3.31.2009
3.29.2009
Where You Find Your Inspiration.
It's different for each artist. (Keep in mind that in Bali, the same word for human means artist). We can all recognize those moments of sheer, pure, unadulterated inspiration. To me they feel divine, and physically vitalizing. My cells all do a little dance of joy as this measureless elixir of artistry pours itself on through.
Recently, after falling into a dark hole of exhaustion and post-Hampton blahs, I knew I needed a little kick-start to address some formulating projects still in the embryonic stages of manifestation. I wrote some lists and cleaned up the studio.
I ordered some applicable books, among them, Walking in this World
: The Practical Art of Creativity, by Julia Cameron, who's provided me some inspiration with A Vein of Gold and The Artist's Way years ago, so I thought to try this one too. They can read a bit obvious, but sometimes one needs obvious. Mostly I just love workbooks. Call and response, and those little urges for action become the medicine for blockages, and therefore Cameron's books offer an easy salve.
In finding vision, I tend to utilize several key components: reading relevant material, writing in response to said readings, walking daily, cleaning the studio, sketching ideas, and constant research relevant to my current projects. These are foundational, and ideas of course can come at any time, but I like to nourish their growth as much as possible.
This snowballs into a self-perpetuating creation mechanism. I write late at night a list of creative actions, including "take pics as I walk tomorrow." Today I took pictures of flowers in bloom that weren't there yesterday, and a sticker of an octopus, a piece of cardboard mulch with a tractor logo on it that reads "famous fruit," and now I'm realizing I want to get some shots of the imported goats eating the brush by the recycling center. These pictures, now, want to be part of a larger piece I'm planning, so I'm sketching them on in.
I love to see how others get their inspiration too. The world becomes a constant playground when you illuminate for a living, and we all play to our own tune. Watching Mad Men's Don Draper both chase and stumble upon ideas throughout his workweek illustrates this task, and my absolute favorite clip of these process is below. To put this in context, you must know he's been searching for a way to promote Israel as a tourist destination (set in the early 1960s)... Embedding's been disabled, but you can watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0voSWdX4jo
Tomorrow... goats!
3.20.2009
Manufacturing Consent
I just watched and highly recommend Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, "Funny and provocative, this 1992 documentary explores the political life and ideas of Noam Chomsky, a world-renowned linguist, intellectual and political activist. Chomsky illustrates how the media tacitly manipulates public opinion to further the agendas of the powerful. A compelling examination of the suppression of news about the U.S.-supported Indonesian invasion and subjugation of East Timor brings home the point."This investigation highlighted that any government, at least in our current imperialist mode, by nature, is violent, and we can never truly be proud of it.
The history of our government is mostly shameful. Even now, I find myself wondering how I can support it while 17,000 more troops arrive in Afghanistan. I believe in diplomacy over conflict and strongly oppose the military industrial complex. Maybe it's the same drive within that causes me to stay strict Vegan for over 12 years now, but I seriously view war-mongering as a deep rooted cultural sickness.
As an artist, I infiltrate via design and promote conceptual alternatives. I'm working on a projection piece right now that opens with protesters, then visually outlines lifestyle alternatives. moreTrees is about to release some protest-wear as well, to encourage people to view their wardrobe as a protest sign. Is this enough?
Chomsky identifies alternative media as a viable antithesis to the mainstream, corporate owned press, but seems sincerely concerned as to their struggle for simple survival. Can we consider art and clothing design to be a form of alternative media when it, too, carries messages of dissent and protest? And how can we utilize these forms of communication to not only survive, but to flourish? How can we reach not only the 20% of the informed elite that Chomsky describes, but also the 80% who prefer distraction over engagement? How can we infiltrate and effect a real paradigm shift?
~excerpt, Erleichda
© 2009 Meghan Oona
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