AKADEMIE X Lessons in Art + Life

One of the best books I read about Art in a long time is AKADEMIE X Lessons in Art + Life. (The ones from Will Gompertz are first because they are more accessible.)

The book is beautifully designed and illustrated. The text from various artists have different forms, and vary in usefulness and readability. Every article included reading lists and viewing lists. The book as such is an art education on itself.

The struggles of the artist.

One question is, how do you create a way of being in the world that allows new things (ideas, information, people, places) into your life without letting everything in?

The emphasis on an art that is idea-driven is very important in order to maintain diversity in artistic practice and so that art is a tool to produce knowledge about the world.

the whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.

Artists notice stuff – the way things come together or fall apart, the telling detail or the overlooked ruin, the tell-tale gesture. To be an artist you have to train yourself to pay attention to the world in which you live, constantly looking for clues, always aware of your surroundings.

One thing all artists need to be able to do is to present their ideas confidently to the range of people who come through the studio – peers, curators, writers, collectors.

… spend more time making stuff, less time thinking about it; and do a better job of networking, staying in touch with people who show interest or friendship.

Precise and clear riting skills play a very important role in an artist’s career.

Another thing that I wish had been taught at school was the business side of art.

Keeping a personal journal over the years also plays a very important role in my practice. Many ideas and interesting tidbits of information that I’ve picked up end in the journal

A large part of my time is spent on organizing the production of my work. Organizational and managig skills are extremely important… Artists need to learn to organize and to delegate their works to studio assistents or to fabricators when necessary.

Read! Don’t ignore the history of your art. Don’t waste time trying to reinvent the wheel.

Don’t fixate on ‘breaking’ onto the scene. If you keep making interesting work, people will notice.

My simplest advice for navigating the art market is never to operate from a place of desperation, and never undervalue yourself.

Good painting is timeless, suggestive and individual.

If you’re working on a project of your own, be happy that your’re on a deadline…

If you’re having a hard time getting the creative juices churning, try starting with what you know… – the objective is to get busy.

Stop making ‘art’ and start making your work.

Be prepared to be unpopular, unclassifiable and perhaps even out-of-date…

… the rest is longevity, endurance and the ability to keep on making work despite the pleasures and pitfalls of other distractions in life.

Verwarde Cavia observeert veranderingen

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Na Taal Is Zegt Maar Echt mijn Ding, las ik van Paulien Cornelisse De Verwarde Cavia.

De Verwarde Cavia is een melige verzameling columns die eerder in NRC verschenen over de dagelijkse beslommeringen van Cavia, een gescheiden alleenstaande vrouw zonder kinderen. En Cavia observeert. Cavia is het liefst op zichzelf.   Cavia worstelt niet met het leven, hoewel ze wat zeikerig is. Maar het leven overkomt haar. Ze is naïef en neemt heel weinig hele kleine initiatieven. Ze is de goedheid zelve. Ze wordt misbruikt voor dubieuze praktijken als bespioneren van collega’s.

 Het oppervlakkige leven en gebrek aan diepgang is wellicht het thema in de Cavia verhalen.

Cavia produceert geen diepzinnige gedachten.   En zo kwam het dat Cavia zich te midden van borrelende mensen bezighield met de filosofische vraag: Als je aan het mingelen bent, maar niemand merkt het, is er dan sprake van mingelen? Cavia mijdt moeilijkheden. Maar is droogkomisch.   Nu Enzo weg was, werd Cavia ineens weer wakker in haar eigen huis. Ze was er de afgelopen tijd zo weinig geweest dat ze het zielig vond voor haar spulletjes, maar ze sprak zichzelf meteen streng toe: Dingen zijn niet zielig! Je kon wel aan de gang blijven. “Het was even stil. ‘En dat jij dan de keynote doet?’ vroeg De Groot.’Bijvoorbeeld!’ zei Cavia. ‘Bijvoorbeeld.’ Zo direct even opzoeken wat precies de definitie van een keynote was. “Goed: zei De Groot. ‘Make it happen.’Cavia slikte. Cavia raakt in de war van veranderingen. Maar niet op een pathologische manier.   In mineur over alle veranderingen liep Cavia door de regen naar huis. Om zichzelf op te vrolijken kocht ze bij de kantoorboekhandel wat bruine enveloppen, eigenlijk alleen om eraan te ruiken. Uiteindelijk is het leven van een kantoorbediende die slappe nieuwsbrieven rondstuurt slechts een setting een lichte levenswijze die Paulien Cornelisse voor ons schetst. Het kleine leven in The Office, Het Bureau, Debiteuren Crediteuren, maar dan stiekem toch best gelukkig mee kunnen zijn met de geborgenheid van deze weinig uitdagende werkomgeving.  

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Steal Like An Artist – Austin Kleon

Great, compound book, about getting art work done, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. 

