Art Begets Art

A how-to on creativity, following The Creative Act by Rick Rubin, and featuring some insights from your friendly neighborhood poet :)

“Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love… these are what we stay alive for.” - Dead Poets Society, 1989

We turn to art to make sense of the world in the most beautiful way possible. 

When we begin to see the world through the lens of cinema, music, poetry - it is not only sweeter and softer to the touch, but also easier to understand. 

We gulp down the truth with a metaphor. We cease to feel alone when the screen or stage invites us in with open arms. We close our eyes and tap our feet to beats and rhythms so we can drown out our own mundane lives. Even the toughest, most logical of hearts are softened when their old favorite song is played on the radio.

We learn to feel along with art. 

And yet, creative people are never quite held in high regard. When in fact, art may pretty much be the one thing that binds, saves, and heals the human race. 

So, why do we create? We create to find different ways to speak - and digest - the truth. We create so that we may express ourselves better - and, by extension, understand ourselves (and the world) better. We create, not always to ‘make a mark’, but often just to have something to call our own. Art gives us something beautiful to put out into the world - a higher force that brings us closer not just to ourselves, but to everyone else, too. 

Creative people are often called the ‘fools who dream’. But I like to believe they’re just happier and emotionally healthier realists who know what it takes to truly live - to love many things that are bigger than yourself, to be open to the world - all its people and all its beauty, and to participate in it the best you know how.

“...that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?” - Dead Poets Society, 1989

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And how do we craft our verse - that is, how do we go about the process of creation? 

For this, we must first learn to believe that we can create. That, no matter how unlikely it may seem, we all have a creative muscle within us. We are surrounded by and made up of art - so we can make art, in turn. 

In his insightful book, ‘The Creative Act’, Rick Rubin talks about how creativity can be developed:

“We all have the urge to make things, whether that’s a sculpture, a song, a peach pie, or an innovative project at our company. The truth is that we’re all creative and we can all learn to tap into our talents. We just need to doggedly cultivate a creative practice.”

One of the biggest things that binds artists together is the alertness and openness with which they receive the world. Everything you see, touch and feel can be art if you want it to be - the ray of sunshine falling on your cheek, the wind in your hair, the street cat that snuggles beside your feet, or a conversation you overheard in the cafe! 

“The work of an artist is to cultivate an openness to the world around you. To sharpen your sense of awareness so that you become receptive to the surprises and clues and nudges the universe is trying to give you – all the time.”

Along the same lines, Rick Rubin also mentions the importance of setting a creative routine that sharpens your awareness. 

Read a new genre of literature or a new poet every week. Listen to music by composers you’ve never heard before. Throw your devices aside and set aside half an hour in your day to write things down on paper. Maybe take more frequent walks and explore new places.

It can be anything, really - just push yourself outside your comfort zone to try something you never have before. It’s also important (no matter how big or small of an artist you are) to try new formats and reinvent your work. Be open to experimentation - you may end up creating something you’re very proud of. 

New experiences have the power to drive your mind to creativity in ways that were foreign to it before. And, most of all, take the time to pause and unwind - spend some alone time, with just yourself and the world. 

Remember that art is inherently vulnerable - so allow yourself to be honest and flawed. Here’s what The Creative Act says about the need to reject perfection while being creative: 

 “As an artist, you too will be flawed, imperfect, and awkward. You’ll be plagued with insecurities. But the fact that you’re insecure doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make art, or that you’re not a true performer. On the contrary, it means that you are sensitive, alive, and deeply human. Share your whole, imperfect self in your work. Share your fears and embarrassing insecurities. Share your desire to be liked and the trauma you carry. Share your own unique brokenness. It won’t take away from your work. In fact, it will actually make it resonate more with other people, who share those feelings.”

We have a tendency to believe that artists are lonely, and that creation is solitary. But the truth is that you’re never alone when you create - even when you’re trying to be. Because inspiration comes from everywhere - the environment you find yourself in, the people around you, and even the work of other artists. Because, after all, art begets art, and you create when you speak to the world. 

The bottom line is that creativity comes not from shutting yourself in, but from opening yourself up to the world around you. 

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Once, while at a discussion with the director Dibakar Banerjee, I asked him how one may preserve some originality and a unique individual identity in a world where social media tries to rob us of just that. And I believe his insightful answer applies to creativity too, especially now that we have begun to see art through a screen, a virtual lens. 

“Have a very active physical life. For example, go to some place about which no travel vlogs have shown up on your Instagram feed. See things without the camera. See it with the eyes and the head and your skin and your nose and your lips and your tongue and all your sensory organs. This will reinforce the human-ness in you. 

And then, if you have this sense of yourself as a physical person, you can go back to the virtual world with the utmost curiosity. You may still find some good stuff and some horrible stuff, but it will never shake the skin of you, the nose of you, the lip or tongue or teeth or eyes of you.

Our sensory organs are hardwired to our sense of well-being. So for instance, if your hands are good - sketch. Make something with your hands. That gives a sense of euphoria that nothing will give.”

Every time I find myself making excuses for not creating, not writing, I remind myself of the Charles Bukowski poem, ‘air and light and time and space’. And this is what I will leave you with today. 

“baby, if you're going to create

you're going to create whether you work

16 hours a day in a coal mine

or

you're going to create in a small room with 3 children

while you're on

welfare,

you're going to create with part of your mind and your

body blown

away,

you're going to create blind

crippled

demented,

you're going to create with a cat crawling up your

back while

the whole city trembles in earthquakes, bombardment,

flood and fire.”