Domestic Life Through the Lens: 1. While the Baby Sleeps

 

Sarah Barr. While the Baby Sleeps. C-print. 2005. 

In the fall 2005, I began making photographs for a series that eventually would be called Some Very Short Films. That spring, we had moved with our two young children to a single home just outside the city. Until then, I had only lived in Philly rowhomes and it was an adjustment to move into a house  - as my family likes to say - with windows on all sides. Having unpacked most of the boxes and slowed down on ambitious do-it-yourself projects, I found myself contemplating my next body of work as I finished the dishes and wiped the kitchen table. I noticed that these quiet, repetitive chores while the children slept liberated my mind from my inner critic and my thoughts began to flow.

This phenomenon is backed by research. Chores can lead to creative problem-solving as noted in a Psychology Today article discussing the benefits of routine daily tasks:

“As researchers state here in a study entitled, "Inspired by Distraction: Mind Wandering Facilitates Creative Incubation," doing undemanding tasks allows the mind to wander where it will. Your mind gets a break and allows you to consider old problems with new eyes. In fact, undemanding tasks stimulated more creative ideas than demanding tasks or just resting.”

And my mind did wander unimpeded, exploring themes of childhood memories, how photographs affect memory, creative thought processes, geographical identity, inner life, motherhood, vigilance, safety, the repetition and rhythm of my actions, documenting daily life instead of significant events, solitude—all without the interference of my inner critic.

Will Burns’ description of detaching from reality to explore our inquisitive creativity illustrates my experience with my inner critic who barely lets an idea reach infancy before editing it away. In his article for Forbes magazine, “Multiple Creativity Studies Suggest: Creating Our Reality Requires Detaching From It,” Burns reports on multiple creativity studies which suggest “that there are two forces in our brains that are in a constant battle: logic and creativity. The logical force is critical for our functional survival in the now.” He argues that our creativity is critical for our survival in the future but usually is subdued by the immediate needs of logic.

To be continued in Domestic Life Through the Lens: 2. Duane Michals, Death Comes to the Old Lady