Mike's thoughts on Communication

Over time it became apparent communication, art and creativity are all one. I want to see beyond myself through photography, and it was through this course that I learned it happens everyday through ordinary conversation – if you search for it - if you inspire it.

Week 15 Entry – Final Thoughts.

I entered the course with a phenomenological view towards art, and the notion that creativity is the forge of human understanding. I viewed artistic expression as only one aspect of the creative act. Looking back, it should have been easier to expand communication in the same way, but it proved more difficult.

Language is a shared construct.

I think of myself as living “in culture.” It is external and something I navigate every day. I tend to think of language and communication as something internal that I use to express my thoughts. I’m now thinking I live “in language” and that communication is the interpretative process used to form meaning. I’m seeing language as an outside structure of shared symbols, but I still want to consider my interpretations and expressions as unique and as my own.

Communication, or interpretation, is the forge of human understanding, and it lets my life unfold. Communication is the foundation of all academic fields and culture. Without communication there are no behavioral sciences, or the humanities, and there are certainly no perspectives.  Learning how communication shapes these fields is more important than what the fields generate. Philosophy highlights on-going dialogues reflective of competing opinions, and it continually generates new insights and new ways to speak. My understanding of art, creativity, communication and literature is literally the culmination of 3,000 years of dialogue, and at its core is the exploration of the human experience.

I live in a perspective of time.

Time has become a recurring theme. I can conceptually view myself as the culmination of my past projected against the future. However, my past is fluid, malleable and always in a constant state of flux. My future informs my past, and I’m continually reconstituting myself as I consider new views and experiences.

I’ve been using the fusion of photography and academic study to broaden my horizons. However, I can improve my communication by learning how to open spaces for others. There is no fundamental difference between art, writing and speech. The more we expand our horizons the more we self-actualize. Strong communication does not reside in what is said, but in the meaning it forms through on-going dialogues and reflection interpretations.