Must Art Teach a Lesson?
I have read many theological discussions and defenses of the arts, and I am always torn in my response to them. For one thing, it saddens me when we feel the need to justify art by making it serve some other non-artistic purpose like teaching morality. But also, many of these defenses of art (think of Christian justifications for fantasy) seem to be afflicted with excessive seriousness, even self-importance. Do I believe that art can be a catalyst for social change, a commentator on the human condition, a conveyer of truth, a powerful agent of transformation in people’s lives? Yes! But to have to go about our business as artists while wearing that heavy mantle of responsibility seems crippling to me.
- Jennifer Trafton in the very fine essay, “The Art of Play.”
Read MoreLearning from Giants
When a giant figure like Steve Jobs dies, everyone feels a need to comment. Of course, writing or commenting often helps us process our grief and shock in sad moments like these. But, sifting through the volume of comments and articles can be overwhelming.
I don’t have anything new to say about Steve Jobs’ death of legacy, however I think I found just the right article for artists, composers and any entrepreneur. It is by David Cutler, author of The Savvy Musician. You can read his article here: What Artists Can Learn from Steve Jobs, but I wanted to just highlight a few of the lessons David so aptly summarizes:
#2: To create the future, you can’t do it through focus groups – When most businesses envision new products, they interview consumers to see what these folks want. But not Steve Jobs. He relied on his own inner compass. The masses were unlikely to imagine the phone or music playing device of the future. But he could.
Most artists also have a focus group, whether they realize it or not. It’s made up of teachers, colleagues, family members, and friends, who all have their own ideas about how life should look, what career you should have, and which art you should create. But what if they’re wrong? Innovators find their own way. Following conventional wisdom is rarely the best solution.
This next one is true of life in general:
#4. You can’t connect the dots forward – only backward – Also from the Stanford speech. His point here is that things don’t always make sense in the moment (a terrible car accident, getting fired, etc.). In the future, you’ll be able to see how these important events helped shape you, but not always in the moment.
There are 10 total quotes from Steve Jobs which David then relates to musicians. It’s well worth reading and pondering.
Read MoreArt and Self-doubt
I bought a book last weekend called Art & Fear: Observations on the perils (and rewards) of artmaking. I have yet to determine if it’s a good book, but there have been a number of good points made that I wanted to share. Especially for the very reflective individual, I found this particular quote quite telling:
Read MoreMaking art precipitates self-doubt, stirring deep waters that lay between what you know you should be, and what you fear you might be.
Writing is Easy
While this is not necessarily inspirational, it does remind me that it is normal if the process of composing is often difficult, tiring, and taxing. It also made me chuckle. Here is a reflection on writing from Gene Fowler:
Read MoreWriting is easy: all you have to do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.”
Eternal Appetite for Infancy Source
Quite a few people commented and sent me messages about the life-altering quote from G. K. Chesterton on repetition. I thought it might be good to tell you the source of this in case you want to read this fantastic book yourself. The quote is from the 4th chapter called “The Ethics of Elfland.” Doesn’t that chapter title just make you want to read it all the more? Here is a beautiful centennial version of Orthodoxy along with the quote again.
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity to make all daisies appear alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never grown tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite for infancy: for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
You may also want to read about how this relates to thoughts on piano teaching here.
Read MoreAn Eternal Appetite for Infancy
At a recent conference, Betty Todd Smith, a wonderful conference presenter said, “Children never tire of repetition. It is we adults who hate the monotony of repetition.” That sentence really struck a chord with me as a piano teacher. I am also trying to think of ways to make the repetition more interesting to the student, but perhaps I am the one that gets bored.
A few days later, my husband reminded me of this beautiful and even more life-altering quote about repetition given by G. K. Chesterton:
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity to make all daisies appear alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never grown tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite for infancy: for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
I think my perspective cannot help but be different tomorrow.
[Photo by seemsartless.com]
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