It's not always easy to keep up your enthusiasm. But it is essential. Just like with marriage, kids and .... you have to commit to your art for it to work out well.
Along the way there will likely be grants denied, missed prizes, flubbed sales, lack of interest, failed exhibitions - this is starting to sound like my resume - and times of self doubt. But cheer up, pup. Stick out that tongue and get back to leg humping (analogy for making art). It's what you do best. Actually, it's pretty much all you are good for. As Henry Mitchell wisely noted: "All anybody needs to know about prizes is that Mozart never won one." (Neither did Henry - but that's another story.) When things don't go according to your (lack of) plans, just shrug (metaphorically is fine) and go back to what it is you love most. Making pictures. It's what you were born for and it will likely be your salvation. Re-ignite your passion, pup! Made friends with this dude through facebook. He posts his new paintings periodically and whenever there's a new one - like this - his latest - I get blown away. Can't quite put my finger on why I like them so much - but I do!
The artist's name is Mark Keilkucki and this painting is called 'Drifting'. His work is for sale and very reasonably priced I think. If I wasn't a povo artist and instead a wealthy collector, I'd be snapping them up with glee and relish. Have a look at his site and witness his fine form and style. There's one in particular that fully blows me away. See if you can guess which one it is. (Click on the image to link to Mark's site.) Uncovered one of my journals from 1987 today. I haven't seen it since then - so was fun to flick through. I have to be honest, I was hoping for/half expecting some gems of genius - but they weren't to be found. Perhaps they fell out or evaporated over time!
What was inside were a number of poems, some song lyrics, two short stories (one unfinished), and about a dozen 'snippet' single frame comics. It was vaguely interesting to catch a glimpse of the headspace of the 'me' from 26 years ago. I can objectively report that I have matured to a degree since then and that my work has improved in scope and delivery. Other than that - still doing pretty much the same thing - making art, writing fiction, creating comics.... Did this one today. Got a lot of satisfaction from the outcome. I really like this image and look forward to re-interpreting it into a large canvas.
I was reading this article on a site about Art & Design entitled the most important artists of 2013. One of them is cool dude and street artist become fine artist Kenny Scharf. In the short blurb it talks about he was arrested once for graffiti and it struck me that writer's are really looking for a good hook when talking about artists. Something just like being arrested.
This is because art, in many ways, is a kind of if not passive, at least mellow, form of creative expression. It's usually one person in a space on their own in silence, wrestling with the great void armed only with some colours and a brush. It's certainly dynamic is an existential way but not ostensibly. And for a writer trying to drum up some zing about an artist - well, it's challenging. So, I got thinking; what can I say or do, what event can I stage, what kind of plot could I cook up to create some hype for my next show/artistic enterprise? Hmmm... 12 hours later ...and I haven't really come up with anything. Guess I'm never going to be in marketing. A few things I know I do want to do, though, but they aren't about hype or getting attention. They are just ideas for action involving my art. 1.) Do a TED like talk about being an artist. Two versions: one for adults and one for school kids. 2.) Hold a big 'Artistes' party in a warehouse where everyone comes as there favourite artist. Just think of some of the fun choices: Dali, Frida Kahlo (sure to be popular), Picasso in his striped shirts and high, baggy white summer pants, Basquiat, Warhol, of course, Rembrandt, etc. 3.) Hold some classes. Teach artistic mindset, free thinking, expression through the visual medium... 4.) Have a full time gallery of my work in a little shop somewhere. 5.) Publish a book of the top 100 of my recent images. With over 2,000 to choose from this should be fun and worthwhile. And once you have something fun that is deemed as worthwhile - well, it's totally sanctioned by whales and dolphins. 6.) Do more stickers. I have two varieties now. I love stickers and would love to do heaps more. 7.) An original deck of cards with my images. Don't have to be actual playing cards - more like tarots or collectibles. that's enough for now Lotsa little bits can make a lot
Sticky images is what we got Piling up like lollies Suck on 'em! ...they're sweet and slick Art meets techno follies Pixel Pixie he's the king Watch him dance and do his thing Tumblr, flickr, blogger too He makes pretty pic for you See it, store it, forget it now Move along to the next big wow Grab you mouse and squeeze it tight At this rate we'll be up all night Pixel Pixie he's a demon Shows you things - gets you believin' Tiny dots of rgb Forming new realities Your mind so full you'll be crying jpegs How much control do we have over who we are and what we do? On some levels, it feels like we are in command and make choices from free will. But there are so many factors that influence our decision making... our past, our social conditioning, our parents, our physical needs, our mental predispositions and body chemistry. Most of the time, I think, we are just reacting - to circumstance, urges, outside demands and expectations, emotion...
