Creative derivatives the poetics of derivation and its formative assumptions

Abstract

The creative derivatives phrase has in itself two terms: creativity (lat. creatus - having been created) and derivation (lat. derivatio - derivation, departure). Creativity presupposes the realisation of the new, the non-existent. Derivation, on the other hand, means transition, formation or arrangement. A derivative is what is derived or comes from something else (like gasoline which is a petroleum derivative). Creative derivations would therefore be processes in which a new is derived from the existing; procedures of rearranging the existing, conversion (transitioning) from one system to another. There are two basic requirements that are necessary for the realisation of these and such actions: an adequate poetic means and a common denominator of two or more phenomena, i.e. two or more systems that are brought into contact. We define the poetic means here in Jakobson's terms as the axis of combination (syntagm) and the axis of selection (paradigm). The paper systematises the poetic possibilities of artistic modeling, which is based on the template of already existing works of art. Different versions of the approach to modern and postmodern practice of taking over the already existing form and content aspects of a work of art are briefly explained and described. When choosing examples, the author adheres to the principle of representativeness instead of compendial comprehensiveness. The outcome of the paper should be twofold. On the one hand, the aim is to get to know and understand the poetics of taking over, which is one of the preconditions for aesthetic pleasure and cognitive insight when encountering works of art of that provenance. On the other hand, the work should be useful to students in their own creative work. The poetic means exhibited in it should facilitate a creative approach to the inexhaustible source of tradition.

Keywords

• creativity
• derivatives
• assuming
• poetics
• syntagm
• paradigm