In a recent interview, the 91-year-old Trinidadian artist John Lyons described painting as "an adventure in creative uncertainty. It is a way of existing in a world we still know very little about."
Author
- David Pearson
Professor of Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience, Anglia Ruskin University
A similar perspective forms the central theme of entrepreneur Margaret Hefferman's latest book, Embracing Uncertainty . This is a spiritual successor to her previous book, Uncharted , which portrayed uncertainty as an inevitable aspect of modern life that should be embraced rather than controlled.
This time Hefferman focuses on the creative industries, proposing that artists, musicians and writers constantly live with uncertainty and can still thrive in this increasingly unpredictable world.
The book's five core chapters are interspersed with evocative vignettes describing episodes of creative uncertainty. These include the establishment of Bristol's Paraorchestra , a collective of disabled and non-disabled musicians led by conductor Charles Hazlewood, and director Gabriella A. Moses's work on the film Boca Chica .
Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here .
Hefferman argues that such seemingly disparate episodes can be linked by a shared artistic drive that approaches uncertainty with a combination of pragmatism and optimism. She concludes that applying a mindset of curiosity and flexibility is essential not just for promoting artistic endeavour, but to flourish in general.
The book is at its most successful when advocating for the importance of viewing the arts as an essential foundation for a prosperous and healthy society - not as a frivolous and dispensable luxury. The closing chapters focusing on arts education and the role of art in politics are particularly compelling.
Hefferman notes that arts education worldwide has suffered substantial cutbacks and marginalisation. In the UK, funding for arts, design and media courses has been decimated despite the sector contributing an estimated £126 billion to the country's economy. In the US, arts and cultural funding is increasingly portrayed as a partisan political issue instead of a common good .
The political belief that the sciences should be prioritised over arts education ignores the substantial evidence that they're mutually beneficial . My career in science owes much to my involvement as a teenager in Leicestershire Youth Theatre. Led by the pioneering educator Robert Staunton , this experience taught me a creative and reflexive way of viewing human behaviour that has informed my research ever since.
I was struck while reading the numerous accounts of creativity in this book how many would be unlikely to reach fruition today. Hefferman produced programmes for the BBC for 13 years and in one chapter, discusses the complex development of the classic 1990s TV serial Our Friends in the North . Such a uniquely British drama would struggle to secure funding in the current television landscape, dominated by international streaming services.
Hefferman is less convincing, though, when trying to explain how creative individuals can thrive.
In the opening chapter, she discusses the early 20th-century psychological movement of Behaviourism - which claimed that all human behaviour could be explained by mechanisms of conditioned learning. But otherwise, there is no consideration of research focused specifically on understanding human creativity.
Rather, the overarching theme of "embracing uncertainty" is applied very broadly and conflates certain concepts. For instance, it combines divergent thinking (the ability to create multiple possible solutions to a problem) with resilience and creative flow (a highly motivating mental state associated with effortless concentration). In my view, these ideas are better considered separately.
Many of the stories of creative problem-solving discussed in the book brought to my mind the pioneering work of creativity researcher Frank X. Barron in the 1960s. Barron described highly creative individuals as "more primitive and more cultured, more destructive and more constructive, occasionally crazier and yet adamantly saner than the average person".
Hefferman is an engaging storyteller and there is a great deal to enjoy in her accounts of how - frequently against all odds - artists succeed in producing work that reflects and changes wider society.
This book is published at a time when the creative industries are facing unprecedented challenges worldwide. Writers, musicians and artists will certainly not thrive if the uncertainty they are forced to embrace is a lack of financial support - or the cannibalisation of their work by AI .
Albert Einstein noted that "the greatest scientists are artists as well". As our world faces a perfect storm of environmental, societal and economic challenges, the need to support innovation and champion persistence has seldom felt greater. The hopeful and inspiring stories portrayed in Embracing Uncertainty point the way to a more optimistic future.
David Pearson receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.