Stealing is only part of it, and not something to be ashamed of, but rather a necessity.

All things come down to discipline and stamina, applying the principle of Ignore Everybody (Hugh McLeod who seems to be his friend).

Like his note on sharing the dots: connecting them is the trick.

Adheres to the principle in reading: will not finish books i don’t like. Love that.

In the back a number of book recommendations. Thank you very much Austin.

Read also Show Your Work. 

Alain De Botton – The Consolations of Philosophy

In The Consolations of Philosophy, Alain de Botton helps us put life’s difficulties into perspective. De Botton guides us through the works of a number of well-known philosophers (Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche) and distills lessons from their work.

The Consolations of Philosophy

From Socrates we learn to examine the statements of self-confident people. Oftentimes you find these statements can not stand up to even mild scrutiny. So, subject their convictions and also your own premises to criticism. Support your beliefs with good answers to counter arguments.

Epicurus tells us that epicurean is actually not, as opposed what we often associate it with today, equivalent to being an unbounded bon-vivant. Instead, Epicurus tells which components are more important than “stuff” for our well-being: friendship, freedom, reflection.

Seneca learns us to enjoy the beautiful things of life, but to always be prepared to loose these acquirements. And to not get freaked out when this happens.

Do not assume the world is conspiring against you. Annoying things happen to you while no one is aiming to hurt you. You are not being sabotaged.
(Even better, to speak with Kevin Kelly, the world is conspiring to your success: pronoia.)

Motaigne states that he who thinks he is wise, is in fact a fool.

The banal physical things can not be denied. Even the king has to shit and it stinks too.

Our culture is not the norm. Our habits and rituals are just as strange as those from a distant Indian tribe in the jungle of South America. Arrogance is misplaced.

Wisdom and scholarship are different things. Wisdom is rarely taught in schools. Not (just) philosophers are able to lead a virtuous life. Also a poorly-educated worker can live wisely and “produce” wisdom. (Grandmother’s wisdom).

Schopenhauer strikes me as a grumpy man. It is not our intelligence that steers our decisions, but the unconscious. Our intelligence is busy justifying our decisions through the construction of logical reasonings. Very much like Kahneman has found: fast decision making is done by our System 1 thinking, which is impulsive and subjective. Our System 2 is more thoughtful and slow, but tends not to correct System 1 decisions but rather justify those decisions.

Love between man and woman is only successful if our unconscious thinks that it may produce good offspring. Procreation is what drives all this, unconsciously. Consoling consequences: when your love is declined, this is only because nature predicts an unsuccessful reproduction, not so much because the other person dislikes you.

Nietzsche explains there is no joy without difficulties. Difficulties are necessary prerequisites for joy.

From the efforts of the craftsman follows the genius of the artist. Genius is not born but created. The route to follow learning your crafts: sublimate, spiritualize (internalize), elevate. Do not resign to things that are too difficult to achieve, but instead fight to achieve these. There is no other way.

See also Beauty and Consolation.

Derek Sivers’ Hell Yeah or No: a collection of counterpoints

Get on on Derek Sivers‘ great mailing list. Last week through this list he offered me the opportunity to buy his accidentally published book

Derek Sivers

“Hell Yeah or No“. I took the bait.

The saying “Hell Yeah or No” has become one of Derek’s more famous expressions, originating from the book Anything You Want.

The book Hell Yeah or No is a collection and rework of a number of Derek’s blog posts.One chapter in the book describes best what Derek is about.

My public writing is a counterpoint meant to complement the popular point.

Many articles in the book make you think “Mmm… yeah – that’s a good point of view too”.

A couple of week ago I purchased his other new book Your Music and People. Did not find room to read it yet. But expectations are up. 

Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

The world was too big, even for the huge talents of Leonardo Da Vinco Walter Isaacson wrote a biography of one of the world’s biggest geniuses. 

Da Vinci was a strange guy. He was extremely curious. So curious, that he hard a hard time finishing things. Always on the way to the next thing, and many other things at the same time. 

He didn’t make things easy for himself. He was interested in so many things: painting, drawing, sculpture, engineering, science, urban design, biology, anatomy, physics. The list goes on. 

What also did not help him was his perfectionism. If it couldn’t be perfect, he lost interest, or kept on improving forever. The Mona Lisa was a life-time’s work. He carried it around for decades, constantly improving it. A huge wall fresco in Florence, The Battle of Anghiari, he abandoned because he could not produce it the way he wanted. The invention was more important to him than the execution, improving more important than delivering. He had many book ideas, but finished none. 

But this immense breadth of interests and his doggedness is also the core of his genius. He invented things that others could not see. He combined knowledge that was not combined before. He approached art with a scientific approach. He made anatomic drawings with artistic quality. He wanted to know everything about anything. Isaacsons calls him the personification of the universal mind.

