Amy Jackson- Impulse and action

Earlier on in the semester we talked about impulse and action. Humans have a space between these two, while animals do not. Animals have an instincts and they act on their impulses. However, we have the free will to make decisions. When we do not respond to impulse, art emerges. This is interesting to me because it means that art comes about by doing something outside of the usual. The normal reaction when one has an impulse is to think about the action and then decide whether or not to go through with it. To not respond to the impulse means to ignore it. It is not comfortable, it is different. Can art come about when responding to impulse?

I am reminded of conversations I often have with people about art. When they find out I am an art major, the reaction is usually something along the lines of how they are not creative enough to make art. I don't think this is the case. Maybe everyone has the potential to make art, they just have to go against their impulse. It stretches the person to do something they are not used to. This is why animals cannot make art.

Also mentioned in class was the quote, "Ancient art and ritual...arise out of a common human impulse." Maybe this means that art started out as a reaction to impulse but later transformed to something that was different than a natural reaction to something.