There is a third motivator for displaying that we have not previously acknowledged; it is secondary to generativity but might be of great importance in drawing people to both preservation and display. The motive is the sheer joy of being around objects of beauty or historical significance. This might, for example, be a motivator for people who seek to preserve a wilderness area because they can savor time in these majestic settings. We know that the basis for some of the criticism made about those who advocate for natural preservation is that they are primarily interested in setting aside these areas for their own enjoyment; other people don’t have the money or time to engage in a trek through the Patagonian paradise or journey into an African jungle to observe guerillas in their natural habitat. While such criticism might be justified, we believe that pure Generativity Three is at play in efforts to preserve and display.
We are reminded of an initiative in Denver, Colorado, during the 1980s when museums, the symphony orchestra, and educational institutions focused for an extended period of time on displaying the artwork, performing the music, and offering public lectures about the history and cultural context of a single societal moment. This blending of various media is typically initiated when a city or nation is celebrating its centennial or bi-centennial year. These collaborative ventures often involve not only multiple media, but also the interweaving of several different generativity three acts (parades, consecrations, gatherings of people, an abundance of storytelling). At these moments in time, one might even conceive of an entire community being caught up in acts of Generativity Three. This is clearly something more than self-indulgence.
We conclude this reflection on display by turning to the smaller, but often just as important, acts that occurs in our homes. This is one of the most accessible acts that can be identified and explored during a coaching session. Specifically, we establish home “alters” where those things we most value are displayed. Many years ago, Ruesch and Keyes (1969) wrote about such alters and noted that they are typically vertical in design with multiple shelves and display such things as pictures, favorite books, art objects, and memorability from trips taken many years ago. In this way, we see the clear connection between display-based generativity three and the values-oriented generativity three to which we turn shortly. As we can point out during a coaching session, that about which we care deeply is often that which we want other people to witness and admire. This is a form of generativity that is oriented to openness and sharing.
By contrast, we see the non-generative actions taken by some wealthy people who purchase a major work of art and then refuse to exhibit it in public; the painting or sculpture might be preserved, but it remains of “lesser value” because it can never be fully appreciated by the community. Preservation without display is a form of stagnation. We can return to our example of the Gardner Museum in Boston. A famous art theft occurred several decades ago when more than a dozen major works of art were stolen from the museum. None of these art treasurers have ever been recovered. They are probably all now being held and viewed in secret by wealthy, private collectors—exemplifying stagnation as well as criminality. A related question can be asked of a client by their coach: “what is it of value that you DON’T show other people? Why don’t you show it?” These provocative questions can yield important insights regarding what we do and do not share with other people. These insights are of particular value if framed in the interpersonal relations model called The Johari Window—which one of us has recently updated (Bergquist, 2023a).
