GENERATING VISUAL ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS AMONG THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF ART AND DESIGN IN NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY, AWKA: A SURVEY

Abstract

The inspiration originated from the Latin word inspirare which means “to breathe into”. It is an unintentional burst of creativity in literary, musical, or visual art and other artistic endeavours. Artistic Inspirations are what artists and designers cannot ignore because for an art piece to be outstanding and have a story to tell, it must be inspired by something. Human beings have been creating visual art since the very beginning of human existence for innumerable reasons. Sometimes some artists find it very difficult to be inspired especially beginners, when confronted with an artistic assignment or job offer, while there are some that it is the opposite. This problem is usually encountered most times in an artistic career. In every artistic/ creative practice, there may be sometimes when the artist or student feels that he/she does not have any idea on how to approach a particular project, work, or assignment. Also this problem have not been given proper attention by some scholars. This study utilized the descriptive survey research design. This is a mixed method research (quantitative and qualitative) it made use of percentages in the interpretation of data. It hinged on Semiotics, Constructivism, and Psychoanalysis theories as the framework. This chapter tackles the various ways in which an artist/ designer can trigger creativity for art and design making by finding some methods whereby some could get inspired to carry out their works and also recommends that they should not be discouraged when they find it difficult to be inspired but follow the recommended ways.