Seriously

Art is too serious to be taken seriously.

Ad Reinhardt
*****************
Hello Sandy
*****************
The only people who take serious art seriously are some artists, (occasionally), people who buy art and art critics. The people who don't take it seriously are those who do it, those who sell it and those wretched people who are somehow forced unfortunately to look at it or listen to it against their will. How do I know this? Because I'm an artist and because I've observed the way art is handled in this age.

Watch a good musician in concert. You may see intense concentration while a piece is being performed, but at the end the musician will probably break into a big smile and maybe even a laugh. Sometimes you even see the smile while the piece is being played. It is the joy of music, or dance that you are seeing. The smiles on the faces of the actors at a curtain call are showing the same joy.

I've known artists who will chuckle at a painting they've done or are working on. It's the same with writers. I know that I will get a laugh out of a particularly strange and subtle twist of language when I'm writing. I avoid cliches, because I champion original thought in myself and in others, so I will go searching for the expression that tells the story without repeating the tried and true. And when I see it in other arts, the dancer who pushes his body into a movement I've never seen, or the musician who gives me a surprising cluster of tones, I feel the same delight.

There is a solid bedrock of mystery involved in the relationship between an artist and the work being done. It has to do with value and origination, an invisible generic bond of co-creation between the artist, the work and the inspiration that demands and forces it into being. It is as if there is an anonymous angel of pure spirit that finds it in whatever galaxy it lives, brings it out of hiding and gives it to the artist who is ready to respond.

The scientist will study to uncover the secret laws of nature. The engineer will design the mechanism that measures. moves and controls the natural forces. But what the artist does is transcendental. And who can be serious about that.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
***********************

May I Have This Dance?

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

Winston Churchill
**********************
Hello Val
**********************
In the early days of video tape it was wide and think and splicing was impossible. So each full segment of a television program needed to be taped as a whole. Things have improved quite well since then though there are still limitations. A vast amount of lighting is still needed for a scene to look natural and not dim.

Years ago I was involved in the taping of a variety show for TV. The program began with an invisible announcer, then an orchestra began to play. Some dancers came out and did a vigorous dance. Following them the star of the show came out and introduced the guest star, who was a well known film and stage actor and singer. They talked for a bit and then sang a duet. After the duet the star said they would be back after a message from the automobile company that was sponsoring the show. That was the complete first segment.

When the taping started the announcer spoke and the dancers came out and did their dance. The star was late getting into his place so they stopped. They went back to the announcer, the music started again and the dancers did their dance again. The star was in place and did his opening remarks. He introduced the guest. While they were chatting the star flubbed a line. So they went back to the announcer, the music, the dancers, the star coming out and the guest artist. That time they made it to the song but in the song the guest singer forgot on of the lyrics. So they began again with the announcer, the music, the dancers, the star, the guest, the chat, the song and the closing announcement.

The thing that impressed me the most was the spirit of the dancers. It was a very vigorous dance, as those variety shows could often present, and yet the dancers never lost their enthusiasm for doing it, no matter how many times they would have to do it.

I've done films in which I had to do the same simple scene over again more than a half dozen times for one reason or another and it's difficult but you have to deliver the scene at the same quality each time because you don't know which one will end up in the film.

For each successful performance there are scores of failures that end up in the trash bin.

Unfortunately there is usually no trash bin in real life and our failures have a tendency to stick around like doggy poop on a shoe until we get over them and get on with life. That word "enthusiasm" is the key. The joy of any accomplishment is getting it the way you want it. Holding the expectation of that joy in mind can push our efforts along no matter how many times we flop.

It was clear to me those dancers loved what they did, and they had more dancing to do later in the show, but I'm sure they and everyone else sighed with gratitude and relief when the director said "That's a take."

Getting it wrong a few times is usually inevitable. But there is nothing better than to keep going until you get it right.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
****************************
AUTUMN QUESTION

What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?

Only 4 answers so far.

dbdacoba@aol.com

I await your answers.
DB
********************