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I haven't read the article yet, but I will say that I agree with Pirate Bill, and I do think that people's creativity is often sparked by necessity or limitations.
That said, I also agree with Virginia Woolfe (paraphrasing, of course) that an empty stomach often yields work about one's empty stomach, and a well fed stomach can transcend. She much preferred quail and wine to hardship - heh.
Hamsun wrote his novel Hunger based on his own impoverished life, but it was written after he'd already come through the other side - not during his period of suffering.
To each his own. Some thrive under hard circumstances and some cannot even get out of bed. Studies that link creativity to mental illness often show that those artists were less productive when they were at their worst, and most productive during happier times.
But, going back to my initial paragraph, I think necessity and limitations can yield to sudden bursts of innovation and creativity. And affluence can lead to a whole lotta crap adorning US museum walls, as evidenced by one of our own decades of decadence.
I say let's start our own World's Fair. Who's with me?
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