Image via Wikipedia
For a long time, I’ve kept a torn-out, short magazine piece on my refrigerator. It’s a discussion by the photographer Harold Feinstein about life and art. I try to read it every once in a while to remind myself that amidst all of the crap that is daily life, amidst the detritus of the mind, its self-deceits and rationalizations and wastes, there is something more.
Here are some quotes from the Feinstein piece that say it better:
“My formal education began and ended in kindergarten. Just give me paints, and clay and crayons and blocks and reams of paper—and someone who loves what I do. At age seven, when I discovered there was something called an ‘artist,” it was an epiphany. I thought, ‘You mean you can just do this?’
“When, at age 15, I looked through the viewfinder of my neighbor’s Rolleiflex, I had another epiphany. Everything looked like a photograph, and it was easy. This is what I loved about it. We don’t trust that which comes with ease; instead we tend to complicate everything. My family was disappointed, ‘Can’t you stick with anything?’ That was 53 years ago. I guess I can.”
We Were Born Wise And Taught To Be Stupid
“I believe we were born wise and taught to be stupid … we have become info-maniacs. We confuse technique with the accumulation of massive amounts of technological data. Good technique is that which interferes least with the voice of our soul … The conditioning we confuse with education teaches us to defer our vision to an outside authority, without respect for the authority within. Somehow we come to believe that ‘art’ lies on some mountain or museum beyond our reach, that we are indeed impostors at the door of art.”
” … it is astounding how difficult it is for people to accept and believe perceptive compliments without in some way discounting them. Art is an affirmation. If we are afraid that some of our images will reveal us as fools, or at least as inadequate for the journey, we will never discover our brilliance.”
Yeah. What he said.
I’ll end with quote from a wise woman, Annie Dillard:
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
Make ’em count.
“You mean you can just do this?” Yeah!
Megan, it’s such an appealing (and freeing) thought, isn’t it? Sometimes the most simple, visceral responses are indeed the right ones. I really do need some training to trust my own inner voice, because I’ve let it be damaged by the aforementioned crap.
“it is astounding how difficult it is for people to accept and believe perceptive compliments without in some way discounting them”
kapow. biff. thud.
reading “How We Decide” which is mostly about dopamine (brilliant work, deep subject, fun writing) and I’m reminded, once again. that we are in deed born brilliant and taught to be stupid.
Joel, I thought we’d talked you out of your dependence on dopamine—you do remember the drooling episodes, don’t you?
But yeah, those pervasive fog drops of “you’re not quite good enough, are you?” seep into your brain over time; I wrestle with that nag over and over. At least some days the match is a draw, or better yet, the voice is silent, maybe off pestering some other soul.
Keep up the battle!