The various interfaces and accessories of the computer define the very way we interact with them. The human mind and body has its own inputs and outputs that we must learn to respect to get what we wish out of them.
“You are what you eat.”
“A man is defined by his actions.”
— Two Common Proverbs
Sometimes life’s not fair. That said, we pretty much get out of it what we put in. Whether we’re talking about our personal lives, money/economics, or the environment, there’s a constant flow between what moves in and what moves out. Treat the earth or our fellow humans poorly and we’re gonna suffer the consequences. The artistic process is no different, although the results of creative effort don’t always turn out the way we expect. The real beauty in anything is in the surprises.
Pangu is the center of the ancient Chinese creation story. With the swing of his giant axe, he separated Yin from Yang creating the Earth (Yin) and the Sky (Yang). Yin and Yang is often interpreted as a symbol of balance between dueling forces but it’s also about the flow of things, how elements and actions counter-balance each other and the continued pattern of events that are inevitable. What we put in, we get out, which in turn, affects what we put in — making it all part of a huge encompassing circle of activity.
Balance, which is achievable in art, is a most challenging thing to achieve in life. It’s what we must strive for because without it, we’re bound to lose track of life and ourselves. But here’s one scientific fact that reminds us that we can always determine our future pretty much at any time. Aside from some noted brain and heart cells, we astonishingly replace 98% of the atoms in our body each year! We really can be what we choose to be! Neither mind or body are as fixed as we believe.
“If a man is to live, he must be all alive, body, soul, mind, heart, spirit.” — Thomas Merton, from Thoughts in Solitude
The whole mind-body-spirit axiom is highly under-estimated in the daily act of living. Caught in an age of accelerated technological advancement and constant busyness, it’s far too easy to lose ourselves in one type of activity or another. We are seldom aware and scarcely mindful of what we’re doing. We often don’t even realize where we are in space or in time. Pure, distraction-free presence is all too absent.
Few artists have accomplished as much or given as much of themselves to the art of animation as Richard Williams. His book, The Animator’s Survival Kit, is THE mandatory handbook for the aspiring animators. Today, even at the age of eighty, he continues to devote to the art he loves. He won his third Academy Award Nomination this past year for his latest short film, Prologue.
When we talk about inputs it’s important to recognize what we put into ourselves — what we feed our minds, our hearts and our bodies. In other words, we can choose what enters our being, and in turn, our universe. The quality of our “inputs” and our choice of “outputs” or actions determine both our immediate and long-term reality.
It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things. — Leonardo Da Vinci
Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci was not only a prolific artist, inventor and scientist, he was also a healthy, strong vegetarian, capable of great physical feats of strength. He’s the ultimate renaissance man — a total mental, physical and spiritual embodiment of excellence.
To maintain some semblance of balance and good health, here our some things that we can attest to as being very helpful “inputs” as well as the necessary “outputs” that complement them with respect to the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of our lives:
Physical Inputs: Insist on quality and consistent consumption of quality foods, liquids and fresh air. Artists and technicians working in the arts are notorious for their poor diets. The image of the vice-inflicted, physically weak and impoverished artist is over-rated and out of date. Don’t live down to those expectations.
Actor Kirk Douglas plays Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent Minelli’s 1956 film, Lust For Life (based off the Irving Stone novel). Van Gogh’s tragic story made him the poster child for the starving artist. People forget that he suffered severe mental illness and loneliness, which ultimately lead to his death. Had he survived his condition beyond his meager 37 years, he might’ve prospered for his magnificent artistry was recognized shortly after his passing.
Physical Outputs: Move the body. Sitting for too long is the equivalent of a slow death. Recent scientific evidence shows that when the body is idol for too long, it goes into states not unlike that of hibernation where the body works to conserve as much energy as possible and thereby shut down important metabolic processes that would otherwise be active. You’ll still get hungry but you won’t be burning off any of those calories in front of the computer. The common occurrence of the pot belly is only one small evidence of this fact. Chronic illness and cardiovascular disease are far more deadly outcomes of a life in stasis.
Matt Groening’s famous anti-hero, Homer Simpson is the modern day parody of the non-athletic, unintelligible and underachieving male. From The Simpsons.
Mental Inputs: The pace of the modern day artist is, all too often, too fast and too furious. It’s very easy to fall prey to inhaling the same nervous air and soupçon of limited taste and creative exposure. Feed your mind like you feed your body with quality literature, inspirational blogs, visits to museums and outdoor excursions to refresh and reboot the cerebral taste buds. We need outside inspiration so we can be reminded to live each day anew.
Blogging maestro, Maria Popova. Maria’s marvelous blog, Brain Pickings, is one of the best and most followed sites in the world. It’s a beautiful and generous source for literature, art, poetry and meaningfulness. And, like this blog, Brain Pickings is also completely free and ad-free. (Photo by Elizabeth Lippman)
“Art appreciation, like love, cannot be done by proxy: It is a very personal affair and is necessary to each individual.” — Robert Henri
Mental Outputs: If you’re a working artist, this is the one area you’re probably fulfilling, at least mechanically. Artistic creation, after all, is a challenging mental activity. That said, the nature of commercial work can be at times creatively stifling and the constant, hurried pace of production can sap the drive and energy of even the most battle-tested warriors. Many artists need to find alternative creative outputs to satisfy the mind, when paid work doesn’t. Personal art or an alternative creative expression such as writing, music, or sports, can help visual artists achieve not only balance, but find deep inspiration and fulfillment.
United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas. This brilliant new science fiction novel, which supposes an altered history of WWII, is the latest creative expression of the long-time accomplished digital film artist. Peter has numerous films under his belt from VFX blockbusters to Pixar’s latest features, but it’s his personal writing, that frees him to create his own worlds and express his wildest and most personal ideas. His books (including his Folio Prize nominated novel, Bald New World) have received critical acclaim and worldwide exposure.
Spiritual Inputs: Find time for peace and being alone. Give yourself the allowance to contemplate the meaning of things, even the seemingly littlest of things, no matter how trivial they may seem to others. Consider the practice of prayer or meditation, or just regular isolated walks in the woods. Moments alone are quite sacred and we’re all in great danger of losing this beautiful horological practice.
“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” – Henry David Thoreau
The Universe Unmasked. Painting by Rene Magritte, a surrealist who dared to imagine the strange, the absurd, and the unimaginable.
Spiritual Outputs: Find ways to connect to things outside of yourself. Consider a commitment of at least a small allotment of time for others, not just family or friends, but to the community or the environment — so that we may give away and give back some of ourselves to forces unknown. This blog was created in such spirit. We ultimately enter and leave this world alone but our connection to it, while we are here, give it meaning and fulfillment. We don’t have to look far into the future or past, or so deep into the galaxies to realize we are only an infinitesimal part of existence.
“Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark… There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.” — Carl Sagan