Learning to pause forms a fundamental part of any (artistic) process and should be treated just as important as the act of creating. Taking a break allows ideas to sit and develop. It also provides an artist the portal towards a more critical and objective viewpoint. Since fatigue can lead any artist to become unnecessarily attached to a particular work, taking a break can provide a more detached and refreshed perspective. It also pays to be patient with oneself, and the process. The proper use of this habit can make one a better artist, and art appreciator. While taking a break, consider:
1. Completely shutting down the senses. Get away from the work and avoid anything that may bring it's memory. Just forget you ever began what you started...if you can.
2. Finding and storing inspiration from other forms of art. Engaging with subject matter dissimilar to that of your focus can provide interesting insights. One can also find such inspiration from the daily events of life. It pays to write down such experiences, as they pertain to the work at hand. Such notes will become valuable when you return to your project.
3. Developing a holistic mental outlook with regards to the process. Why beat yourself up for the pause? Nothing worth doing is achieved in a single day: taking a break allows you the opportunity to improve on your process, through reflection. By treating the work according to the worth you believe it deserves, you are more likely to be satisfied with the end result.
Taking a break is to allow the mind a certain restitution that induces growth and development. It pays to take your time with the process: One day for Johnson could translate to three years for Juliet. As such, it is strongly recommended that you follow your own biological clock, not that of someone you may admire/respect. If a proper personalized break is allowed, regardless of the duration, the end result will go beyond expectation.
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There is an unspoken fear amongst artists that relates to the continuity of creativity. For some of us, creativity comes and goes at it’s own will. For others, it is an unending work-in-progress that requires patience, open-mindedness and responsibility. Though not every moment in our creative journeys produce the special ideas, I believe that creativity is something that can be nourished to a slowly expansive rate.
Creativity and learning go hand in hand. One way to keep your creativity growing is to realize and accept that as human beings, we can and will not know absolutely everything. Creativity is closely related to uncertainty. Acknowledging or accepting a certain level of uncertainty can provide our creativity with intuitive range and flexibility. To grow with creativity is to learn more about all that surrounds us; while being still, with knowing that there is, yet more to learn.
Think less, relax more and observe your intelligence. This may come across as a paradox since we are used to the image of a scientist or a mathematician as hard and relentless thinkers. However, according to Guy Claxton, author of Hare Brain Tortoise Mind, “We meet with cleverness, focus and deliberation those challenges that can only properly be handled with patience, intuition and relaxation. In order to rehabilitate the slow ways of knowing, we need to adopt a different view of the mind as a whole; one which embraces sources of knowledge that are less articulate, less conscious and less predictable. The crucial step in this recovery...is a revised understanding of the human mind, and a willingness to move into and to enjoy, the life of the mind...When the mind slows and relaxes, other ways of knowing automatically reappear” (Claxton 1997, 13-14). In a world of speed, this can sound like blasphemy – but it is not.
Having a challenging day with your creative juices? Perhaps you should consider taking a day or two off (if or when you can). Sleep. Go for a swim. Do something out of the routine. Try to learn something new from outside your box. With proper effort and patience, you may very well be surprised at the outcome.
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Reference List
Claxton, Guy. Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less
The Ecco Press, 1997
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The appreciation of music is ubiquitous. From the city of Des Moines through the market streets of Rawalpindi to the hustle-bustle in Lagos, we listen, play, dance, and even breathe notes. Perhaps it is seeking a bit much, the title of this short essay. The fact that it is enjoyed by most humans and (seemingly) a few non-human creatures always tugs at the curiosity: Why?
Music is unusually considered a complex engagement of humans amongst themselves and the surrounding environment. Like other forms of art, it manages to transcend cultural boundaries – race, economics, education etc. – through an accepted and celebrated appreciation of similarities and differences. Its most loyal practitioners have offered listeners an understanding that contains and can initiate a deeper level of existential integration (or disintegration) within the self and society. Not only does music provide its human practitioner an outlet for communicating creativity, it similarly provides the listener with a metaphysical room for exploration and reflection. And as such, though music transcends boundaries, it is inseparable from context: a work of music may mean little to a listener who pays no attention to the surrounding circumstance(s) of the artist.
For the cultures of past civilizations, music and dance were mostly inseparable. This practice which usually involved whole communities (or segments thereof) allowed for expression, healing, unity, and celebration. It provided one important tool for the continuity of tradition. In today's world, there are concert halls, dance clubs, festival gardens, bars and the like. Not that the traditional use of music is obsolete, but, the expansive transformation of music becomes interesting when technology is considered. Anyone can create music today, as opposed to the past, because of technology's – supposed – equalization property. For instance, ever wondered about the benefits of amusia (true tone deafness) while exploring the music on...bebo?...myspace?
“Recently a number of reports have appeared that attest to the connection between music and academic achievement. In a study of the ability of fourteen year-old science students in seventeen countries, the top three countries were Hungary, the Netherlands, and Japan. All three include music throughout the curriculum from kindergarten through high school. In the 1960's, the Kodály system of music education was instituted in the schools of Hungary as a result of the outstanding academic achievement of children in its 'singing schools'. Today, there are no third graders who cannot sing on pitch and sing beautifully. In addition, the academic achievement of Hungarian students, especially in math and science, continues to be outstanding. The Netherlands began their music program in 1968, and Japan followed suit by learning from the experience of these other countries. Another report disclosed the fact that the foremost technical designers and engineers in Silicon Valley are almost all practicing musicians.”(http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/arts/dickinson_music.htm, 2008)
The direct relationship between music education and academic accomplishment cannot be understated. Playing an instrument has known and documented benefits: increased attention span, ambidexterity, higher academic achievement, broader range of creativity and so on. So does listening: self-help with psychological and physiological problems, stress/tension release, and education/increased awareness; only to mention a few.
