Thursday, November 24, 2016
The Art of the Impossible
HowlRound: I talk a lot about the necessity of a horizon: a dream so grandiose it may not come to fruition in your lifetime. It’s your impact—how your identity and intention expand beyond you.
Mine is to see the artist rise as game-changer. Not merely the art itself, or artists as celebrities, but what makes the art and artists magnets: the artistic process. The process of play, of risk, of imagination, of creativity, of collaboration, of timelessness, of ritual, of “what if”, of observation, of curiosity, of vulnerability, of empathy.
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I think this article is an important reminder that while we tout the everyday benefits of studying the arts as reason to do so, those benefits and reasons only exist if we continue to apply the arts to our everyday life. It is one thing to paint a pretty picture, put on a play, make something cool, and then step out your front door. It is an entirely different act to walk through life with the conscious knowledge that everything around yourself can be affected and influenced and altered by your artistic method. The way in which we think as artists changes the way we think about and see the world only if we make the effort to let it do so - otherwise, we might as well forget about being the "watchdogs of humanity." That being said, we must also remember to remain humble - the fact that we see the world differently is not what makes us artists: everyone see's the world differently. It's what we do with that view and how we do it that distinguishes us. To walk around all high and mighty as though our viewpoint somehow makes us wiser and better is a fool's errand. To act as though our voices matter more because we have been taught how to use them is egotistical and selfish. We can only hope to help by recognizing that we are but strangers in the crowd like everyone else. We are just strangers with an alternative purpose, and by remembering our alternative purpose consciously in everyday life we might be lucky enough to use it for the betterment of all those around us.
"We are the watchdogs of humanity." What a statement. This article, if anything, is inspiring. This article is a call to action. This article feels more like a work of art itself than a piece of writing that is encouraging artists. I think that this article contains within it important ways to go about living life as a "watchdog of humanity." The author encourages the reader to live truthfully, to live a receptive life, a raw life. I think this is where the article trails off. It is highly encouraging and inspiring, but it leaves us with the decision of what to do as artists. Yes, the author encourages us to make art of the impossible. To dream of the impossible so that we are constantly inspired. But what we do with that inspiration on a daily basis is also important. How we interact with others, with our collaborators, is where the true meaning of "watchdogs of humanity" comes in. We need to be the watchdogs of humanity in our every day lives, not just in our artistic endeavors.
I truly believe that anything in this world that we live in is possible. The only things that are impossible are those that we say are impossible. There are two ways to accomplish this. The first thing is for the project to have an infinite budget in both time and money. This only happens rarely, but it does happen, and is certainty the easier of the two routes. The second is to give the project your all, and not limit yourself too early in the process. It really is true that the more your put in the more you get out. By not limiting yourself too early in the process than you are able to get to the heart of what you are trying to achieve. Then if you are not able to accomplish that you have enough time to figure out how to create a similar thing.
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