Friday, January 2, 2009

Art and Ego

I feel best when my creative expression is a private dance between me and my emerging work. The intimacy of the process and the authenticity of the eventual work is diminished when my attention is drawn to an imagined audience. Twyla Tharp shares a few thoughts on the topic in this brief video clip.

4 comments:

  1. Love this. Love Twyla Tharp (I studied dance seriously for a number of years, albeit several years ago now, laughing). Loved her thoughts on desired outcomes...the art/dance itself is the thing. (Methinks it's the view you've taken with the dance of Botgirl, smiles.) I did find it somewhat interesting when she started referring to herself in the plural..."we never thought about making money with the dance." Perhaps she was meaning her family when she slipped into "we"...or perhaps she has had the ability to cleanly tap into her creative and intellectual sides as almost separate entities...viewing them, using them as independent "persons." Or perhaps I misinterpretted. In any event, so loved this video. Brought back wonderful memories. And I always admired Twyla Tharp's vision and strength.

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  2. As a visual Artist (Amateur) it can be very difficult to explain to non creatives exactly what is on this film. To any Creative Artist understanding this can be the difference between working or becoming blocked by insecurities..
    The first step is asking the question are we willing to keep working even if no one ever appreciates what we have done?
    After all Van Gough painted for himself and his brother. (And some would argue that his lack of success killed him.)

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  3. Yes, I loved this video, (you find the best things..:)), it can be to our advantage to think of the product as a different beast to the process.
    In art these two things are often mixed up.
    Art is a word used too often to describe the product.
    The product has commercial (possibly) value, but is a bi-product of the process which is where the real gold is hidden. The process changes us, the bi-product's public approval is incidental; todays masterpiece can be tomorrow's fish&chip paper.

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  4. Michele: I just got her book and it's towards the top of my reading list.

    Shelby: I think of myself as more of a visual communicator than an artist. So being aware of the audience side of the equation is usually part of my process. But there's a big difference for me between wanting to be understood, which pushes me to clarify my own thinking; and needing to be appreciated which can lead to pandering.

    soroNishi: I'm totally down with art as a process. Some artists see the finished work in their minds' eye and then work to actualize it. Others (like me) start with the seed of an idea, but collaborate with the evolving creation in a process of discovery.

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A beautiful thought experiment personified through the imagined perspective of a self-aware avatar. My creator's site can is at http://fourworlds.tumblr.com