For our own sanity, peace of mind, we build a suitable story around our existence, past and present, and fit decisions, experiences, interactions and outcomes into a prefabbed mould that we are comfortable with. It is a survival mechanism. A way to cope. In truth, we are fictionalising events. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with this but I am extemporaneously contemplating possible alternatives. Nobody likes to be trapped. But the worst trap is to be trapped by yourself. By yourself and beyond your control. Addictions, depression, OCD... to some degree we all experience these. How to gain control - or non-control - liberation? I don't believe it is something you do - like a step by step guide. I think it something that you strive for little by little, each day, quietly and within yourself. Questioning, meditating, practicing healthy behaviour, struggling with humility and grace. You never 'get there' but your journey is elevated through discipline and application, focus. What does this mean in real terms? I think it means to strive to see, express and experience truth and purity. To be humble and grateful, to see the miracle all around us - beyond it's raggedy, common form, to connect with 'the great awesome' - what Indian and Aboriginal tribes did for so many centuries - connect with nature - human nature and gaia with a mindfulness, respect and importantly an all embracing joy. Ahah! One thing to say all this. But how? I don't know exactly. I'm certainly not mr guru. I'm a guy down in the trenches. But for me doing art helps. And having warm, honest connections with people. Going to the ocean and immersing my body after a walk and a stretch each day. Eating fruit and veges. Reading. Noticing the beauty around me... Oh, and playing poker. Good morning.
And good morning to you. How was your sleep? Good. Yours? Good, but, er... but I did have a funny dream. Oh? What was it? I dreamt that I was somewhere on an island.... Yes..? There was some kind of ceremony happening... Go on... It was weird... What? Details... I was wearing... What? A pastel yellow sports jacket. OMG! That is disgusting. You poor thing! >sob< You'll be OK. It was just a dream. These are six new ones I did yesteday. Two of them I did at cafe Tapeo, then two at Deus cafe where I sat and looked at my artwork (like watching your kids play while you have a coffee - but I was actually also busy making some new kids! lol). One I did in my car parked on the side of the street while eating a take away kebab. And the final one I completed at the poker table, waiting for the game to start at Redfern RSL.
On a different subject altogether, I just remembered this morning that on select weekends, my brothers and I used to sneak in to the carpark at the Azabu Tax Office in Tokyo when we were kids and roller skate to our hearts content. Mine had red wheels and I loved them. Never got into roller blading or ice skating but really had some fun on the old skates. There was an excellent, full sized rink at Fuji Q Highland, near Mount Fuji that we went to a few times as well. Had plans to roller skate down Fuji one day but shelved them because Space Invaders was invented (mid 70's). I watched Stefan Sagmeister talk on TED just now - a discorse entitled 'Happiness by Design'. He does some pretty cool work I learnt subsequently by searching him. But the thing that got me thinking during his talk is that he made a list of ten or so things that really made him happy in his life so far. One of them was travelling, one was an orgasm, etc. The one that he singled out though was riding his brother's motorcycle with a walkman on in the mountains in Europe.
I thought about my own happiest moments and realise that some of my happiest moments were riding my motorbikes (had 4 different ones over 8 years) in the streets, expressways and tunnels through, in and around Tokyo where I grew up. There is really something powerful, liberating, dangerous, exhilarating about flying through the air, feet above the ground, power in the wrist... I have done scuba since and there is a other-end-of-the-spectrum connection between the two. You are alone in a busy world, in your head but outside it, as well. You can hear your own breathing. The surroundings are so engaging there is little room for petty thoughts. You're alive to the max. Had a surprise happy moment yesterday. I was in Newtown on King St, down the St Peters end, when three teens approached me in an alley. They wanted me to buy something for them. Booze? Ciggies? I would have said no. But it wasn't that. It was spray paint! 'You're in luck, fellas!' I told them. I'm an artist, too. We went in to the shop, they had a list and handed the cash off to me. I paid for it and carried out the box, gave it to them Yes, you are. This is not you, of course. It is a collage/composite/painting/drawing I did yesterday of a pretty girl. But it represents all of us. It represents the glorious nature of sentient beings. That is one thing that art is good at. It elevates us. It encourages us to use our minds and imaginations to transcend the ordinary. Draws us closer to how we wish the world could be - full of beauty, purity and love.
