On the first day of my creativity class, I introduce students to the idea of “the sublime.” They already have a notion of the sublime, but I introduce them to the way that sublime images contribute to constructing their values and identity. As examples of sublime imagery, I show the opening scene from Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, Frank Stella’s 1939 painting Brooklyn Bridge, as well as the vast desert imagery in Luc Besson’s 2010 film The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec. Contemplating the mathematical sublime, or our smallness compared to that of the infinite, is one way of forcing the realization that we have no control over anything but our own actions. What actions can we take to bring us nearer to that which is greater than ourselves?
[Image by Nicole Otalvero – Media Aesthetics and Creativity – Spring 2018]
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llilli
July 20, 2018
Creativity and Mindfulness, Film, Philosophy and Aesthetics
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