Cannot a thing make us uncomfortable, e.g. tension of not knowing when it is complete, and yet still be a wholesome work of art? One of the greatest barriers to scientific progress was the belief that all the basics were known, only the details remained. Heraclitus, quoted by Plato, wrote that
Everything flows and nothing abides.
Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.
Everything flows; nothing remains.
All is flux, nothing is stationary.
All is flux, nothing stays still.
All flows, nothing stays.
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Thus it is not possible to achieve perfection, a static state, in a universe always in flux.
Imagine if an infant was learning how to walk and each time he fell someone yelled at him for being so clumsy and less than perfect. You probably shrink in horror from the idea, yet so many people are even more abusive to their own creative efforts.
Name one great work of art, literature, etc. that is one string of unbroken successes.
The cure for I Need to Add More Stuff syndrome is creative friends who are brutally honest and save me from myself. (easier to do with words then illustrations of course )
This is the first thing I read this morning and it was a bracing reminder that many things can be overworked. Better to finish the thing and sink into the next.
There’s good stuff about this in Rick Rubin’s book “The Creative Act.” He talks about how you can get stuck on both ends: at the start phase with too many ideas and at the end phase by lingering too long.
Cannot a thing make us uncomfortable, e.g. tension of not knowing when it is complete, and yet still be a wholesome work of art? One of the greatest barriers to scientific progress was the belief that all the basics were known, only the details remained. Heraclitus, quoted by Plato, wrote that
Everything flows and nothing abides.
Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.
Everything flows; nothing remains.
All is flux, nothing is stationary.
All is flux, nothing stays still.
All flows, nothing stays.
___________________________________
Thus it is not possible to achieve perfection, a static state, in a universe always in flux.
Imagine if an infant was learning how to walk and each time he fell someone yelled at him for being so clumsy and less than perfect. You probably shrink in horror from the idea, yet so many people are even more abusive to their own creative efforts.
Name one great work of art, literature, etc. that is one string of unbroken successes.
LOVE THIS!
The cure for I Need to Add More Stuff syndrome is creative friends who are brutally honest and save me from myself. (easier to do with words then illustrations of course )
Yep, we all need someone who can come into the classroom and take our work away at the exact right time.
This is the first thing I read this morning and it was a bracing reminder that many things can be overworked. Better to finish the thing and sink into the next.
Overworking can sometimes be easier than underworking, for reasons I still don't understand.
There’s good stuff about this in Rick Rubin’s book “The Creative Act.” He talks about how you can get stuck on both ends: at the start phase with too many ideas and at the end phase by lingering too long.