New Cat: Meet Rosie
2008-11-17 07:23:53
So far Aiko and Rosie are getting along fine. Aiko is not thrilled but remains tolerant. Hooray!
posted by Matt Gray
I’m a huge (older) dork
2008-08-16 21:38:17
Yes, I’m helpless against this manga-fying meme.
I’m also one year older. Still no ideas on what to do with this place.
posted by Matt Gray
Six Months Later, I Live
2008-07-20 22:56:30
I’m still here.
I am working on what this website should be. Unfortunately, I do not think I am much of a blogger.
Don’t expect anything. I’m sure I will figure something out.
posted by Matt Gray
End of a Long Day, Beginning a New One
2008-01-25 01:30:51
I just finished Art & Fear, a book recommended to me by my relative Wayne Wolfe. Wayne is an accomplished artist living in Colorado; my father recently moved to the same city. When Wayne, my father, brother, and I gather the psychological familial similarities come into crisp focus. We’re unable to escape our shared struggle.
At one such summit, I mentioned my difficulty in producing new photographs. The discussion that followed shed some light on the common problems in making art, and Wayne suggested I read Art & Fear. I think he’d mentioned it on a previous trip out west, but this time I took action. Rather than forget it and go back to ignoring my artistic stasis, I sent myself an e-mail via text message (my only reliable ubiquitous capture these days) with the text “Art & Fear.”
The book arrived a short time ago and I’ve read it. It’s a slim little volume, perhaps comparable in convenience to Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style. Within the hundred-odd pages, I found piece after piece of insight into my own unique artistic struggles. Finishing the book was a delight, though I will need to re-read it several times to truly soak up the information within—the density of insight was staggering.
Art & Fear has proved a useful tool for reasoning about where I am right now. I rarely blog, rarely photograph, and occupy the majority of my time fretting about work. I’m up and writing now because earlier this evening I had a migraine related to a long day at Clockwork. Reading the book was an act of desperation to quiet my mind from racing.
I believe that I have pushed myself into a place where it’s acceptable to deliberately fail at making art: at making photographs and to a lesser extent writing this blog. It’s a seductive proposition for the perfectionist: you will never feel bad about “failing” if you don’t allow yourself to honestly try. Quite frankly, I’ve been reluctant to try anything new recently. It’s easier that way.
A few nights ago, I was unable to sleep for similar reasons. My mind raced. However, my thoughts weren’t a nightmare domain of made-up, impossible technical problems to which there is no solution—a class of nightmares I have experience with lately—instead, my thoughts were focused on a bizarre but totally new direction for my photography; ideas for new work. These new ideas are both terrifying and exciting.
I needed to read Art & Fear, but did the act of starting such a book (and the implicit acknowledgement that I’m struggling with artistic endeavors) prompt or encourage these new ideas for art? I don’t know. What happens next? Either I’ll act on my ideas or not. Within the realm of action, I still have to commit to best effort. It’s too easy to make a half-assed attempt, deem it a failure, and return to a creative funk.
Writing this entry gives me courage that I’ll risk the emotional costs of failure for the chance at something new and interesting. I don’t want to spend my nights mentally sweating out technological horrors that can never be solved.
posted by Matt Gray