Creativity vs Beauty

I recently had a conversation with my Fiancé about art. We both come from very different backgrounds and our art is as different as possible.

We noticed her style was just raw creativity, no thought about the end product just ideas given life. It's a nice notion but often ends with confused result. It's difficult to appreciate as I find myself wondering what emotion/effect she is trying to achieve. That type of art is more of a personal experience and because it lacks clarity for others who don't share her mindset, I wonder, does the art lose some of it's worth?

I always appreciated art that looks aesthetically pleasing, perhaps old fashioned but I love the classics. Real medieval and Renaissance masterpieces and have no real love for "Modern Art" or surrealism.

I'm not trying to make a futile debate that ends in the inevitable line down the middle as every other debate will naturally end up with but it did get me thinking. How does it affect my art, the style that I have adopted and nurtured over time to make my own.

Recently I discovered the BBC are holding a short story contest with a deadline for submissions at the end of this month. I doubt I'll be able to finish one in time considering I haven't prepared but thought I'd give it a shot, even if nothing else to get some more ideas to do some more writing.

I took a different stance this time. Rather than saying "I want a story like this" I wondered, "what would the public/BBC want?" I can almost hear some artists muttering "sell out", but bare with.

It's a different method to get the result but does it remove some of the artistic quality from the work?

I was really surprised with the ideas I came out with. Some pretty exciting stuff (even if I say so myself!) and all the result of changing my viewpoint.

I'd been so stuck in the same frame of mind when thinking of stories that it was becoming a little difficult to think of stories of any worth for the competition. Now, in a short space of time last night I made three.

Perhaps what most interested me is that it doesn't matter what is the best method of creating art, but that you try different methods, try different things, experiment - because in the end, isn't that what being creative is all about?

~Fraser