My friend, Victor, set a single can of Pepsi on
his table cloth covered dining room table and
took a photo of it. He took it after I chided
him for proclaiming he had nothing to photograph
in his "Podunk-USA-home: Turlock, California."
"I took it for you," he said, before the
over-the-internet-via-instant-messaging
unveiling.
I sat at my keyboard, more than two hundred
miles south of him in my own version of
Podunk-USA-Home-We-Call-it-Bakersfield, California"
and I looked at Victor's photo image on my screen.
It was simple. A soda can on a table.
"I call it `Can'" Victor typed via instant message.
"I like it." I said. "The simplicity speaks. I
appreciate the contrast between the lace of the
tablecloth and the silver-aluminum can…
thoughtful choice."
If we had been together rather than separated in
space and connecting via instant message, Victor
might have play-punched me on the shoulder. I
couldn't read his response through our instant
messaging device, so instead I sat, quietly,
appreciating his attempts at both teasing and
creating art where he thought there would be none.
The thing is, I was sincere in my praise. There
were several reasons I was pleased he took
my challenge and ran with it.
#1) I have a firm belief there is always something
worthy of creating. I shared this belief and it
had obviously been rummaging about in his mind.
#2) He took action on the rummaging of my belief
in his mind through creating something.
#3) His action inspired more art on my part, which
reinforces one of my most potent theories which is:
#4) Art begets art. The conception of art conceives
more art, which proves creativity is infinite and
gets even better when artists create together and
separately, together as Victor and I did.
It doesn't matter where you are, what tools you have,
how much is in your bank account, whether you are
dining on Top Ramen, Top Sirloin or Prime Vegan,
you CAN create art.
The Friday after this conversation with Victor I met
my friend, Jessica, for lunch at Costa del Sol in
Downtown Bakersfield. I have known Jessica even
longer than I have known Victor. Until a little more
than a year ago we had lost track of each other.
When she was just in junior high school, she attended
the Poetry Open Mic night I also attended at one of our
local book stores. Many years later, we both appeared
in Moliere's "The Bourgeois Gentleman" and then later
in Eve Ensler's "V-Monologues".
Lately we have made it a practice to have coffee or
lunch together on a fairly regular basis. Our trip
to the hot springs was legendary, resulting in some
photographs which are among my best ever.
I arrived at Costa del Sol early, since I thought I
my writing might benefit by being away from my
home office.
I was right. I wrote the beginnings of two essays – including
this one – while I was waiting for my friend to arrive. It
was after she left that I took out my camera and started
shooting a variety of subjects, including the saltshaker.
I saw how it looked through the viewfinder and it reminded
me of Victor's "Can" series so I shot a couple photos.
Later that night, I decided to take "Salt Shaker on Table"
and play with it using my photo editor.
I wanted to surprise Victor when he comes back from his
week-end away. I want him to see how his birth of art
from my idea brought more art of my own to life
from his art. It felt, to me, like another example
of the infiniteness of the creative process.
Last night I unveiled my series to Victor as we
once again chatted on instant messenger. He and
I had another rocking-and-rolling conversation,
with his nugget "I am a concept guy" bursting all
sorts of creative bubbles for me and I am guessing
once again my words are rummaging about in his
mind, seeking more creative material.
Isn't it delightful that a creativity challenge
lead to a single joke-photo which lead to an unjoking
conversation and more art and more art and still more art?
You always have something worthy of creating.
When you take action on whatever is rummaging around
in your mind, creative fruit –art itself - is a given.
Your art provides energy and inspiration for other
artists to create art.
Your art is infinite.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning said it like this: "What
is art but life upon the larger scale, the higher.
When, graduating up in a spiral line of still
expanding and ascending gyres, it pushes toward
the intense significance of all things, hungry
for the infinite?"
Today, create art from something that looks completely
mundane and ordinary. Watch what happens from the act
of creating from the mundane.
Watch. Create. Watch again. Create again. Listen.
Create. Smell. Create. Touch. Create again.
Expand, ascent, push, discover the significance
of all things.
Rumor has it, Victor has given himself another assignment.
I can't wait to see it....
This essay was originally published in Daily Passion Activator, Why not Subscribe today? It's free.
julie, i love this! the 2nd piece in the series is my fave. you have inspired me today. susan
Posted by: susan jones | July 13, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Thanks, Susan. Victor cracks me up - and I love how he inspired me into creating art from "nothing" because there is always... something.
Posted by: Julie Jordan Scott | July 13, 2009 at 03:35 PM