Non-erotic nudity as a metaphor for the creative process or: How to keep that productive streak running
How to keep that creative streak running (Looking back at my life as an artist)
I often think stuff like: how could I sum up my biography as an artist, what advice could I give to others, is there something others could learn... some information to share.
Either way, the other day I turned on TV to watch a movie, and it seemed like the movie was not on yet, as the end of another movie was playing, a movie I did not know.
So there was a football (soccer) game going on, when suddenly some middle aged dude ran onto the pitch, unclothed. A sports streak, a thing that is not entirely unknown to happen in Europe. Turned out he was some friendly but boring loser with an even more boring job, had fallen out of favor, was in a financial and otherwise crisis, and was somehow involved in sports bets in order to find a remedy to his situation.
Now he was literally running for his bare life (pun intended), trying to dodge any kind of security, as the crowd in the stadium, and the millions of people in front of TV, cheered him on. Turns out he had to run for 3:18 straight, without being toppled or tripping, in order to beat the world record in - tada - "sports streaking".
He did succeed, and in the end this solved all his problems. Wonderful!
Why do I tell you this? Because, I think this little sequence of 3 and ⅓ minutes, perfectly sums up what creativity and the artist's life is about. It's a marvelous metaphor, really.
If you want to be a musician, or artist, and if you want to really get somewhere, and are not just doing it for hobby, or to become an unknown "in-house" producer for some label, or a similarly plain fate, ask yourself this:
Would you be comfortable in a situation like this? Being completely unclothed, millions watch you, several dozen chase you and try to topple you, and you must stay up, you must not trip, you must not allow yourself to be pushed to the ground?
And no, there is nothing "romantic" about this situation, you don't look above average, it's totally un-erotic nudity, no kink or fetish thing, and millions of people are free to laugh at you and your bare self, hate you, point at you, mock you, criticise you?
Because *that* is what art and music is about. You put your innermost emotions, thoughts, feelings, *secrets*, out to the world. Things that can be seen as embarrassing, shocking, ugly, or even just "stupid and dumb".
Normal people hide behind a shield, a shell, a protective layer, if you want to call it that. Where they are allowed to keep a lot of themselves, their moods, their true thoughts, to themselves. And that can give a sense of security and stability. To them.
But an artist does not have that security.
And don't think you could still keep something about yourself - to yourself. Once you are "moderately" known, they will come for you, and strip away everything that is left, of your "secrets".
The lions are hungry, and they come to devour you.
Oh, and the security force? That's a metaphor for the army of humans that are jealous, mean, evil, that see you, see how you are, do not like this, and try to stop you. You need to be able to dodge their attempts. And also be able not to trip by yourself.
And be able to keep running, and running, and running...
So, if you are able to put yourself in such a situation, in your own imagination, and you are comfortable with it, and you have the courage...
Then congrats, you really are an artist.
I should add two more notes to this otherwise finished text, because it is easy to be misunderstood:
In many European countries, being unclothed is semi-legal or not entirely illegal. I know that in other countries (hello USA!), there are different sensitivities.
And, most importantly, "nudity" really is just a metaphor in the entire text. Just like I said!
It's a metaphor for showing your creativity and thoughts, and everything else, out to the world. I don't mean "literal" nudity in this text! So please do not misunderstand it.
How to keep that creative streak running (Looking back at my life as an artist)
I often think stuff like: how could I sum up my biography as an artist, what advice could I give to others, is there something others could learn... some information to share.
Either way, the other day I turned on TV to watch a movie, and it seemed like the movie was not on yet, as the end of another movie was playing, a movie I did not know.
So there was a football (soccer) game going on, when suddenly some middle aged dude ran onto the pitch, unclothed. A sports streak, a thing that is not entirely unknown to happen in Europe. Turned out he was some friendly but boring loser with an even more boring job, had fallen out of favor, was in a financial and otherwise crisis, and was somehow involved in sports bets in order to find a remedy to his situation.
Now he was literally running for his bare life (pun intended), trying to dodge any kind of security, as the crowd in the stadium, and the millions of people in front of TV, cheered him on. Turns out he had to run for 3:18 straight, without being toppled or tripping, in order to beat the world record in - tada - "sports streaking".
He did succeed, and in the end this solved all his problems. Wonderful!
Why do I tell you this? Because, I think this little sequence of 3 and ⅓ minutes, perfectly sums up what creativity and the artist's life is about. It's a marvelous metaphor, really.
If you want to be a musician, or artist, and if you want to really get somewhere, and are not just doing it for hobby, or to become an unknown "in-house" producer for some label, or a similarly plain fate, ask yourself this:
Would you be comfortable in a situation like this? Being completely unclothed, millions watch you, several dozen chase you and try to topple you, and you must stay up, you must not trip, you must not allow yourself to be pushed to the ground?
And no, there is nothing "romantic" about this situation, you don't look above average, it's totally un-erotic nudity, no kink or fetish thing, and millions of people are free to laugh at you and your bare self, hate you, point at you, mock you, criticise you?
Because *that* is what art and music is about. You put your innermost emotions, thoughts, feelings, *secrets*, out to the world. Things that can be seen as embarrassing, shocking, ugly, or even just "stupid and dumb".
Normal people hide behind a shield, a shell, a protective layer, if you want to call it that. Where they are allowed to keep a lot of themselves, their moods, their true thoughts, to themselves. And that can give a sense of security and stability. To them.
But an artist does not have that security.
And don't think you could still keep something about yourself - to yourself. Once you are "moderately" known, they will come for you, and strip away everything that is left, of your "secrets".
The lions are hungry, and they come to devour you.
Oh, and the security force? That's a metaphor for the army of humans that are jealous, mean, evil, that see you, see how you are, do not like this, and try to stop you. You need to be able to dodge their attempts. And also be able not to trip by yourself.
And be able to keep running, and running, and running...
So, if you are able to put yourself in such a situation, in your own imagination, and you are comfortable with it, and you have the courage...
Then congrats, you really are an artist.
I should add two more notes to this otherwise finished text, because it is easy to be misunderstood:
In many European countries, being unclothed is semi-legal or not entirely illegal. I know that in other countries (hello USA!), there are different sensitivities.
And, most importantly, "nudity" really is just a metaphor in the entire text. Just like I said!
It's a metaphor for showing your creativity and thoughts, and everything else, out to the world. I don't mean "literal" nudity in this text! So please do not misunderstand it.
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