And so, why do we appreciate music? Most of us obviously enjoy it as it is in every corner of the globe. Should we turn to the sciences? There is ongoing research you know. It states that music is deeply embedded in our nervous system: humans seem to possess a natural rhythm.
Well, then...just play me some music.
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Reference List
Dickinson, Dee. Music and the Mind New Horizons' On the Beam 1993.
Accessed from http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/arts/dickinson_music.htm Sept. 2008
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Bob Jamieson, former President and CEO of RCA Music and BMG North America, talks to ArtistsHouseMusic about the relationship between art and commerce and the balance between the two in order to be successful. For more interviews and articles pertaining to the music business visit www.artistshousemusic.org.
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Quite innovative, to say the least. You can find more of his works at the following sites:
www.kitundu.com
birdlightwind.blogspot.com
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About Walter Kitundu:
Kitundu is a, sound/visual artist, graphic designer, composer and instrument builder. He uses an interdisciplinary approach to develop compositions-installations-instruments that blur the boundaries between media. He has constructed elemental turntables that rely on wood, water, fire and earthquakes for their power and pitch. Kitundu is the creator of a family of Phonoharps, beautifully crafted multi-stringed instruments made from record players. He strives to reconnect the technology of new music to fundamental principles drawn from the natural world.
Kitundu has an ongoing residency at the Exploratorium Museum of science, art and perception in San Francisco. He has recently been in residence at Eagle Rock School in Colorado, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Singapore Science Centre. Kitundu is also developing a Geologic Sound Casting project for volcanically active regions and was granted a five week artist residency at Skriduklaustur in Eastern Iceland in September 2004. He was raised in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. INSTRUMENTS  15 STRING NAUTILUS HARP
This Phonoharp was completed in December of 2001 - the 2nd harp to be built. The strings hover over wooden fingerboards, some of which are fretted, allowing multiple notes to be drawn from each string. It has a mellow, woody sound and was the first Phonoharp built from a direct drive turntable.
 PHONOMBAU
The Phonombau was completed in May of 2002 - the 4th harp to be built. Each of the eleven vertical bars has a string on the outside surface. The instrument can be bowed from any direction and has a kalimba integrated in its design. All vibrations from the strings and kalimba are transfered into the record platter from which the needle amplifies the signal. There is also a small contact microphone to help round out the sound.
 BLUE STEEL STRING 1200 PHONOHARP
This Phonoharp was completed in February of 2003 - the 6th harp. It was built using a Technics 1200 turntable, the industry standard for DJs. It is incredibly versatile and can sound like bass guitar, a lap steel guitar, a hammered dulcimer, a drumset, chimes... many sounds are unique to this instrument. There are many ways to play it. The built in mixer and cross-fader allows cutting and scratching with the turntable and there is even a headphone jack for cueing records. It has been the workhorse and has survived many journeys internationally. It has even been used to provide a live score for a full length theatrical piece.
 LIGHT ACTIVATED PHONOSITAR
This is an instrument I'm developing through my residencies at the Exploratorium, in San Francisco, and the Singapore Science Centre. It has 4 principal strings and 23 sympathetic strings in 4 groups. The edge of the instrument houses embedded light sensors which control both the turntable and the sympathetic strings. Gesturing over the instrument will turn the record player on and off, forwards and backwards, and will strart small motors strumming the grouped strings to create different drones or chords, which can be played alone or in combination. It is an instrument which creates a sonic and visual language through its performance.
It incorporates small, programmable, battery powered controllers developed at MIT.
DOLLAR ART BIRDS
You are probably looking at the pictures above thinking, “What are these and what do they have to do with the music business?” By the end of this article, you will find out. It is barely a secret that the music industry is presently on "uncertain" grounds. In today’s mainstream musical landscape, CD sales are on the decline and record deals no longer seem to hold the appeal they used to. Various artists have experimented with new ideas on distribution, though, the outcome, for now, seems "uncertain". Even so, more music is being recorded now than any other time period in history as recording is affordable for home use. This should be encouraging. A decline in record sales does not imply the impossibility of building and maintaining an enduring career. Simply put, those who create valuable work, with the courage to step outside the box of familiarity, will most likely enjoy a sustained career.
The industry of music needs to relearn one foundational principle: It ALL begins with the value the music holds for others. Though popularity campaigns make this rule seem fleeting, it is in actuality, enduring. For instance, the music of Bob Marley and his band mates did not attain its status simply because of an ingenuity in marketing. Rather, their music is where it is today largely because of the value it holds for others. Furthermore, where there is value (for others), there will be demand...sooner or later. So how does one create value for others? This question is best answered by the artist.
“...Digital this and digital that,
digital fees with digital flats...” (Anonymous)
What is ever accomplished without change? Change is, perhaps, the only constant in life. As such, most artists and label owners need to revise both their approach to the business of music and the presentation of their work. The answers begin to reveal themselves only when the process is simplified down to the elemental basics. This way, the new tools of the day become more useful and effective in building a unique identity and sharing similar experiences in unique ways. But – it all begins with the value...
So, back to the pictures Texture 1 and Texture 2. “What do they have to do with the music business?” It depends on what one thinks about the pictures. On one hand, you could consider them (the pictures) bland, artistic endeavors. On the other hand, you could consider the fact that it is through this same bland simplicity that one gains access into numerous possibilities.
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