Creativity & Art Are Not The Same Thing: The Ways In Which They Differ

Creativity and art both require practitioners to go through the process of contemplating and realizing ideas, and thus are often confused with each other. In fact, it’s not rare to see people describing a piece of art, such as a painting, as “truly creative!”, and a work of creativity, such as an ad campaign, as “truly artistic”. 

However, creativity and art have unique characteristics. These traits can be boiled down to 3 different categories: the goal of creators and artists, the scope of art and creativity, and how creativity and art are evaluated.

1/ The goal of creators and artists 

To highlight the differences in objectives of creators and artists, it is first important to highlight that creative individuals primarily focus on creating practical ideas or solutions to solve pre-existing problems.

For a practical idea to be considered creative, it needs to satisfy three conditions:

• It must be a solution to a real existing problem, meaning the solution aims at a specific goal.
• It must be a solution suitable for the project\’s limitations (time, cost, execution capabilities).
• This solution creates value for both the creator and the one who got their problems solved (customer, community, society).

In general, creators strive to solve issues prevalent for a group of people (which may or may not include themselves), using novel methods and ideas, which still have to be somewhat practical. 

Meanwhile the goal of art is often more intrinsic, as artists focus on expressing and conveying emotions, thoughts, and concerns from their personal experiences. Their works are thus, less about problem-solving, and more about thought-provoking, focusing on evoking emotions rather than providing practical solutions, and doesn’t necessarily need to create value for people other than the artist. 

As a result, ideas generated in the process of creating art sometimes only need to be within the execution capabilities, such as imagination, talent, and creative skills, with less limitation on time or cost. The issues \”solved\” through their artworks may be perceived only by the artist themselves.

2/ The scope of creativity and art 

Creativity boasts a wide range, as it has to do with every aspect of life and various different fields, such as business, activities, entertainment, health, and so on. The core of the creative process is seeking and combining existing elements in a novel, unseen way to find suitable solutions.

Meanwhile, art is a platform for artists to express their individuality, and so can be expressed through various mediums. Currently, the art world is divided into 7 forms, including Painting, Sculpture, Literature, Architecture, Theater, Film, and Music. 

Dancing and Poetry are also considered expressions of arts, and with the development of society, there may be different mediums added to the roster.

However, compared to creativity, which is never limited to any realms or forms, the scope of art can be considered to be somewhat narrower. 

3/ How Creativity and Art are evaluted 

Creativity can be measured using several different elements, often having to do with a creative idea’s originality, flexibility, relevance, impact, and sometimes aesthetics. 

In particular, to evaluate a creative work, it is important to look into:

• Originality: How unique and novel the idea or product is, whether it brings about out-of-the-box solutions or concepts that haven\’t been widely explored.
• Flexibility: Whether a creative idea or product can be adapted to various perspectives and scenarios, or if it can be connected with other concepts or ideas
• Impact: Whether the creative idea was able to solve a problem, inspire others, or generate positive changes 
• Relevance: Assess how well the creative output aligns with the goals or requirements of the task at hand. Creativity is not just about being novel but also about being relevant to the context.
• Aesthetics: Assess if a creative product is appealing to the mass or the target which problem it solved, whether visually or emotionally.

Meanwhile, the value of a piece of art is often determined by the objective opinion of the creator and the subjective perception of the viewer. There aren\’t any concrete elements to evaluate art like in the case with creativity, as perceptions of art change with time, and even change from individual to individual. 

As a result, there have been dozens of cases where different groups in society hail different art pieces in the same field. An example is in the realm of music, where metal songs are deemed as “noise” by many, and yet the epitome of greatness to others. 

In addition, a lot of artists live in poverty throughout their lives, yet after their death, their works are recognized and valued very highly. This happens when the art was too forward of the time, and only later on was society able to grasp and understand the ideas they convey.

Conclusion

To conclude, while art and creativity are different terms, there are many parts where they converge.

Art is a space for freedom, helping one achieve a high concentration of creativity. However, things don\’t need to be completely new to be considered art, as long as it contains personal elements from the artists. 

Meanwhile, creativity can take the form of art, but one doesn’t necessarily have to know how to draw, sing, sculpt, play music, or create moving pieces to be called \”creative.\”