2.28.2003
the reality of artistry
the book i just finished was incredible. i got caught up in school work and had to put it down for a while, but i finally finished it and so highly recommend it. anyway, here's a passage i found incredibly insightful, not to mention helpful to anyone with creative tendencies of any kind...
"somewhere between the bathroom and the bedroom, somewhere between eating an egg and taking a crap, the muse alights. she does not usually appear where your banal hollywood notions have led you to most expect her: in a gorgeous sunset over ischia, in the pounding surf of big sur, on a mountain top in delphi (right between the navel of the earth and the place where oedipus killed his papa)--but she wings in while you are peeling onions or eating eggplant or lining the garbage can with the book-review section of the new york times. the most interesting modern writers know this. leopold bloom fries kidneys, takes a crap, and considers the universe. ponge sees the soul of man in an oyster (as blake saw it in a wild flower). plath cuts her finger and experiences revelation."
-erica jong, fear of flying
genius, isn't it? because after all, what is more interesting than real life? we can try to produce these immaculate environments, conducive to creativity... quiet, organized studios, perfectly queued background music, etc... but isn't there something just too superficial about all of that? not that i can say i've never bought into this contrived image of "the artist" at one time or another; i can remember being 13 and waiting until the sun was just sinking behind the tree line, going outside, candles in hand (didn't all great poets find inspiration by candlelight?), and searching for the magical location that would unlock all of the creativity within me. but i think jong has it right here... you can't create an environment to inspire you, and you can't wait for it to fall into your lap as you sit expectantly. just keep your mind open, and pay attention as life--real life--is happening all around you. that's where you find the real beauty, the real excellence, and the real inspiration.
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