All people are selfish, artists or not. This might sound like a hot take, but it’s actually trite: When all are something, nobody is. In other words, all people are selfish because that’s human nature – we are the center of the universe because that’s how we perceive everything – but the fact that there are degrees is what allows us to call someone selfish and someone else not.
Linguistic and metaphysical trickery aside, selfish artists are a peculiar concept because the nature of art itself (especially in connection with authorship) is as peculiar. By its nature, art isn’t quantifiable, whereas artists are humans with intense desire to quantify everything.
Do artists have social responsibilities? That’s a question we’ve wondered about. Selfish artists, as a concept, is somewhat relevant to that question, but not entirely. The topic boils down to the degree an artist respects the art, their work, and ultimately themselves.
Here’s a little meta- take on selfish artists: The original image (public domain) was much more colorful, with high saturation. I assume the photographer became a bit too enamored with the vivid colors and cranked up the saturation. Before posting it, I slightly lowered the saturation to let the image “breathe”. Who’s selfish? The photographer for going all out and “disrespecting” the art, or I for essentially imposing my artistic will on someone else’s work?(more…)
I recently had an interesting, eye-opening experience regarding the connection between confidence and creativity. I was watching a video of a drummer trying to play along to a song she hadn’t heard before. It was clear she was way outside her comfort zone. There was neither confidence not creativity in her playing.
Eventually she managed to get into the song and (judging by her expressions) have fun with it. After all, she is a professional drummer who, as I read, has played with some known artists in Quebec, Canada, and has appeared in several big shows.
Yet there is a difference between having played for “known artists in Quebec” (I can’t name anyone, but that’s just me) and, say, having played drums professionally for decades, touring with bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Megadeth. Respect to her and Quebec, but it’s simply not the same thing.
The drummer outside her comfort zone was Domino Santantonio who faced the challenge of the unknown on Drumeo, that has offered the same challenge to (among others) Chad Smith and Dirk Verbeuren, drummers for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Megadeth respectively. I will share the videos below, but as you might guess, their confidence was supremely evident. When you’ve played in huge stadiums next to musicians like Flea or Mustaine (with all their quirks), a little studio session for a YouTube channel can’t scare you.
The difference was so pronounced that it inspired me to write this post about the inseparable connection between confidence and creativity. Only someone truly comfortable with themselves can be creative.
The topic is more complex than what it might appear – not the least so because both confidence and creativity are peculiar concepts – so let’s try to unpack it.
I have some very rudimentary painting skills, but not artistic confidence. I can create something like this, which displays very low technical skill and even lower artistic one. Unsurprisingly, I would be far, far more confident creating an artistic instantiation of the same scene with words(more…)
The topic might sound unusual and, ironically enough, this too is part of the theme. Namely, we should be able to explore a topic as ubiquitous as human sexuality. The differentiation between pornography and erotica (erotic art, that is) is problematic. United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart notoriously said he couldn’t define it but he knew it when he saw it.
That isn’t good enough.
I want to define it and I want to understand it. I’ve had some discussions on the topic with my friend Igor, and I decided to take my side of the emails we exchanged, edit it for length and focus, and turn it into a post.
But here’s an important caveat: My main interest isn’t in defining pornography (or erotica). Rather, I want to create a more general theoretical framework that talks about the differences between art’s function, purpose, and essence. So while there will be a fairly in-depth discussion on pornography, erotica, and their differences, my ultimate focus will divert to art in general.
Erotica doesn’t even need to display nudity to be erotic. Though, funnily enough, even nudity itself can be a matter of definition (i.e. historical/cultural contexts). Is the woman of the photo nude (a little? a lot?) or not? Ask a twenty-year old secular, liberal person in present-day Helsinki and a Victorian prude like Christina Rossetti, and you’ll get very different answers!(more…)
