Capturing Valuable Things
Monday, 20. October 2008 - 8:46 am
I have always wondered how amazing insights come to us in casual conversation. I can be a nasty, intrepid chatterbox when it suits me and most of my conversations are not necessarily meaningful. What interests me more is how in the course of “casual” conversation, thoughts veer in no particular direction but beautiful stuff spurts forth. Enough.
Here’s an unedited copy-paste job of a chat with a friend.
yes – i like the flemish painters
i like jospeh wright
edvard munch
but the flemish painters are my fav
dont know much about indian art
and of course – frida kahlo
her paintings are somewhat visceral
but i like art galleries
it doesnt matter who the artist is
i love seeing their work anyways
fruits of devotion
i love that
even if i dont understand it or dont like it
you know what i mean?
yes
i love the idea of someone in a studio with a lot of natural light – struggling away at an image that, at that point of time, exists only in their mind
perhaps i romanticisebut i would like to believe that painting, like writing comes from a need that has nothing to do with money -
yes of course one makes money with it
but i would like to believe that you could paint pictures and write words because you felt compelled to and that was the primary reason
very naive
i know
Comments welcome, as always. I take your leave with a painting of Joseph Wright. Just for the kicks. 
Tags: Art, Casual Conversation, Insights, Literature, Random Stuff, Writing
20. October 2008 - 9:29 am
Painting art music even writing stems from creative instincts NEVER from a need of money ever, It is an enduring interest translated into passion. That primal desire for true inner expression can never be spontaneous if for money. When you wish to earn money from any of these, market forces take an uppance over genuine expression.
J K Rowling created Harry – It was a beautiful and magical world, the latter books have taken a turn for the grotesque and lost all of its original mystic charm. Same with art or music. True talent can never be nurtured for the sake of money nor can everlasting compositions / creations
I cannot speak about European artists with enough knowledge but among Indians Hussain is a very realistic example of the dyanmics of finance and need to produce more have submerged the sheer imagery depth and beauty of his earlier canvasses.
Frida Kahlo’s works richly steeped in her culture and her life was I think unreognised during her life as is the case with most geniuses, Their works often talk of their lives especially of artists from the US and the Continent unlike those from India who basically follow trends and lack the dynamism to take risks of original thinking or visualising!,
You can see the lack of inspiration and devotion in todays works, which older works be it art music writings had. Can we have another Shakespeare Tagore Michaelangelo and even Ray who devoted their life to their passions and what a passion! It was world class universal and beloved.
Enjoyment of all these is personal which is again a direct imprint of cultural leanings and exposure, All art is “fruit of devotion? One respects the toil but can one truly just love something, lust for something, for the effort that has been put in.
One has to be able to talk to, to see, to visualise, to empathis – Strike some familiar chords – the stirrings of a sublime connection to be truly appreciative!
I have attended zillions of art shows music shows read books heard people speak – but there are only some which can move you to tears, only some which compel you to go back again and again, only some which becomes a recurring motif in your memory bank,
Why is it that people are crazy about ghetto/ trance music, I am indifferent. Most people cannot relate to the nuances of those shrutis in Carnatic music but effortlessly relate to improvisations in Jazz.
It is romance A learning and relearning process over years, a sense of growing up, a sense of identity of self with the othe, the outerr.
A unique experience! It has to be. Special to each human being, it is emotional it is sublime, it is loving for what u think is special to YOU!
20. October 2008 - 9:42 am
BY the way isnt all art writing visceral intuitive spontaneaous
Even science originated from intuition – Archimides Newton.
Music has a science – the notes are exact vibrations but what composers did was intuitive expressing feelings. Each raga has an emotion – Bhairavi (regeneraion) malhaar (Monsoons) darbari ( bereavement)
Art may need form but again there s so much beauty in the crazy drawings of a handicapped child who sees the world from his lopsided vision. Stevie Wonder was blind but he spoke about his sunshine. So was Beethoven deaf.
It is to some extent about form structure. It needs grammar but what makes it evocative and exclusive interpretations of one sees around you. Of what your environment draws for you in consonance with YOU _ your sense of colour-vibrance, reticence-exuberance influenced solely by YOUR perceptions of u vs them
21. October 2008 - 5:06 am
The thing is, it’s far easier than ever before to surface your ideas. Far easier to have someone notice your art or your writing or your photography. Which means that people who might have hidden their talents are now finding them noticed…
That blog you’ve built, the one with a lot of traffic… perhaps it can’t be monetized.
That non-profit you work with, the one where you are able to change lives… perhaps turning it into a career will ruin it.
That passion you have for art… perhaps making your painting commercial enough to sell will squeeze the joy out of it.
When what you do is what you love, you’re able to invest more effort and care and time. That means you’re more likely to win, to gain share, to profit. On the other hand, poets don’t get paid. Even worse, poets that try to get paid end up writing jingles and failing and hating it at the same time.
Today, there are more ways than ever to share your talents and hobbies in public. And if you’re driven, talented and focused, you may discover that the market loves what you do. That people read your blog or click on your cartoons or listen to your mp3s. But, alas, that doesn’t mean you can monetize it, quit your day job and spend all day writing songs.
The pitfalls:
1. In order to monetize your work, you’ll probably corrupt it, taking out the magic in search of dollars
and
2. Attention doesn’t always equal significant cash flow.
I think it makes sense to make your art your art, to give yourself over to it without regard for commerce.
Doing what you love is as important as ever, but if you’re going to make a living at it, it helps to find a niche where money flows as a regular consequence of the success of your idea. Loving what you do is almost as important as doing what you love, especially if you need to make a living at it. Go find a job you can commit to, a career or a business you can fall in love with.
A friend who loved music, who wanted to spend his life doing it, got a job doing PR for a record label. He hated doing PR, realized that just because he was in the record business didn’t mean he had anything at all to do with music. Instead of finding a job he could love, he ended up being in proximity to, but nowhere involved with, something he cared about. I wish he had become a committed school teacher instead, spending every minute of his spare time making music and sharing it online for free. Instead, he’s a frazzled publicity hound working twice as many hours for less money and doing no music at all.
Maybe you can’t make money doing what you love (at least what you love right now). But I bet you can figure out how to love what you do to make money (if you choose wisely).
Do your art. But don’t wreck your art if it doesn’t lend itself to paying the bills. That would be a tragedy.
(And the twist, because there is always a twist, is that as soon as you focus on your art and leave the money behind, you may just discover that this focus turns out to be the secret of actually breaking through and making money.)
Thanx for introducing me to him
meme or idea virus – he rocks!
22. October 2008 - 7:00 am
My God! Three comments from the same person and all of them making sense? Vibha, you’ve left nothing for me to say. The only thing I can add is that for me, writing is creating a verbal picture, a transferring of pleasure vicariously. I can’t say I know anything about art at all, let alone the artists.