The Creative Life

admin | 7:48 pm | April 11, 2007 | Uncategorized

Just read this moving article in the Washington Post about how one of the worldest greatest violin players (Joshua Bell), playing some of the most well-respected music on one of the most cherished instruments was ignored.

It brought to mind a recurring theme of one of my favorite professors, the late Nathan Knobler.

I am paraphrasing, but he would often say something like, “When you make art, you are competing for attention amongst all of the other things in the world. You are not competing for this attention between other works of art. You are more likely competing against someone’s thoughts on an upcoming meeting. You need to figure out a way to grab them and make them pay attention for a moment. And then when you have that attention, you better deliver something meaningful.”

Why does that matter, you might say? Haven’t we been told that recognition of artistic genius is not for your lifetime anyway? Why bother trying to compete? Won’t people eventually figure out what a fanastic work of art you have created? That is, after you die.

For me, the answer has always revolved around the desire to live a creative life. More specifically, to be able to support myself and family with the fruits of my creative labor. To take the creation of culture as a serious and professional endeavor.

I have never subscribed to the myth that an artist is not supposed be understood in their time and that they will only be discovered later.

My main motivation in creating is to communicate and to connect with other people and other living things. I don’t see the value in making something and then not sharing it. I am interested in the dialogue, the conversation with this thing. It is fine if it transcends my lifetime, but that is not my primary goal.

I want to impact culture. Today.

I have always had pity for the physically beautiful person that opens their mouth and nothing meaningful comes out. They instantly become unattractive to me. It is likely that they have never been challenged to think… since their looks have always carried them.

I feel the same way about a beautiful object that does not enrich life and create culture. It means almost nothing to me.

If you want to live a life where you have the privilege of creating culture and making beautiful things, it is not enough to just create them, as Joshua Bell can now attest. You ought to find a way to connect with people and to share with them.

I wish Nathan were alive to read this article. I know he would get a kick out of it.