Category: Discussions/Essays

The Giving Spirit

Bleu Triptych, I,II, III. Joan Miro’s work always seem to carry a beautiful and generous spirit.

“Art is the giving by each man of his evidence to the world. Those who wish to give, love to give, discover the pleasure of giving. Those who give are tremendously strong.” — Robert Henri, Artist

The generosity of spirit that the artist has to expend is often ummeasurable. He commits significant resources for his education, puts in long years of study, and often accepts very poor renumeration or job security in order to gain experience, meanwhile competing tirelessly with those around him, always weary of the up-and-coming younger, and now cheaper talent, to replace him as he matures. This reality makes it very hard for many to work and stay working in the arts. And this is so even in a booming art/entertainment economy. What happens when such economic fortuity changes?

Chuck Jones genius. From Warner Bros Looney Tunes.

There are those who give and there are those who take.

I’ve never understood how companies (and their representatives) can ask so much of their employees but give back so little in return. To demand of them increasing quality and quota on tighter and tighter deadlines, offer less and less security all the while imposing ever more restrictions on their creativity at the same time. Well, perhaps I do; the answer is likely greed and indifference. Human (i.e. worker) productivity has never been greater in human history and the wealth gap between the investor (owner of capital) and that of the employee (labour) has also never seen such a wide chasm. And this will not stop as long as a society, meaning all people in general, continue to condone, if not endorse its continuance. The price is not just the ruining of the many crafts that lend beauty and meaning to our world, or even our individual mental sanity, but perhaps the survival of our species. No one wins in the long run. Are we happy to make advertising (propaganda) our ultimate artform and guide to living? How much more can we drain from our resources, both human and environmental? Systems and societies that become overly stressed fall and fall hard; gross inequality — large gaps in relative wealth — create immeasurable stress that taxes everything. This when study after study has shown that the obsession with constant and increasing accumulation (after a certain point of comfort) gives none of us any real reprieve from our unhappiness. Honestly, if you’ve got many millions of dollars, will more money really solve your problems, problems which are clearly more likely to be psychological than physical? And what about the spiritual or ethical implications that we so often ignore if they’re not staring us directly in the face?

The most dangerous thing for the artist is to become too tightly concerned with success — money, fame, respectability (conformity) — these things turn one’s energy away from creativity and the joy from making art. Provided he reaches a level of decency in material comforts, it’s best to keep those abstract preoccupations at bay. The reason is that the obsession over those superficial concerns blunts the sensitivity of the creator who needs every ounce of energy to observe, listen and imagine possibilities. Furthermore, conventional success is always intimately tied to the aspect of time. Accumulation alone isn’t ever enough as we must also get it all as fast as we can. We’re always rushing because that’s what we’re told to do. This explains the lure of formulas and shortcuts, the very things that bypass real learning and understanding not to mention real innovation. But an allowance for time is necessary for honest perception. Time and space give our minds clarity and health, and it is only a healthy emptied mind that attains the high level of sensory acuity that enables him to pick out what is new, unique and beautiful, not just in art but in everything in life. The artist studies to appreciate, and then, to germinate ideas from which he can cultivate into fully-bloomed discoveries, discoveries that benefit not just himself, but countless others in perpetuity. Think of the joy people today still get out of great music, architecture, movies and painting created years and years ago.

“Those who express even a little of themselves never become old-fashioned. The only true modern movement is a frank expression of self.” — Robert Henri

Hence, we need a powerful will to do what we do. The artist must keep a generous spirit. For it is the only way to live — with fervor, dedication, and love in all that he does and in each moment that he does them. For only then can the need for expression be satisfied. The closed off and repressed individual suffers unbearable psychological damage. An artist can withstand ridicule, rejection, even poverty, but he can not ignore his creative impulses. Each person needs freedom from conformity. It is his way of staying new, alive and relevant. His art is personal. His life is personal and not “just business.”

Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is a timeless piece of art that never looks old.

In closing, I wish to leave you with this insightful yet prescient quote from Robert Henri. It serves as a warning, especially given our technological advancements that make our impact as a species so remarkable yet also so dangerous. His hope, and mine, is that we might begin to understand that in examining our relationships — with our craft, with each other, and with the planet — we see the whole and vice versa. For, as cliché as it sounds, we ARE all connected.

“We have a very little idea and sight of big things, but a splendid idea of little ones. This is the reason that war could occur. Such evil growths as its cause would otherwise be foreseen. People have not looked largely at life, mainly because our education drowns us in detail. We don’t see the why of it all. Even the superficial thing is important if you can see way beyond it. This is true of painting. Much can be said with a few elements if you can see each in its place.” — Robert Henri

Capacity vs Accumulation

Dumbo by Bill Tytla. Every scene done by the great Bill Tytla showcased, by default, his uncanny ability to communicate emotion beautifully through shape, line and movement.

