Creativity Reimagined as Corporate Value in Modern Ideology

The 1956 biopic 'Lust for Life' portrays Vincent van Gogh as a tortured, romantic hero, contrasting sharply with today's concept of creativity, which is framed as a synthetic idea central to business and economic growth. This shift is evident in the rhetoric of the creative class, popularized by Richard Florida's 2004 book 'The Rise of the Creative Class', and in events like the Motion Picture Association of America's 2013 Creativity Conference, which gathered leaders to discuss creativity's role in the economy. Creativity is now often viewed as a form of value creation aimed at generating shareholder wealth, with terms like 'design thinking' applied to management theory for efficiency. This transformation reflects a broader ideological shift where creativity is fetishized in corporate contexts while state support for the arts has been cut under austerity economics, devaluing older notions of cultural value for the public good. The article critiques how advertising and the creative class rhetoric repurpose artistic ideas for neoliberal ends, positioning creativity as a competitive advantage rather than an innate quality. It argues that this new myth of creativity attacks existing forms, with creative consultants channeling disruptive mantras into corporate boardrooms, fueling globalized business models. The piece was first published in December 2013, highlighting the tension between traditional artistic creativity and its corporate co-option.