ColumnHow did you pass the time on your last intercontinental flight?

Improvisation is the hallmark of a creative mind. It is the practice of creating in the moment, and in response to one’s immediate environment and inner expression. In comedian Tina Fey’s memoire, Bossy Pants, Fey’s rules for improvisation are simple:

Always say, “Yes, and–”
That’s right, the word: and.

That one word pushes the creative process forward.

For her continuing series, Seat Assignment: Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style, Nina Katchadourian spontaneously put a tissue paper toilet cover seat cover over her head and took a picture in the mirror using her cellphone.

She says of the result:

The image evoked 15th-century Flemish portraiture. I decided to add more images made in this mode and planned to take advantage of a long-haul flight from San Francisco to Auckland, guessing that there were likely to be long periods of time when no one was using the lavatory on the 14-hour flight. I made several forays to the bathroom from my aisle seat, and by the time we landed I had a large group of new photographs entitled Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style.

In case we find ourselves in need of an art history review, here are a few images to jog our memories of what Flemish head ornamentation looked like.

Admittedly Katchadourian’s stylings don’t necessarily provoke fashion do’s. But her creativity provokes yes, and that’s funny, clever, and considerably more productive than the media hangovers created by too many in-flight movies that usually accompany jetlag.

Inspired by a post on Petapixel.

Eco, trends, art, creativity and how they tumble through social media to shape culture fascinate EcoSalon columnist Dominique Pacheco. Her trends blog, mixingreality, speaks to these topics daily, and here at EcoSalon, she takes a weekly look at the intersection of eco and art. We call it heARTbeat.

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