Or do you sing and dance while the music is being played?
A friend posted this video on Facebook today, and it really got me thinking. Perhaps you might watch it and muse along with me.
I have never really been one to follow carrots that others dangled before me, but I have certainly have chased my own dreams and goals. I have no regrets, but I do know that I have missed a few dances along the way.
We would not accomplish much if we didn’t set goals and chase dreams. But those dreams and goals change as we plod our way through life, dancing or not. And the video makes a good point that our system is not geared for us to consider creative career alternatives and extra joys along the way.
I dunno. What do you think? Think you will dance in the rain a little today?
I just read an interesting article by David Galenson, Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago entitled The Two Life Cycles of Artistic Creativity. In the article, Galenson discusses two artist types which he opines are factors in determining the course of an artist’s career. Some artists do their best work at the beginning of their careers; others in their later years of life.
Following that, I found the video above featuring child prodigy artist Autumn De Forest. The video is striking not just for this eight year old child’s artistry, but for her thoughtful responses to the rather inane questions asked of her by Today Show host Matt Laur.
This child is obviously exceedingly bright with parents who have exposed her to artistic and cultural influences. (Not many parents would see a Mark Rothko painting in their child’s doodles with a paintbrush).
As an artist, I see some fascinating characteristics in her artwork and in her discussion of it.
I find it intriguing to see her handling intellectual concepts such as the use of texture and color and light while, at the same time, expressing that child-like joy of spontaneous creation that all children have.
It is an odd juxtaposition – raw child-like joy in creation combined with very adult-like analysis of a process and product.
In light of the earlier read article, it leads me to wonder how this child’s career will be shaped.
Will her precociousness continue in it’s path of experimentation and exploration led by her intrigue and curiosity? Will she go on to create things that push the envelope in artistic and philosophical understanding?
Or will she be manipulated, pushed and pulled in various directions by adults seeking to maximize her early successes in ways that they envision for her?
My hope is for the former, and seeing her character displayed in this short video, I suspect that she will set her own course. It will be interesting to see.
“When we are writing, or painting, or composing, we are, during the time of creativity, freed from normal restrictions, and are opened to a wider world, where colors are brighter, sounds clearer, and people more wondrously complex than we normally realize.” -Madeleine L’Engle, (Walking on Water 1980)
My good friend Jill Pugh sent me this quote the other day. I love it! But it has gotten me thinking…How true is it?
It is true that when I create, I go to a different place in my thoughts. I could also say that, at times it is a very soulful experience. I am free from normal restrictions and the world, indeed, is a wider place.
I am given to pondering the complexities of human experience as I spend hours in front of the canvas, developing bright and deep colorations.
But it isn’t as pure an experience as it may seem.
I impose my own restrictions on myself in the process, even as I am freed from some external ones. Some are purposeful and welcome; some are demons I am working to destroy.
And often, when I create, I am pondering external restrictions from which I cannot totally be freed. Those thoughts run from, “How am I going to pay the rent this month?” to “I need to stop in the next hour to go up and feed the cats.”
Artists do have unique perceptions and insights, and we do have the opportunity to enjoy a creative process full of wonder. I recognize that all are not able to do that, so I try to share my process with others so that they can get a glimpse of what it is like.
But I am human, as are all artists, and we put on our pants one leg at a time too.
And even if our pants are covered in paint, we are best inspired when we open ourselves to a wider world beyond the canvas.
