Category: Creativity
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Goya and Van Gogh
Two famous painters from history – Francisco Goya and Vincent van Gogh – were born on this day, 275 years and 168 years ago respectively. I do not have anything very insightful to say, I just scanned through each of their works again this evening, and pulled several ‘comparable’ pieces (only in rough terms of…
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Less, But Better
Rams, a documentary by Gary Hustwit, paints a beautiful picture of the life, work and philosophy of one of the world’s most influential industrial designers – Dieter Rams. Kindly, organized and reclusive, Dieter Rams does not fall in with the authoritarian stereotypes of world-changing innovators – like Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison. He is generous…
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Quantity Masks Crudity
Even crude work becomes impressive in high enough quantity. Like Jason Polan’s Every Person in New York. Pretty much anything becomes impressive or beautiful to us humans in high enough quantity. LEGO clone troopers. Layers of paint. Words repeated a 100,000 times in a row. Sometimes, if you find yourself struggling to create a singular…
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A Lens of Celebration
Van Neistat, filmmaker and older brother of Casey Neistat, released the first videos on his brand new YouTube channel – a series called The Spirited Man. I was ecstatic to see this, and even more so when I watched the videos. Then watched them again. And again and again and again. And fell in love…
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The Distraction Quandary
Tom Sachs, a New York-based sculptor, gave a interesting TED talk on creativity and standards. In it, he said: “Authenticity also demands endurance. Do it for a long time – whatever it is. Two years, it’s just an interest. Do something for five years, and it’s a hobby. Do something for 20 years, and you…
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Sharing Paint
I was toddling around the living room tonight, having closed my laptop for the sake of my eyes not melting out of their sockets, when I heard a cheer from the open window. My street is full of bars and restaurants, and as spring has started to emerge, the weekends have gotten louder and louder.…
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Ted Lasso and the story of Jesus
I have recently started watching the Apple TV+ original show, Ted Lasso, starring Jason Seduikis. It tells the story of a young college football coach from Kansas who is hired to coach a English Premiere League football club with no experience, and practically no knowledge of the game. While the plot of the show revolves…
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Picasso’s Letter
“Everybody has the same energy potential. The average person wastes his in a dozen little ways. I bring mine to bear on only one thing: my paintings, and everything is sacrificed to it – you and everyone else. Myself included.” This is a quote from a letter Pablo Picasso wrote to a lover, discovered through…
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Writer’s legacy
This afternoon I was listening to an NFL podcast. At the top of the show, before getting into the normal swing of things, the host took a few minutes to give a tribute to a fellow sports writer that had just passed away the week before recording. At the end of it, he said “I…
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The Life of Hayao Miyazaki
This evening, I watched Never Ending Man, a documentary following Hayao Miyazaki, the famed founder, writer and director of Japan’s Studio Ghibli. It was a fascinating watch, as Miyazaki is, himself, a fascinating man. He wears a white apron in nearly every shot of the film, at home and in the studio, and there’s more…