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Intersections: Inspiration and Creativity

The public often thinks of artistic inspiration arriving in a sort of thunderbolt moment of creativity. The truth is, almost nothing is created out of thin air.

"Great works of art set a standard, set the bar," says Clint Brown, author of Artist to Artist: Inspiration and Advice from Artists Past and Present. "Although they can be humiliating in a certain sense because they're powerful… they can give you new ideas and help things connect in your own work."

Morning Edition begins Intersections, a six-month-long series looking at artists and their artistic sources of inspiration.

As NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports in the first story in the series, many famous artists admit to drawing creative inspiration from the work of others. Take, for example, Stephen Sondheim, the prolific Broadway composer and lyricist. A few years ago, he told Library of Congress music specialist Mark Horowitz one such inspiring moment came while watching the 1945 movie Hangover Square at age 15. He saw the movie twice to memorize the score, composed by the legendary Bernard Herrmann.

"When Sondheim wrote Sweeney Todd, he -- at least to some degree -- was trying to imagine, 'What would Bernard Herrmann do?'" Horowitz says. "And he talks about how there are certain Bernard Herrmann chords that he uses that are inspired aspects of the score."

Edie Pistolesi, an art professor at California State University, notes that some of the best painters -- including Vincent Van Gogh -- literally copied the art that inspired them in order to learn technique. And the copying isn't limited to the visual arts. The Beatles learned to play rock 'n' roll by listening to American records. In fact, the opening guitar riff off a somewhat obscure 1961 R&B song called "Watch Your Step," by Bobby Parker, is echoed in the Beatles' song "I Feel Fine."

Sometimes, this type of borrowing results in legal action. But for the most part, it reflects the recognition among artists of the need for a common language of expression.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Elizabeth Blair is a Peabody Award-winning senior producer/reporter on the Arts Desk of NPR News.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.