Insight for people who are not totally involved in the creative process. This is important to read if you want to understand your friends who do "art" for a living.
Please go read it. Then come back here and comment.
8 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I agree entirely that almost everything worth doing (especially creatively) takes time, and lots of it.
On the flipside, I'd not agree that there's not enough time (to do the interviews etc.). The philosopher Seneca was really interesting, and succinct, on this point. Distilled, he basically proposed that life is long (and there's plenty of time) if you focus on what's important.
Which might also be a good reason why those guys didn't do the interviews.
Of course, if you enjoy what you do, the time you take over your art isn't a chore.
Craig, this was my initial reaction to what a comment regarding this article should look like. I was thinking, is Kirk testing us? If we write in and post a comment does that mean we are not devoting time to our "art"; and therefore show that we are not creative? Would zero comments prove that we are full of creativity, too busy creating art to write comments? Some of the anecdotes featured in the article reminded me of a documentary I saw several years about computer nerds. When asked by the interviewer if he had a girlfriend, a young computer programmer replied "No! A girlfriend would get in the way of coding time.". Guys or gals like him may not be artists in the traditional sense; but they are creators, and are the ones who make the code behind the devices and programs we use to create our art.
My experience is that productivity in creation partly comes from spending time alone on the subject and also from spending time interacting with other talented people interested in the same subject. Others see things you do not and have different approaches that can augment yours.
Also, most people will burn out if they focus all their energy on one thing.
So, guard your time but do not block everything out except maybe during the period when you are really creating.
I resonate with Darwins's comment that "the mere consciousness of an engagement will sometime worry a whole day". In a previous life I was once a good researcher. So I was promoted to academic tenure -- and therefore expected to teach. Sometimes only one lecture late in the day. A well prepared lecture I'd given a few times before. But nevertheless I couldn't settle down and do any significant research that day. I wasn't alone in that. Not everyone is affected like that. But for some of us it seems you can't try to floor the throttle on the brain unless the horizon is totally clear. It's not something that can be fitted into schedules. The Muse is jealous and capricious. She requires devotion. You must climb into her time and space. If you glance at your watch or smartphone while in her company she may not speak to you for weeks.
My wife thanks you for this. Now she can stop feeling guilty about turning down invitations to play bridge and concentrate on the painting and jewelry making she'd rather be doing.
8 comments:
I agree entirely that almost everything worth doing (especially creatively) takes time, and lots of it.
On the flipside, I'd not agree that there's not enough time (to do the interviews etc.). The philosopher Seneca was really interesting, and succinct, on this point. Distilled, he basically proposed that life is long (and there's plenty of time) if you focus on what's important.
Which might also be a good reason why those guys didn't do the interviews.
Of course, if you enjoy what you do, the time you take over your art isn't a chore.
Mark
I see it both ways and I know I lack the rigorous discipline to become a total hermit. C'est la vie.
Sorry, but I'm too busy to comment on that article.
Craig, this was my initial reaction to what a comment regarding this article should look like. I was thinking, is Kirk testing us? If we write in and post a comment does that mean we are not devoting time to our "art"; and therefore show that we are not creative? Would zero comments prove that we are full of creativity, too busy creating art to write comments?
Some of the anecdotes featured in the article reminded me of a documentary I saw several years about computer nerds. When asked by the interviewer if he had a girlfriend, a young computer programmer replied "No! A girlfriend would get in the way of coding time.". Guys or gals like him may not be artists in the traditional sense; but they are creators, and are the ones who make the code behind the devices and programs we use to create our art.
No human testing is currently being conducted on the VSL site.... (maybe).
My experience is that productivity in creation partly comes from spending time alone on the subject and also from spending time interacting with other talented people interested in the same subject. Others see things you do not and have different approaches that can augment yours.
Also, most people will burn out if they focus all their energy on one thing.
So, guard your time but do not block everything out except maybe during the period when you are really creating.
I resonate with Darwins's comment that "the mere consciousness of an engagement will sometime worry a whole day". In a previous life I was once a good researcher. So I was promoted to academic tenure -- and therefore expected to teach. Sometimes only one lecture late in the day. A well prepared lecture I'd given a few times before. But nevertheless I couldn't settle down and do any significant research that day. I wasn't alone in that. Not everyone is affected like that. But for some of us it seems you can't try to floor the throttle on the brain unless the horizon is totally clear. It's not something that can be fitted into schedules. The Muse is jealous and capricious. She requires devotion. You must climb into her time and space. If you glance at your watch or smartphone while in her company she may not speak to you for weeks.
My wife thanks you for this. Now she can stop feeling guilty about turning down invitations to play bridge and concentrate on the painting and jewelry making she'd rather be doing.
Post a Comment