Are you a Craftsman or an Artist?
Rick Rubin posed this question on a podcast recently and it made me perk up and take notice. We tend to conflate the two terms but Rubin suggests there’s a difference.
All tagged Making art
Picasso And The ‘Work’ Of Art
It’s rare that our work appears in its full and complete form at the outset. It’s rare that we have all of our ideas, our concepts, all of our flourishes fully figured out at the start.
More often, it develops over time, through our continued work and effort. Each stage of development either reinforces our core idea and/or allows us to discard those elements that don’t fit.
Why Is There More Art During Quarantine?
One of the interesting byproducts of our COVID quarantine has been the amount of art that’s been created during this lockdown. And by art, I don’t just mean painting or music, what we consider to be art in the strict sense (although I do include both of those forms in my definition).
Rather, I’m referring to all forms of expression, any act of creativity, including the culinary arts.
“The Bit I Didn't Want To Show...Was The Bit That Mattered"
“How people may emotionally connect with music I’ve been involved in is something that part of me is completely mystified by...Human beings are really different, so why would it be that what I do connects in that way? I discovered maybe around (Radiohead’s album) The Bends that the bit I didn’t want to show, the vulnerable bit...that bit was the bit that mattered.” Thom Yorke
The 1,000 true fans of what you do, the ones who will follow you through hell and high water, aren’t there because they expect you to sell them something. They aren’t interested in you because you’re thoroughly researched, or because you’re crafted to the nth degree.
It's Not About Your Kit
I love guitars.
I especially love guitars that are handcrafted and expertly finished. Guitars that are works of art, that use the best materials, the best pickups, the best strings. When I play guitars like these, I feel as if they improve my dexterity, my creativity and my tone. I feel as if the music I produce immediately improves. They make me a better musician.