Literary life...

I recently came across a brief autobiographical essay by Elif Batuman, a lecturer in literature at Stanford University:

Confessions of an Accidental Literary Scholar

I admire her ability to stay true to what felt right to her, as a developing writer and scholar of literature, and not to take for granted the steps one is "supposed" to take to become a writer (e.g., get an MFA, go to writers colonies, etc)...of course, I am sure part of my fondness for this essay also stems from my shared love of Russian literature (which I recently started studying) and my own budding career in higher education (well, "budding career" might be a bit excessive, but I sure do love spending time in the libraries of the campus where I work).

William Kentridge

Went to a lecture given by the South African artist William Kentridge at Cooper Union's Great Hall last night, took some notes. Here are a few Kentridge gems:

-Kentridge's own term for his rudimentary stop-motion animation technique is "Stone Age Filmmaking."

-Kentridge is attempting to make work that reminds us "what it is we do when we see."

-"An artist talking about philosophy is like a drunk going on and on about a theory."

-The concept of mistranslation: things that get lost lost as images are transferred and shared...it's about the gaps, the things that go wrong...our memory.

-Goal: to make an image that is elusive of rational explanation.

-"Like connoisseurship, both forensics and psychoanalysis rely on the details as the key to solve problems."

-"Masks actually do not work as expected: instead of focusing on the mask, we focus on the movements of the body around the mask."

-"Holding onto possibilities even if they can't or won't seem to be is what gives us hope in the world."

-"It's not fair for artists to blame bad work on theory that came first."

Learning Curve

So I've been told that the quality of my scans is poor, and that the scans are not doing justice to the actual drawings...poorly representing them and all that. I have also noticed this myself...but, for now, my focus is on pumping out these drawings, and my hope is that my scanning skills will improve as I go. Hopefully I will have a bit of a chance this Sunday to put a little more time and love into the technological side of this Daily Drawing Project, and I'll jump up really high on that scanning learning curve! We can only hope...
It's nice to have a project.

Oldie but Goodie

Well, now that I've figured out how to use the scanner function on my Epson NX400 (so easy! I had just never tried before), there is no stopping me, kids. I'm going scan-crazy. Now if only I had Photoshop on my laptop...
This image is a gouache drawing I did in early 2006, from a series based on words I grabbed out of Margaret Atwood's The Tent.

Going crazy, time to sketch...

I think it's just been too long since I've put pen or pencil to sketch paper or bristol board or rag paper or...anything! So, until I de-crazify, I think some sketching is in order. No agenda intended. Here's the first two minutes of my efforts (the 80s music station is playing in the background in the other room).

Cartooning is a beautiful art form.

Last Friday I went to a joint talk by Chris Ware and Marjane Satrapi, moderated by Françoise Mouly (New Yorker art director, wife of Art Spiegelman, etc). The talk was a free event of N.Y.U.'s Festival of New French Writing. I regret that I could not attend so many of the Festival's talks, but I am so glad I was able to catch this one at least.

I first started to become aware of Ware (har har) in 2002, when he was included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial for Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. I was blown away by the incredible detail, and at the same time simplicity, evident in his work. The sheer number of hours that must've gone into production of this book-length comic (graphic novel?)...it was the only kind of artwork that seemed to not only engage me but give me the urge to run home and work on something myself. I love art with that effect.

As much as I find myself more and more interested in comics as an art form, I was still not aware of Satrapi, until Friday night. This despite the fact that the movie version of her book Persepolis had been nominated for an Oscar. (Certain parts of my pop culture knowledge simply have big gaping holes - I've come to accept this).

Anyway...I just wanted to say thank you to NYU for bringing Satrapi to my attention through this joint lecture series. It was such a treat to watch both her and Ware talk about their work. They're both excellent artists who work in the same genre but in totally different styles, and it was amazing to see comics taken so seriously by two such different personalities. Satrapi was full of energy and endlessly quotable, and Ware was, like the characters in his comics, endlessly apologizing for existing. Totally fascinating.

Late Bloomers

I've been in a bit of a creative funk lately. Creative block, maybe? Creative hiatus? Creative laziness?

In any case, I haven't been making things like I've wanted to (this includes music, writing, art, etc), and I've been worried that I'm spinning my wheels yet again, succumbing to the mild depression that has reared its head in my life ever since high school.

Today I got a nice creative kick in the butt by having tea with one of my ex-professors-turned-friends. Just getting out of the house and talking to someone who has taught me about art and who still believes in my ability to do something significant was pretty inspiring.