In the last chapter Isaacson lists the lesson we can learn from Da Vinci’s life. (Da Vinci was a keen list-maker himself.)

Be curious, relentlessly curious.

Seek knowledge for its own sake.

Retain a childlike sense of wonder.

Observe.

Start with the details.

See things unseen.

Go down rabbit holes.

Get distracted.

Respect facts.

Procrastinate.

Let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Think visually.

Avoid silos.

Let your reach exceed your grasp.

Indulge fantasy.

Create for yourself, not just for patrons.

Collaborate.

Make lists.

Take notes, on paper.

Be open to mystery.

A good article that summarizes the lessons, is this: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/05/20-life-lessons-leonardo-da-vinci/

Some of these lessons, when applied undisciplined (like Da Vinci), can lead to the perfectionism and chronic inability to ship we have seen in Leonardo’s life. Despite his extreme talents, the world was too big, even for Leonardo Da Vinci.

Max, Micha & the Tet Offensive by Johan Harstad

In Max, Micha & het Tet Offensive, Johan Harstad writes about the confusing lives of a Norwegian family that migrates to the USA. The family falls apart while they are trying to re-establish their lives in their new country, they find each other, drift away again, and come back again.

Harstad’s style is very detailed, he uses very long sentences that nevertheless read like a roller-coaster ride. He drags the reader through the youth of the Norwegians and their friends, their dwellings and their unfulfilled dreams in the US, in Vietnam, Canada.

The art world in the 80s and 90s is part of the scene – Max is a stage director, his girl friend Mischa a talented painter.

SOnix Youth somehow plays an important role in the book. Through never very exploicit, Harstad refers a number of times to Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation album. Kim Gordon visits one of the first exhibitions of Mischa, and promises to buy a large realistic painting of a refrigerator (probably a reference to their album Washing Machine).

In the back of the book a song text from Sonic Youth is quoted.

It’s an anthem in a vacuum on a hyperstation
Day dreaming days in a daydream nation

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Photographers’ Sketchbooks

Yesterday I wrote about Bryan Formhals. He is the co-author of Photographers’ Sketchbooks. The book describes and shows how artists, not just photographers as the title suggests, create, try out, design, figure out, make notes, iterate, channel their creative endeavors. The books features Roger Ballen, Rob Hornstra, Peter van Agtmael, and many others.

Bomb of inspiration.

Rick Pastoor – Grip

Rick Pastoor worked as IT lead at Blendle and taught himself to work very efficient. He wrote about his working methods in Grip. Soon to be published in English. Pastoor combine various best practices for efficient working into a very practical and systematic working manner.

Put everything you are going to work on in your calendar. Not just appointments, also your focused work.

Select activities that go in your calendar on the basis of priority, urgency, focus.

Important things first.

Do not switch too much between creative work and things like meetings abnd calls. Do not do many things at the same time.

Drop all tasks you think of in a list. Use an app like Todoist or some other way to easily save things to do or reminders. Categorize the items in the list.

Execute bigger things in small steps. Set intermediate goals, so you get the satisfaction of achieving things.

Do not email all the time but block time for batch processing of email. Apply David Allen’s Getting Things Done method for handling your emails.

Block each week a half hour for cleaning your task list and agenda.Do a weekly review. Create a checklist for the review.

Part 2 of the book is called Grip on Your Year, and is about planning yearly goals and how to achieve these.

What drives you, what is your passion, mission, skills cycle.

Look for an accountability partner that help help you achieve goals and keep you an the right path.

Part 3 of the book goes even wider and is called Grip on your Life.

Set big goals, but little steps to achieve them. Develop habits.
Apply Seinfeld’s rule: don’t break the chain.

Listen and ask advice.

Have different advisors for different perspectives of your life (personal, business, specific issues, …).

Get better at strategic thinking:

  • Understand the issue at hand.
  • Analyse what other before you did.
  • Think up alternatives.
  • Don’t deceive yourself. Be aware of your prejudices, preoccupations and preferences.

Think even bigger than think big.

Where Cal Newport advocates productivity through refraining from the use of digital devices, Rick Pastoor puts the digital tools to his advantage and helps us finding out how to use the tools efficiently.

Simple – Ottolenghi’s definition of …

Whether simple applies to the recipes in this book is probably a subjective matter. His list of basic ingredients in the back of the book says a lot: Za’atar, Sumac, Urfa chilli flakes, Ground cardamom (ok then), Pomegranate molasses, Tahini (soi), Rose harissa, Dried barberries, Black garlic, Preserved lemons. It reads like a poem but probably surpasses “simple” for many a cook.

But  the dishes presented in the book are wonderfully original an dtasty, and  the book is beautifully illustrated.

Along with Harold McGee’s Keys to Good Cooking and Ottolenghi’s Plenty probably the new classics of cooking.