Adventures In Creativity

NEW PROJECTS

JOHN G. YOUNG, M.D.

Integrative Media Artist

These projects have recently been completed. For a more complete picture of my works, click on the blue buttons on the left. In a month I may be working on several projects in different media. Sometimes I combine them especially in the videos and poetry. Come back often as this site will constantly change. The Exhibits section is new. Check it out.

NEW VIDEOS

Installation at Boulder Creek This new short is greatly influenced by some of the classes I am auditing at the University of Colorado. I made it anticipating my Energy Show along with 2 other artists at the St. John’s Art Gallery this November and December. Pick up the Jungian influence, the musical structure, the poetic associations and the time variations. (7 minutes)

Show in Chicago This tongue-in-cheek project on a visit to Chicago evolves into a bold dream sequence. Seen from the 37th floor where Lake Michigan meets the river, this video poem, is based upon the poetry of Carl Sandburg's "Chicago" and the works of Jeanne-Claude Christo. It is a tour de force panning the city and within the Art Institute of Chicago. See these large flowers paintings in a new light. (4 minutes)

Plaza de Toros is quite different from earlier videos, much more edgy. The poem on which is was based came from a psychotherapy session in which I was trying to suggest how one must confront one's demons. When you are in the therapy ring, time slows as tension builds. The imagery is animated in a stark way. The music with many tri-tones awaiting resolution heightens the feelings generated. A must view and feel. (11 minutes)

NEW ART

My current focus is photographing and painting flowers. I am interested in their color, shape and translucence to light. I enjoy the interaction of one flower against another and the shadows they throw upon each other. The shapes the color and shadows set up strong designs that reads as well from 50 yards as up close. These bold impressionistic paintings are quite large, currently up to 4 ft. x 5 ft.

I take my own photographs usually early in the morning when the sun shines through our windows illuminating the bouquets on the dinning room table. I use the black chairs as a background which sets off the backlighting. I love the translucence thus created. The photographs themselves are works of art; the paintings take them a step further.

NEW POETRY

A PSYCHIATRIST'S NOTEBOOK

This book written parallel to my 30 years of practice in psychiatry, is a diverse collection of works ranging from serious poetry, light verse and doggerel, to epigrams, cartoons, graphics, drawings, and paintings. These poems were often written while I was waiting for patients to show up for an appointment or during a no-show. The patients would be in my mind whether they sat across from me or not. At times I would actively share the poems with them as appropriate; at other times I would leave copies of this book in the waiting room. Often patients would comment about one poem or another, usually if they saw themselves or their conflicts within. These poems or sketches were drawn to help patients see themselves and the process of insight-oriented psychotherapy more clearly.

LOVE

This book of poems on Love, from a collection of a Psychiatrist’s Notebooks written parallel to my 30 years of practice in psychiatry, is a diverse collection of works ranging from serious poetry, light verse and doggerel, to epigrams, graphics, photographs, drawings, and paintings. This poetry notebook shows the range of experiences from attraction, affection, passion, tenderness, longing, leaving, to raw sexuality, perversion, merger, and raunchiness.

NEW MUSIC

2005 MP3 Music Diary

This DVD contains over 20 hours of MP3 music [69 free-improv pieces] that I recorded in 2005 in my home studio on a Kawai grand piano and on my Kurzweil keyboard. The music evolves from the first notes I play on the piano. Like a conversation with the piano, I listen and something new is suggested. Sometimes the piece is built on specific chord changes like a jazz musician improvising. But most of time I spontaneously compose the piece based on motifs I invent and chord sequences I create. Each time I attempt to do something a little different from the last time. Like speaking with a friend, nothing is pre-planned but evolves through careful listening. Over time I have developed a specific music vocabulary and grammar that has become my piano signature. The dates [year-month-day] show when the music was created so the disc becomes a music diary of the past year.

NEW BOOKS

Check out the new paperback books now available at http://www.lulu.com/johngyoungmd Cover art by John G. Young, M.D.

In this series of essays John G. Young, M.D., a board certified psychiatrist, returns to his roots in philosophy to examine the relationships between biological evolution and cognitive evolution. He begins at the beginning, exploring origin myths. Then using general systems theories, he moves through evolution to find similarities of biological change and selection as it points towards a better understanding of creative/innovative approaches.

In this series of essays, John G. Young, M.D. board certified in psychiatry, focuses on some of the interrelationships between psychotherapeutic awareness and creative expression. It extends the discussion begun in the book, EVOLUTIONARY CREATIVITY: Selection in the Creative Process, but moves from the universal creative processes of our cultural evolution to the personal ways we experience our own creativity.

Will and Won't: Autonomy and Creativity Blocks
To become original creators, artists present themselves and their unique points of view. They go beyond the skill level, developing themselves as much, if not more than, their techniques. They go beyond refining approaches learned from others for they originate something new. To create at this level they need more than techniques and talent, they must have courage and imagination. When artists have the courage to express themselves, their understanding of the world, rather than repeat the formulas of the past, they become the originators.

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Wellness and Psychological Fitness

Stress Reduction, Sleep, and Insight
In the first section you learn how to use deep muscle relaxation, enhanced breathing techniques, guided imagery, and self-hypnosis to reach new levels of calmness, comfort and relaxation. Listen to this section two times a day to reduce stress and develop the habit of relaxation. The second part takes you on an imaginary journey to meet someone who can answer your questions and take you further on your creative adventure. You become more aware of your inner resources. The last section shows you how to overcome insomnia and fall off to a deep sleep. Eventually you can let go of the CD and quietly repeat the words “Let go and sleep” and fall off to sleep on your own. John G. Young, M.D.’s soothing voice and the keyboard playing takes you on this peaceful and enlightening experience.

A More Effective, Creative You
In these rapidly changing times, creative and innovative approaches are mandatory. Psychological wellness in individuals and organizations occurs when you stop applying yesterday's solutions to today's problems. You obsolete your organization before others do it for you. You change before you have to. This talk, A More Effective, Creative You, presented by John G. Young, M.D. shows you how to live your life as a creative adventure and how to develop maximum effectiveness using creative and innovative approaches. It is followed by Creative Meditation that allows you to ponder some of these points and bring them into your life.

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