Artistry is possible only for those who acknowledge necessity as a condition of, rather than a limit upon, their freedom to act.
Aaron Ridley
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A good October day to you.
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Many people start talking before they know what they are going to say. I often begin writing this journal before I'm sure what is going to eventually be in it. Painters will begin a painting with a firm idea in mind and the result, when it's finished, may not be what they started out to do.
There is usually always a germinating idea somewhere, but it may lead the speaker or the artist in an unexpected direction. Furthermore, some ideas that seem like very good ones end up providing a mediocre result and thus land on the trash heap, while some other ideas that seem flimsy and of no substance may produce a masterpiece.
I have heard two seemingly conflicting remarks made by actors in the past. One of them is "I don't want any limitations placed on me." And the other is "I've learned what my limitations are." As with the speaker, the writer, the painter, the actor there are inherent limitations in whatever work one does. And as for personal limitations, those are the things that should be exceeded.
In the artists eternal search for beauty and truth, when working on something one learns in which direction one can go and in which one can not go in order to maintain the integrity of expression and meaning. It is alright not to know specifically what result one is going to achieve by working things out. Even the smallest details can alter the work in a positive and more communicative manner if attention is paid to them. There are times when an actor will say that in one performance the role played itself. Writers sometimes have the same feeling about their writings.
Trouble comes when an artist tries to impose the inappropriate on the work or deny it its necessities. A work of art is a living, growing thing and needs it's proper nourishment. The artist is the steward, keeper, parent, providing the care and labor that allows nature to take its course.
DB - The Vagabond
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May you see a joyful thing today.
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4 comments:
Wow, I so needed this post. I usually have an idea before I create. Or I sometimes say before someone guides my hand to create. It's almost as if words come jumping in and I have to grab pen and paper and take down the dictation... There are works I felt are good and I'm proud of them and there are others I feel are, um well, OK but I put them out there anyway. I's ironic that the one's I work on the hardest, or mean the most to me, are not the ones that mean as much to others. And the converse is true too. We never know what's going to touch another's soul.
I thank you for sharing your stories, insights, wisdom and humor with us. I enjoy reading your posts. Thank you.
Blessings to you and yours. Love and Light, Nina P
Dag ... Nina took my 'Wow'!
I think that a person's intent is what fires up their creativity. If your purpose is to create something, it will come to you.
There are few who are Michaelangelo, who was able to receive and deliver so much to the world. But even he, I bet, operated 'between the goalpost', that is to say, where limits are tangible and those that are self imposed.
Exceeding self imposed limits is mandatory. Sports show us that. There would never be any records set if people conceded that they could never run, jump or swim that fast, or dance and flip that well.
When I boxed, it was in victory that I felt the self imposition that was placed on me ... that I didn't allow myself the belief to knock someone out ... in defeat, the limit was imposed on me.
Anywho, that is what I had to say ...
The writer must write the words that best describe the thoughts held.
Others in the future may translate those words back into their thoughts and then into a performance the original composer has no power over.
The composer does not care, for the original held the thought that he fought to speak and that is sufficient for the life he sought to give to the imagination of those that would hear the music and play on...
Not being an artist, it is hard for me at times to relate to that perspective. I am an engineer, and as such, everything is logical and straight forward. I look forward some day to having time to investigate the more creative side of myself.
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