I just wanted to post this thought for the day in hopes that a young reader may benefit from my past
self absorption.
We in the arts are continually told to pull out that " thing " inside us and show it in our art. Let me tell you , continually thinking about ourselves and examining our every thought and choice and relationships can really take us down a dark path if we are not careful.
There is a reason God did not want us to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Innocence , as I get older , can be very refreshing quality in an individual , let alone a child. With so much knowledge increased comes much sorrow. Learn to live joyfully and look outside yourself. You will always have yourself around ... why not go outside and smell the fresh air?
Having something to say can take years of living and loving and losing. And finding your voice will eventually come. Its best we get out of our own way.
I find that I can express thoughts and feelings in a cartoon that a perfectly painted picture cannot. Certain ideas lend themselves to certain media. Be they silly or allegorical of some spiritual truth , its a way we humans communicate ... and sometimes their is no profit motive ... just the joy of leaving a mark to make someone giggle and look at lif from a different angle and perspective. Can that be enough?
I realize that sometimes I can be like a bowling ball and just roll over people. Its not a good feeling conforming to the shape of someone's reality.
Now a clip from the ultimate Narcissist...... Warning ... very creepy .... but honest
Posts
Such an extreme example, but it makes the point. The sad thing is that because of its nature, narcissistic personality disorder is virtually incurable.
ReplyDeleteThe type of work we do and being alone so much can make it hard to get out of our own heads. Finally getting out sometimes feels like waking up.
Connie ... Charles Manson extreme?
ReplyDeleteI went bowling with my son last night and had a blast knocking down pins....
Frank - if we were all honest with ourselves - there is a little bit of Charlie in each of us. It is such an easy trap to fall into and so easy to let it consume our lives. I think God knows us all too well and it only by His example and help can we see how the world does not revolve around us. Thanks for this post - I needed it.
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteI was involved in Prison Ministry back in the eighties. I would go into the prisons and talk with inmates that wanted to change. I soon found out that they acted out thoughts of entitlement. There was so much of " so and so owed me " or " I needed to get even". Very few and I mean few ever said it was their fault. They ALL seemed to have an excuse.
I recall talking to a guy who got fired from working at a Car Dealership. He was really upset with the Boss and felt he had been wronged. He came back to the dealership an hour later and through a brick through the large Picture window. Some of us may fantasize getting even like that ... but these guys ACTED on these impulses.
We too have a bit of Charlie in us. You see when he said "I don't break any Laws... I make the Laws ". How many of us, if were were honest, live our lives independent of God and feel proud of it. Hey we say... we are artists> I'm supposed to push the envelope. The rules don't apply to me. I am special.
Hello Frank,
ReplyDeleteI didn't click on the video- I recognized Manson, and did not want to spend 30 seconds of my life watching pure evil.
But I am new to this solitary, self-absorbed painting mode we fall into, so maybe that's why my image of creating art is different:
I admire great art and artists, and am bold (self-centered) enough to think I have talent enough, to nurture and be a part of Art.
But I am climbing the difficult tree, hoping to learn enough to get to the next branch. The tree itself was grown and developed by others, so I am only climbing the path others have already climbed, and better too. Someday perhaps I can become a worthy enough artist
to contribute to the future strength of the tree, maybe even form my own little twig on that tree.
But that self-absorption I get into, to try to individualize my art, my thought process is more 'what did those other artists feel, that I should be feeling, and how did they communicate that with their brush?'
Art is a worthy endeavor, and I just want to climb on that tree, and hang on for dear life- I'm only special in that I am willing to hang on and get scraped now and then. A lot of people don't have the guts (that's my conceited side).
But I hope you are not being too hard on yourself with this post, Frank; you spend much time sharing your hard-earned knowledge with us. That is a wonderfully giving thing.
Hey Judy,
ReplyDeleteI've seen Art really make monsters out of people. In some ways I have seen the ugly side of fame and fortune when I worked at LucasFilm.
As a culture we worship artists as savants . People see them as bringing down fire from on high and lighting the earth with their creations.
I refer you to Don Hatfields Blog. He is very open about how his career got in the way of his family. 3 marriages later he now gets it. He shares his trials in the hope that others will be spared his journey into excess.
Hi Frank! I agree with Judy in that I'll pass on Charlie, God save him.
ReplyDeletePerspective is what I'm seeing here. If you look at things from a self perspective, well,
pride comes before a fall.
If you 'see' things through Gods perspective,
(His Word..the Bible) there is peace.
If people have a relationship with the LORD
all things become possible. (NO I don't mean you get that fancy car big bank account)
But you get to be what god intended for you in the first place.
We are his workmanship. God has a plan for you
and me. And it's bettter than anything we ourselves could acheive.
I probably will upset someone, but the Holy Bible is your owner manual, your creator made it for you because he knew we would need it.
Man does not live by bread alone, but by every
word...
Frank..your line drawings are as beautiful as your paintings!
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch the video. I just appreciate what you had to say about getting outside of ourselves. I haven't done any painting for a couple of months because I was getting too self-absorbed and it is not all about me and what I can create! Making time for relationships trumps any masterpiece I can come up with... can't take it with me. I can take people!
ReplyDeleteKathy. Celeste and Bill... Sorry for adding the clip on Charlie.
ReplyDeleteIts not all about me after all.....
Frank,
ReplyDeleteI've been out of town for a few days, and just now catching up on posts. Between you and Don Hatfield, I feel like I have some mentors on this journey of integrating art into a life of faith, and I am hanging on every word.
It is a hard thing to balance this inner fire to create, with all the other *good" things we need to do, especially when there is a sense that this drive is a God-given one. I don't always know where that balance is, but, on a simple practical level, I no longer paint after my hubby comes home from work, and unless deadlines loom, weekends are for family and other pursuits.
thanks for sharing your journey and helping to light the way for the rest of us.
Also, the teachings of Roland Young, who made the entire class, including myself, eat grass on our first day of art school. He was communicating to us how we are subservient to authority and took us outside of the classroom to this bed of grass. As we were talking, he told us “rip some grass off the ground.” We did. He then told us to “eat it.” No one budged. He then screamed “EAT IT” and all of us shoved the grass blades into our mouths. Roland taught us the necessity of concept and its marriage to well-crafted execution. Prior to Roland, most of us were blindly emulating pre-existing styles and trends without regard to meaning or relevant communication.
ReplyDeletehttp://howdesign.com/article/youngcreatives/#ixzz19QOZxipA
It's hearsay from the internet, but then again considering his prior teaching video it seems plausible. I think this is absolutely narcissistic in nature.
http://kyulo.tumblr.com/post/342768303/rolandyoungaau