in The Hague (Maurits Huis Museum (https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/)) to Amsterdam to the exhibition dedicated to Vermeer. The painting spent 8 weeks in Amsterdam.
The administration of the museum in The Hague announced an open call (https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/what-s-on/mauritshuis-at-home/mygirlwithapearl/) to temporarily replace the painting and let the artists share their art related to Vermeer's painting. More than 3000 artists applied. Only several masterpieces were approved and exhibited (https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/what-s-on/exhibitions/my-girl-with-a-pearl/).
I would like to share with you those approved (these are photos from my friend's Facebook account). Unfortunately, I do not know the names of the artists.
Here are the links:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2232550760280542&set=a.397115617157408&__tn__=%2CO*F
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2232550783613873&set=pcb.2232550823613869
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2232550800280538&set=a.397115617157408&__cft__[0]=AZWIFJA3agbaw-aQw7RqsQ7q9bZHWvOoUX36O7ndwo0Jaah4DH4ctYxtaOgbCuwK9iGFUW7r65PMy7Omimetp5GiHqfHzWTDrhAwTMXfQEIq7dxDmLVkp0lhDry3hNNxMUQ&__tn__=%2CO*F
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2232550720280546&set=a.397115617157408&__cft__[0]=AZWIFJA3agbaw-aQw7RqsQ7q9bZHWvOoUX36O7ndwo0Jaah4DH4ctYxtaOgbCuwK9iGFUW7r65PMy7Omimetp5GiHqfHzWTDrhAwTMXfQEIq7dxDmLVkp0lhDry3hNNxMUQ&__tn__=%2CO*F
The latter one ('A Girl With Glowing Earrings') by German photographer Julian van Dieken (https://www.vandieken.com/) was found not to be a digitally mastered photo but an AI creation.
This video (https://www.facebook.com/byMarinaMasatovic/videos/1240950520116479/?__tn__=%2CO-R) lets see how the parodies were exhibited in the museum in The Hague.
To see more parodies of Vermeer's painting you can just google using the key phrase "mauritshuis meisje met de parel wedstrijd" and choose "images" (unfortunately I cannot send the link with the results of the search).
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