So I went right out and purchased myself a mic stand, which I've been meaning to do for months, went home and recorded rough demos of two songs I wrote in August. It's amazing how much easier my life feels all of a sudden with a cheap $40 boom microphone stand.
Sometimes, you just gotta spend a few bucks and do something simple to get the ball rolling.
I now feel like I am prepared to record new ideas anytime they come to me, which is very liberating.

And just to seal my improved outlook this evening...I received the latest issue of New Yorker magazine in my mailbox today, and in the issue was an article called "Late Bloomers (Why do we equate genius with precocity?)," which I just finished reading.

Malcolm Gladwell, the article's author, presents a theory on creative people that was developed by David Galenson, an economist at the University of Chicago. Galenson had come to the conclusion, through his research, that creative people can be divided into two types:
1) prodigies, who produce their best work early in their career and tend to be "conceptual"
2) late bloomers, who are "experimental" and produce their best work only after years and maybe decades of work

Anyhoo... it was liberating to read this article, and somehow made me feel a bit less like I've been flailing around for the past ten years, somehow wasting my time.
I have a lot of work to do, creatively, but I feel hopeful, which is an important step towards moving forward.
I highly recommend the article.

Live Through This

My friend Sabrina Chapadjiev has been working her butt off for at least the past year getting this amazing book together, and it's finally done. I went to one of the reading release parties here in New York a few days ago, and the presentations by contributors Cristy C. Road, Nicole Blackman, Fly, Silas Howard, and Bonfire Madigan Shive were just amazing. Do yourself a favor and check this out:
Live Through This: On Creativity and Self-Destruction.

Here is a quote from the back of the book jacket (which, by the way, includes endorsements by Janeane Garofalo, Lydia Lunch, and Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara, among others):
"...(Live Through This) is a collection of original stories, essays, artwork and photography. It explores the use of art to survive abuse, incest, madness and depression, and the often deep-seated impulse toward self-destruction including cutting, eating disorders and addiction..."

Full list of contributors: Nan Goldin, Patricia Smith, bell hooks, Eileen Myles, Inga M. Muscio, Diane DiMassa, Fly, Cristy C. Road, Annie Sprinkle, Elizabeth Stephens, Nicole Blackman, Stephanie Howell, Daphne Gottlieb, Carolyn Gage, Carol Queen, Anonymous, Kate Bornstein, Silas Howard, Toni Blackman, and Bonfire Madigan Shive.

I am so proud of my friend and so thankful she has put this amazing book out into the world.

Happiness!

I do believe I have a new love...and that love is the Yamaha CP33 stage piano.

I finally made the plunge and purchased my new love yesterday afternoon, after waiting several agonizing days for my local Yamaha retailer to replenish its CP33 stock. And tonight, well, tonight I set the bad boy up and played it for the first time.

I can't wipe the grin off my face. Uncontrollable smiles are my favorite kind.

My new love has graded hammer action (it feels like a real grand piano), a sweet sustain pedal, and (most importantly of all) the most realisitc piano voices I have ever heard on a digital piano.

My new love is probably the best roommate I've ever had (please, note to humans I've lived with: if you heard this baby, you would not take offense to that statement whatsoever). I hope we have a long and fruitful relationship together.

The Gift

I am happily in the middle of reading several books right now. In one book in particular, I am making extremely slow progress. This is because I come across a thought every few pages that gets me contemplating my approach to my own creative pursuits. The book I am referring to is the 25th anniversary edition of The Gift by Lewis Hyde.

I knew nothing about this book or its cult following when I bought it. I was simply shopping for a gift certificate Christmas present in my local independent bookstore in December when, as usual, I found myself drawn to the table of new paperbacks. It is very difficult for me to resist the urge to buy a book in a good bookstore. For this reason, Strand bookstore in New York is a dangerously tempting place for me to enter.

I think it's too early in my reading of The Gift to give a thorough review of it, so for now I will say that I am intermittently enjoying it greatly and will provide a link to some other folks' thoughts on the book:
Re-Gifting by Dwight Garner in the New York Times Online

Why did I pick up this book and buy it, with no prior knowledge of its existence? I couldn't resist the praise on its cover, including Margaret Atwood's assessment that The Gift is "The best book I know of for talented but unacknowledged creators. A masterpiece."

(p.s.: My apologies for the lack of proper italics in this post - I am having difficulties with my Safari browser.)