Robert Genn on the confabulation of art
Painter Robert Genn notes a definition of confabulation is “the confusion of imagination with memory, and/or the confusion of true memories with false memories.”
In his article Marvelous confabulation, he writes, “Perhaps it’s only with the addition of confabulation that art delivers its wizardry and magic.
“Early researchers, such as psychologist Daniel Berlyne (1972), linked confabulation with amnesia and abnormal brain chemistry.
‘Nowadays it’s more pleasantly harnessed to the marvelous potential of the human imagination. Fantastic and spontaneous outpourings of irrelevant associations and bizarre ideas come quite naturally to ordinary creative folks….
“Art without confabulation is the plain goods. Confabulatory enhancement can come from an idiosyncratic style or stroke, or from some happenstance slice from an individualist’s hand.
“It can also come from the brain. Ancillary ideas, metaphors and the embellishments of truth add interest and depth to otherwise standard work.”
Continued in article Marvelous confabulation, by Robert Genn.
