Month: March 2019

“All great art contains at its center contemplation, a dynamic contemplation.” — Susan Sontag, Writer

In the process of becoming an artist, in taking the steps required to create, we must always first start off with the acquisition of knowledge. This often takes on the initial form of discovery of data, or less mechanically speaking, information that is new to us. That’s the first step. But as important as information is, it has no power beyond what it is — mere facts or observations — unless it’s used to become something more.

“To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous.” — Confucius, Philosopher

Acquiring more knowledge, first by looking, then by seeing, we begin to take in the outside and internalize the experience. This is when study and analysis take form. We contemplate about things, first the object/subject itself, and then its relationships with the world around it, including its relationship with us individually. As we do so, we begin to transition from being complete bystanders of life to persons aware of its presence. This forces us to stretch beyond our biases, our prejudices. And as we begin to see truth, we humbly expose our ignorance and accept the possibility of being wrong. This is what art demands of us everyday; a constantly peeling away of a skin that has outlived its usefulness.

“… arrogance was the first obstacle.” — Toni Morrison, Writer

For example, if we can’t draw, paint or animate an elephant, our first step is to check out what an elephant is. What it looks like, how it’s built, and how it moves. We might learn what it eats, where it lives and why it does what it does on a daily basis. We might also choose to dig deeper and study the intricacies of its anatomy, its evolutionary biology and even its historical significance as related to mankind. As we learn more, we begin to understand more and appreciate more its existence, its being. A connection develops between the viewer and the subject, and our minds and our souls become enriched by the process.

The next point in the relationship, after consuming the information and the repeated process of continued discovery and rehearsal, we turn that information into actionable knowledge. Longer term memory forms and we become both more physically and emotionally engaged. We being to duplicate and create. This stage is exciting; it marks the turn from being a mere fan of the craft to being a student of it. It’s a great thing to be a student because a student of “things” is a launching point to being a student of life. Sincere learners are almost always enthusiastic, open-minded and humble — the dissolution of the self almost a necessary precondition for discovering truth. We should always be students of one thing or another.

“Forms give birth to other forms, constantly changing into something else.” — Joan Miró, Artist

As we go further into our studies, we move closer and closer to becoming dutiful practitioners of our craft. With time, we become professionals — dedicated craftsmen who day-in and day-out develop, execute and hone their craft with the goal of precision and excellence. But striving towards this requires yet another transformation: the testing of our creative capacity. We don’t become artists without imagination.

“Information will never replace illumination.” Susan Sontag, Writer

I can not overstate the importance of using imagination especially in the modern age that we live in. With our near constant exposure to photography and live-action video, we’ve become skewed in our seeing. Technology’s interpretation of “reality” is its own and one far too easy to blindly accept as truth. In other words, not only is photographic source material possibly misleading, it limits our imagination when we come to depend on it exclusively. Get too used to swimming in pools and you lose the courage or the desire to swim in the ocean.

As creatives, each day we must strive forward to learn more, both about the world, and perhaps more importantly, about ourselves. We find out that, with experience, the world is far more expansive and complex than we can ever possibly know. The data keeps on coming — this is the spirit of science and the spirit of mankind. Discovery drives us. And in turn, that which exists prompts our imagination, which takes us beyond our current state of understanding to another realm, beyond the self-conscious rational world to that of the dream world, a world of the magical and one of hope. I suspect this is why us artists are here at all — to inspire hope and, to imagine possibilities.

“Against my better nature I’m forced to be optimistic.” — Robert Sapolsky, Neuroscientist

“To know one way is to know all ways.” — Miyamoto Musashi, Samurai/Philosopher

In modern life, there isn’t much time given to proper preparation or honest reflection. In fact, most young artists, including some professionals, often skip one or both. The obsession is on doing — being productive and achieving maximum efficiency, the absolute mantra of technology and corporate business. This is all fine and dandy if it didn’t come with the price of losing our personal touch in the work, real growth in skill and understanding, as well as sacrificing what is, in my humble opinion, the greatest reason for doing art: the sense of fulfillment that comes with doing things the slow, attentive, and dutiful way.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” — Abraham Lincoln, US President

Preparation:

We’ve talked a lot about preparation here, how important it is, and how it can help in the process of creation. We know that it aligns us to our goals and sets out a path upon which to take. But being prepared is about more than just having a plan. It entails also a sense of readiness that incorporates both the mental and physical. In live performance arts such as acting, music and sports, artists are first practitioners — they acquire, practice and rehearse the skills and actions they need during the performance. Much can be learned from these creatives as their routines set in motion the power of muscle memory and sensory acuity needed to excel when it counts. Although the process of visual crafts such as film, animation, and painting compare more with the assembly act of designing and building architecture, visual artists would also achieve greater likelihood of success if they adopt a similar “performance” mentality because each day on the job is, in a way, a performance. We not only build our art this way, we build ourselves. There is no “undo” button in life, only do-overs.

“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” ― Carl Gustav Jung, Psychologist

Decision-Action:

Ultimately, we have to do the work. But we should only act after we’ve developed some idea of what we’re doing or where we’re going. Goals matter. This is not a bad idea when it comes to creating art or living a life. Unfortunately (or fortunately) life is unpredictable, so therefore our plans and preparations are only just that — plans and preparations — they’re not predictions or assurances of a better future; results are never guaranteed. In the doing — deciding and then taking immediate physical action — comes the execution of all we know and an expression of our most inner selves. Here, instinct rules; there is no time for thinking. This is the test of all that we know up to that point. It’s also a test of our persistence and discipline. It’s the real thing. Success or failure loses its significance. Our attention is only on the doing; there’s no ego involved. Like a Zen student, we learn that only by giving in completely to the moment of action can we carry out our actions with honesty and full-focus; by being detached from desire there’s purity of attention behind the effort. It’s both an act of faith and one of liberation.

“You worry yourself unnecessarily. Put the thought of hitting right out of your mind!” ― Eugen Herrigel, Zen in the Art of Archery

Reflection:

Upon completion of a task, project or performance, an artist must take stock of things. This is more than just looking at the results but analyzing both the big picture and breaking down the details of what went well and what didn’t. Here’s where we let the left hemisphere — the analytical/rational side of us — respond to the outcomes as objectively and non-emotionally as possible. Of course, an allotted time must pass between a project’s completion and the post-mortem, but this step is important. Else we can’t learn from our mistakes and failures, and thus, inevitably repeat the same efforts and achieve the same disappointing results. We all know that doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results is the very definition of insanity. Only by taking the time to truly reflect, on both the results and the process taken, can we make a reasonable assessment on the entirety of the experience so that we can then properly make the necessary adjustments. It is wise to take this quiet time as a moment for contemplation.

“An unexamined life is not worth living” — Socrates, Philosopher

In summary, no more needs to be said other than the fact that we must go through the ENTIRE procedure of preparation, decision-action and reflection in order to progress in our craft. None of the steps can be ignored or by-passed and to be locked onto any one stage for too long can be paralyzing. So be careful of either automation or clever shortcuts; it might be tempting to skip or skimp on necessary actions to be faster, but in the long run there’s a huge price to pay — you become more ignorant (less skilled), lazier, and ironically, slower.

By a lie a man throws away and, as it were, annihilates his dignity as a man.” — Immanuel Kant, Philosopher