art and real life
Things have been really busy lately and my brain is pretty much full just trying to make my life functional. I have a bunch of unfinished projects that are hanging over my head and keeping me from focusing on the album, so I’m trying to wrap them up while also trying to figure out how I’m going to pay my rent this month. I’m working part-time at the moment but it’s just not going to cut it so I’m looking for second part-time job, hopefully in the service industry. If anyone knows of any restaurants or cafes that are hiring please let me know!
Anyway, here’s a quote from a book I’m reading right now about this traveler who becomes an artist, and then decides that art is kind of fruitless because life is so glorious on its own. When he says “his mother’s voice”, he’s not referring to a life of obedience to his parents, but rather to follow his own inner calling, which is to be a wanderer like his mother was. Hey artists, how do you feel about this?
Art was a very fine thing no doubt, but art was no goddess, no final aim. He had not to follow art, but his mother’s voice. What use would it be to make his fingers more and more skillful? Master Nicolas had shown him where that led a man. It led to a craftsman’s fame, to money and a dull, snug life; to a withering and stunting of that essence by which alone the secret yields itself up. It led to carving petty, costly toys for every rich council-house and altar, St Sebastians, and neatly lacquered cherubs, gilded at four thalers the piece. The gold in a carp’s eyes, the lovely flicker of silver, round the edges of a butterfly’s wing, were endlessly more beautiful, more alive, more precious than roomfuls of such work.
- Herman Hesse, from Narziss and Goldmund.
I asked myself the same question.
Then I realized that I should be rich so I can travel all the time without having to work and that’s that.
Causalien said this on May 30, 2009 at 3:20 am |
I don’t know if I would want to do that. I think I would have to find ways to make it hard for myself just to stay entertained. but then there’s also an awful lot of art that could be made…
Natasha Duchene said this on May 30, 2009 at 5:40 am |
Art and the mother’s voice are the same thing for someone who is an artist.
I think the author was equating art with craft. To me they are very different. Art comes from the gift of inspiration. Craft is the skill to execute the vision. A work of art is the product of both art and craft.
It’s true that there is no way we can even come close to matching the grandeur and beauty of nature. An artist can’t help but try, though, if this is his/her calling.
A friend of mine once said, “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” This flies in opposition to the cliche but, when you think about it, it’s really true. If you have been given the gift of a creative vision, it would be a travesty to not try to realize it, even if your skills may not be up to the job. Do it anyway!
Mr. God said this on May 30, 2009 at 5:23 am |
“Art and the mother’s voice are the same thing for someone who is an artist.”
I totally feel the same way! I think the character in this book is probably still an artist more than a craftsman, but his calling is to wander more than to create. I kind of feel the same way, though I don’t know if it’s to wander more or create more. I’m happy just doing what feels right for now, which is a bit of both I guess
Natasha Duchene said this on May 30, 2009 at 5:46 am |
Artists are explorers of the mind, looking amongst the rubble for limitless traces of beauty. Whether or not to share that insight is the prerogative of the artist. Would Beethoven be any less of an artist had he withheld from us his symphonies? Tasha, it sounds like your author is an artist at heart, but he has fallen victim to semantic ambiguity of the word “art”.
Incidentally, most people have artistic tendencies in their own way, as they flesh out their universe and bring to it beauty from the inside. It is only from the outside, lacking empathy for the path they have taken, that they might seem opaque or boring. The craftsman who makes chairs all day might seem dull, but that is because the nuance he puts into each chair is not perceptible to the layperson.
Now that I’ve replied to your blog, you owe me 1 phone call.
Dan said this on May 30, 2009 at 6:13 am |
hmm would Beethoven be less of an artist if he didn’t make music? well, I would say not. but I guess “artist” is one of those words where everyone has their own meaning for it. my understanding of it is similar to yours, in that it has less to do with creating art and more to do with an openness to being moved by the world.
sorry I haven’t called you back yet though, life is really busy right now and I’m a little swamped. we should catch up soon though! <3!
Natasha Duchene said this on June 8, 2009 at 5:58 pm |