“No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.” — Alan Watts, Philosopher

What does it mean to learn? To understand? Is it as simple as accumulating more and more information? Or perhaps maybe it has more to do with actually understanding the material that is at hand?

Today, artists — and especially animators — are always searching for more and more tips, tricks or technical scripts to improve their work. It’s normal to be looking for techniques and tools that might make the job easier or allow us to be more creative, and it’s also understandable to feel insecure and lacking, especially since we’re all essentially living in a very competitive globalized market economy. Unfortunately, this kind of mindset only leads one to constantly chase the craft, rather than pay attention to it.

An artist at work is a beautiful sight. Henri Matisse designing a mural for the Vence Chapel.

The purpose behind our art — which parallels the purpose in living to a degree — is to enjoy the process while also making some kind of meaningful contribution. This is often forgotten in the rather repetitive nature of common work and our conditioning to be ambitious, not to mention the basic need for survival. As noted here before, there are only a few fundamental ways to learn anything: analysis, explanation, demonstration, imitation, and repetition. The accumulation of knowledge itself is not enough — and can even be hindrance — if the necessary commitment that follows the acquisition of knowledge is not made. Anything new needs to be studied, understood, and practiced to become useful. This explains why students who jump from course to course, teacher to teacher, or school to school, don’t realize that most of the information is mostly the same stuff regurgitated — only the approach might differ. Anyone who tells us that he alone has the secret to success is clearly trying to pull a fast one on us.

“The type of thing I’ve had the most luck with is working on it, wrestling with it, scratching on the drawings, flipping them until the character’s doing what I conceive of it doing.” — Frank Thomas, Animator

Seeing is the start.

When young artists come to me for assistance, I primarily work to alter the way they look at the information, first by showing and then explaining to them why they’ve not yet understood such seemingly simple concepts as weight, depth, or overlapping action on their animations. What they soon realize upon our sessions is that it’s their inability to see and their lack of effort and time put into understanding the actual fundamentals that hinders them. Oftentimes, having been told or having done one applicable yet rudimentary exercise on the subject, students think they’ve actually learned the concept. Sometimes it’s even worse, having “passed” a course on the subject, he is deluded; the false impression of competence a passing grade or a piece of paper gives can easily decieve. So, like an athlete who wonders why his game seems to be lacking, what he needs to do is take the moment to look and see — and acknowledge to himself honestly — that he’s badly out of shape, can’t move well and lacks real strength or endurance. For the animator, the parallel often lies in the very poor knowledge and understanding of basics like anatomical structure and body mechanics. I also believe that many animators really don’t understand basic design or acting as well as they think they do. After all, almost everybody thinks they have “good taste.” Humility frees the mind and gives us strength. Knowing that you don’t know is the first step to building capacity.

“It’s a very difficult medium… You have to understand movement, which in itself is quite a study.” — Milt Kahl, Animator

The necessity of patience.

The other big hindrance to learning is a lack of patience. Skills don’t jump overnight. Just as muscles take time to grow despite our pounding away at the gym, the brain requires time to breakthrough our previous lack of seeing or clarity. Rushing gets us no where faster. One cannot create anything good or exciting without first a clear vision nor can he fix or repair what is wrong when he cannot identify the problem. This is purely psychological, of course; once the artist relaxes his desire to learn or improve quickly, his mind also relaxes and opens up thus expanding his capacity to understand new concepts or see old ones in a new way.

Building one’s capacity — which is both the understanding and the ability to apply — is always more important than the mere accumulation of more knowledge. Besides, most information and knowledge is already out there. If we’re talking about character animation, the great books written by legendary artists such as Preston Blair, Eric Goldberg, Richard Williams, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston are more than sufficient to derive most of the important principles and techniques on how to animate well. Add to them the hoard of excellent books on anatomy and near-instant access to online demos, video references and countless animated movies to study, there really isn’t anything new under the sun that would constitute giving anyone an “edge” over his peers.

How well do you know the human body? Anatomical movement of the human torso by Gottfried Bammes.

I think it’s better always to keep things simple; see what fundamental issue you struggle with and go address it. Look at the core of the problem. Find the valid and applicable information, then actually try to understand it by studying it and practicing it. Seek a reputable teacher/mentor if that is desired. Copy if it helps. Trace if we must. Doing so is not cheating if it’s done to learn. (Copying and using for final production, and then not giving acknowledgement however, is stealing, and horrible shame and bad karma should visit those who do so!)

In summary, remember what’s most important is the depth of one’s understanding. Real ability lies there. Learn to see, then learn to do. Afterall, it’s only our genuine ability that’s ever gonna give any of us any sense of security in a world so full of uncertainty.