Actually, looking at the girls face she does seem a little concerned about something in the distance. Don't worry sweet being I conjured up - you have a lovely hair piece and criss-cross necklace! One day I will draw you a prince you can marry - or at least date and see how it goes. (Relationships are challenging in any realm.) It's funny. Just thinking post post. Only an hour or so ago, I wrote my last post and after I write something, I sometimes consider it, mull over it in my head. What have I written? Why have I said it? As I have mentioned before, my M.O with this blog is quite simple and straightforward; to select an image I have created in the last 24 hours, post it - then write something. Whatever spontaneously comes to mind.
I am at times surprised, delighted, perplexed by what comes out. The guidelines are honesty, brevity, humour and creativity. Sometimes there is a message that appears. I do have a certain innate desire not to waste time - mine or anyone elses and also a kind of quality control. I want it to be worthwhile to read, to have some good. Oh, the other thing I should mention is that I also tend to keep things simple. Not ornate or convoluted. One day I hope to travel around schools and inspire school kids to get into art with an audio/visual presentation - and some of it will be based around these posts - so in the back of my mind I kind of am writing to a youngish audience. That being said - I definitely don't water things down or avoid adult topics if they come up. I guess, overall, I want the posts to be some kind of insight into an artist's mind. This artist in particular. So --- I was thinking about the last post. A little worried that it was a bit flat, obvious. But it's what came out, so I posted it anyway. Then, as I was thinking this, I got a 'like' on facebook. A single acknowledgement. Someone had read it and responded. It had meant something to them. I don't need to know what or why. I stopped being concerned. It had meant something to someone. That is enough. A connection. All I need. All any of us need. Ping. I used to play the guitar everyday when I was in my twenties and thirties. I wrote a few decent songs and even recorded a few. Was briefly in a band - playing bass - in Tokyo called KKR and we performed live at a Yamaha festival in Shibuya. I also played an original song, 'Dicky Doesn't Know the Difference' in from of 400 people at Van Gogh's Other Ear - a concert in the 90's. It was a great thrill. Adrenalin city.
I haven't played properly for but do plan to pick it up again soon (he says!). That is just how life goes - things fall away. As much as I loved singing and playing and making up songs, I knew I would never be great at it - my natural aptitude was limited and despite plenty of dedicated practice I hit a ceiling. From comparing myself to friends who were really good and had natural musical ability I knew my skills were limited. By comparison - I have never felt this with art or writing. I have felt it with sports and motorbike riding - proficient at both but knew I would never be a champion. It's good to know what you can and can't do and the limits of each skill. With the ones that you have natural ability for you find that 'sweet spot', you get into the zone, you are able to tap into a higher power of sorts and just allow yourself to be a conduit. Everyone has something. Find it and get there. Nothing like a natural high. It's the best. Yesterday, I met my friend Nicki for a coffee and catchup at Deus Cafe where my show is hanging. Twenty eight works framed - up on the wall and on the monitor an additional five hundred or so - changing every 5 seconds or so.
After Nicki left, I watched the monitor for a while. Of course I knew most of the images quite well, but some of them I had completely forgotten about. A few I hardly recognised at all. This was funny to me. I have created so many, in a creative flow over the last year - 2,000 and counting - that it is hard for me to mental keep track of them all. Some of them are like wild beasts and they escape the pen in the night. Only to pop up unexpected and surprise me later. The image above I did today in a cafe in the QVB before heading off to a poker game in the city. I enjoyed making it. They are all my friends, really. Each picture a new game, a fresh discovery, an experiment, visual play. Visitors on opening night asked me ' 'How do you think them all up?' Well, of course, there really is no thinking involved. It's just about looking and playing around with pictures, shapes, colours and concepts. I'm a conduit. Good job if you can get it. I'd do it for free! Hey wait on - I pretty much do! |
ART GETS ME HIGHAuthor & ArtistLewie JPD Archives
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