My first Creative Mastermind is Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts. His comic strip, Peanuts, set the stage for one of the most well known characters in animation history: Charlie Brown. If you haven't read any of the Peanuts comics or seen the TV episodes, then you should because they're rather funny! Charles Schulz designed these children characters who, despite being kids, often display characteristics of adults. To help illustrate this, check out this YouTube clip from "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown"- especially between 1:00-2:00, the little girl Sally (Charlie Brown's sister) gets mad at Linus (Charlie Brown's best friend) for missing out on Trick-Or-Treating.
"I'LL SUE! YOU OWE ME RESTITUTION!!!" Good lord, have you ever heard children talk like that? She gets angry at him like a wife belting it out with her man for eating the last piece of chocolate in the house! But I digress, like I said funny stuff. I remember reading one time that Schulz based these characters on some of his own childhood memories. I could see that being the case, I mean how many of us have felt like Charlie Brown- shy, unwanted at times, and picked on. Schulz passed away in 2000 at the age of 77, but his legacy lives on to this day. Especially now that we're entering the holiday season, you'll more than likely notice Charlie Brown and Snoopy merchandise in the stores.
So what makes Charles Schulz a Creative Mastermind? Well several things factor in for this selection. Growing up watching these cartoons, I am very fond of his illustration and cartoon designs. He keeps his artwork very simple and basic. Even in the clip I showed, it's very basic illustration. You don't see a lot of texture, 3-D drawing, or complex animation. It's all just simple, relaxed cartooning. In many ways it's as if you were reading the comics in motion. Also, I like the creativity in the personalities of these characters. Each of the characters Schulz created stands out and makes sure that you remember them easily. Charlie Brown is an identifiable character because of his style, personality, and easily recognized presentation. Linus is often remember as the wise child who carries a blue blanket everywhere. Lucy is the bossy girl, but also tends to flirt with Charlie Brown and some of the other minor characters. They're all lovable, creative, and brilliant examples of Charles Schulz' talent to Illustration and Cartoons.
CREATIVE MASTERMIND #2: William Mumler, here we go! This one is a little bit more debatable in terms of the credibility of his work. Mumler was an American Photographer born in 1832 in Boston, and he became famous as a "spirit photographer". Think I'm crazy yet? I stated earlier we are approaching Halloween and I haven't highlighted a photographer yet, so bare with me! William Mumler was one of the first photographers in history to have claimed to have visual evidence of ghosts and paranormal activity. He told people that he possessed the ability to photograph pictures of people with the spirit of their passed loved ones.The most famous of his pictures is displayed here.
It is a picture of Mary Todd Lincoln and what appears to be the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, her husband and U.S president assassinated in 1865. The debate today is whether his photographs are real, or faked. Based on the research I found for this post, it is believed that his pictures are fake. During his life, he was accused of fraud and tried in court for this crime. He was not found guilty, but his career was ruined. Not only are his pictures creepy (regardless fake or real), but the idea has sparked a most creative mindset throughout the paranormal community and those who try to document activity. Since his development of "spirit photography", it has questioned people to wonder can someone actually document paranormal events? For more details on that, I highly recommend shows like Paranormal State, Ghost Hunters, etc.
Despite the questioning of Mumler's work, I credit him as a Creative Mastermind because his idea of this paranormal photography provided comfort to those who grieved for their loved ones. I heard about this gentlemen while watching "Mysteries at the Museum" on the Travel Channel, and the host talked about how in Mary Todd's situation, having the picture was a way of telling her that Abraham was still with her. It could be comforting and creepy at the same time, but if it made her feel relieved and happy then that's all anyone could ask for. I don't get the impression that he meant to be deceptive to anyone, but if this truly was faked, then I feel Mumler had quite the creative idea of placing ghostly images on top of recent photographs. Keep in mind back in the late 1800s they didn't have Adobe Photoshop and while it was fairly easy to fake photographs, the concept was still pretty elusive to the public. I have to give him credit for developing creative use of photography and getting away with it. Regardless of the evidence, still pretty neat to see especially in the early years of photography!
So there you have it folks! Congrats to Charles Schulz and William Mumler, they'll never see this post, but at least they won't go unforgotten or unknown! REMEMBER, if you know of a Creative Mastermind share your thoughts with The Creative Cabana by leaving a comment. Thank you for spending some time with me here at The Creative Cabana!!! 'Til next time have a wonderful day!
*Images used in this post were pulled from Google Images. Peanuts and "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" is the propety of Charles Schulz. The video clip used came from a YouTube user with no copyright infringement intended.The image of Abraham Lincoln's ghost is the property of Photographer William Mumler. Paranormal State is the propety of A&E network, Ghost Hunters is property of the Sy-fy network, and Mysteries at the Museum belongs to The Travel Channel Network. No Copyright Infringement Intended
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