2017/03/09: National Gallery Talk: Creativity -- and Protest

[STUDENTS CHANTING AND MAKING NOISE]
[REPEATED CHANTING] Gender defenders.
[CHEERING]
[REPEATED CHANTING] We're here, we're queer [UNINTELLIGIBLE] get out of here.
[REPEATED CHANTING] Black lives matter.
[REPEATED CHANTING] Hey hey, ho ho. Transphobia's got to go.
[YELLING AND NOISE]
[REPEATED CHANTING] Hey hey, ho ho. Transphobia's got to go.

We've got it all on tape, by the way, if you need it. You don't press charges against those kids.
[UNINTELLIGIBLE]
[REPEATED CHANTING] Hey hey, ho ho. Transphobia's got to go.
[REPEATED CHANTING] I believe that we will win, hey.
[NOISE AND CHEERING]
[UNINTELLIGIBLE]
[CHEERING AND NOISE]

Creative people are getting a really rough, uh, they're not getting a break at all. And there're probably more creative people doing non-creative work in the workforce than the other way around. Oh definitely, definitely.

You know, the thing is, I don't want to paint too dismal a picture about being creative because one of the things that pays off big for creative people is that they get to be creative, right? There's great aesthetic joy in that and depth. And I've been privileged because I've worked with more creative people than would fall to the lot, let's say, of the typical psychotherapist. Because people often come and see me because they've watched my videos online and they deal with... people who are interested in those subjects tend to be creative.

And one of things I've really been struck by, first of all, I've learned that for those of you who are interested in such things, that the reason Jungian psychology works is because it works for creative people. It doesn't work at all for non-creative people. It just falls dead and flat for them. They're not interested in it at all, it isn't how they think.

You mean as therapy?

Yeah, it doesn't match their personalities. Whereas creative people, man, they dream archetypal dreams all the time. It's really interesting. And also they die if they're not being creative. They wither on the vine.

I have one client, I really liked him, he was a brilliant architect. And his rational mind was his worst enemy because it just criticized everything. He was hyper-rational, criticized everything, really in a dark way, and effectively, you know? If I could get him to not think and just create, he was a complete genius. That's where all of the vitality in his life was. That's where the sap rose up inside the dead tree that was sort of embedded inside of him.

And it is very common with creative people, is that it's their life blood. And it really is, from a biological perspective. This isn't some epi-phenomena, it's built right into people, and deeply.