More than just a lust for life: a systems view of Iggy Pop’s creativity

Abstract

This paper discusses how Iggy Pop’s creativity has been the outcome of a systemic process shaped by the interaction between Iggy Pop as the principal creative agent with the evolving domain and field of Rock music. Iggy Pop’s innovative impact on Rock music over fifty years is explained here by means of applying a systems view of creativity. Iggy Pop transformed the domain of Rock music by operating within the simultaneously constraining and enabling factors of the structure inherent to Rock music songwriting and production. This paper eventually elucidates how creativity and innovation in Iggy Pop’s body of work is the outcome of his adherence to as well as departure from traditions of form and structure inherent to Rock music songwriting and production.

Keywords:

• Creativity
• Iggy Pop
• Rock music
• Punk
• music industry
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rama Venkatasawmy

Rama Venkatasawmy is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the School of Creative Industries, University of Newcastle, Australia. He previously taught in the Bachelor of Communication program at the University of Newcastle’s offshore campus in Singapore.