Hunting the Spark

The other side

This site is about seeking out the source of inspiration. In many posts and stories to which we link, we present the assumption that there is an almost scientific approach to inspiration possible by paying attention to and recounting the moments when inspiration strikes.

Yesterday, I experienced the other side of that. Doing my daily pop-culture research, I found a video for a Disney short called Paperman that blew my mind. At the moment of having my mind blown, I became very aware of what was happening. I recognized the feeling of being awestruck. Of being–not quite impressed, but knocked off my own thought path.

As you can tell if you scan the frequency of the posts here on Hunting, I've been in a rut. The subject of my work has shifted and it's been much more executional. I've spent the same time seeking out inspiration, but I've been off course.

Seeing this short awakened something for me. 

Yes, I was inspired by it. The lighting, the direction are beautiful and atmospheric. So on a technical level, I appreciate the achievement of creating hand-drawn animation that has a soul and presenting a story that draws you in. I suddenly felt young.

Then I felt mad. At about the halfway point of the video I felt a wave of self-loathing overcome me. I recognized this feeling. This story was so well done, I was jealous that I hadn't created it. Petty? Maybe.

But it motivated me. For the first time in a while, I felt something welling up. I was reminded of a list of projects I wanted to work on, beyond the many that I am professionally obligated to work on. I had a new sense of vision for them, the possibilities felt both limitless and suddenly very structured. I was euphoric. 

And this was from watching a short cartoon, that I stumble on by accident. My day turned around instantly. Projects that had been idle (including this one?) suddenly had new life breathed into them.

Part of the reason for the lull in posts here on Hunting is the realization that we had been working our way towards joining the vast internet echo chamber. Slapping each others' backs and congratulating people again for work that had been shared and lauded elsewhere. I read a lot of sites that participate in this, and others that are the fuel for finding this work, and some are truly contributing to the dialogue beyond the hollow continuum of high-fives. 

The mission of this site is to better understand creativity and how it happens. I stopped posting to examine the best way to approach that. Thanks to the feeling I got from this short, I think I understand now.

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The recipe

By Adam Pierno

Tonight my wife told me she was bringing home left over Beef Stroganoff that her mother had made for their visit. I instantly got a picture of the Beef Stroganoff that my own mother had prepared for the 18 years of my life that I lived at home. I could not only envision it, I could smell it. I could taste it. I could feel the texture of the noodles. Needless to say, I was excited. 

An hour or so later, my wife returned home with a container full of the meal her mother had kindly sent home for me. I opened it, and it looked completely different from my vision, my memory. My thought at that second was "It is so interesting that two people, both equally skilled cooks, could take a classic recipe, and using the same general ingredients produce such different dishes." The meal was delicious. It was just different from what had been served to me before. 

When we dine at a new restaurant, many menu items are familiar. And we have an expectation of what will hit the table. Sometimes, an inventive chef will deconstruct or remix a classic dish using the basic ingredients and pleasantly surprise us. Sometimes, deviating from our expectations is a great way to take something traditional or dull and giving it new life. 

Image By cobalt123 from flickr.

Image By cobalt123 from flickr.

When we create anything, we are often tasked with taking familiar elements and rethinking the way they work together. Often in my career, I've worked side-by-side with another Art Director on the same project, pulling from the same concept and elements and produced an entirely different piece.

This is one of the areas of creativity that dazzles and confounds audiences and clients. The same inputs produce varied results. Given the same script and actors, three directors would produce three vastly different films. More importantly, people in the same audience would have mixed reaction (most likely) as to which version was superior. Some would prefer the version of the film made by the director they like the best, maybe even before seeing his result. 

The second thought I had as I devoured the Stroganoff was "Do I prefer this version because I am currently enjoying it? Or do I prefer my mother's version because of an obvious bias?" I was clearly overthinking this. But it's true that the audience subjectivity  adds another layer to the variations on creativity - because their interpretation also determines if the work is 'successful' or not. 

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Tiny details

By Adam Pierno

Last week, tucked away in a profile of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, were two very interesting insight about what we do when we create. I've linked to the piece in the New York Times by Jonah Weiner. Go read the piece before or after this.

"That’s it for me: solitude and precision, refining a tiny thing for the sake of it.”

In the write up, Mr. Seinfeld is quoted on the subject of crafting a joke. I got the impression he was talking about his ongoing approach to crafting jokes, thought the quote applies specifically to one. He talks about refining and refining. Each word thought through to try to get the audience to take the exact mental path he believes will result in the biggest laugh.

He is able to see from the stage (or perhaps hear) where his audience is drifting off course. And this is how most seasoned creative people are. We have an instinct for how to tell the story at hand, how to communicate the emotion in question and we work hard to steer our audience through the medium at hand to that emotion. 

He talks about taking years to tell and retell a joke. Listening to cues from the audience on single words. We do the same things. Often, because we don't have the luxury and terror of a live audience to review our work as we create, we use only our instinct and past experience. I suppose paintings of masters would be different if audiences were standing behind them watching over their shoulders in a gallery. I wouldn't guess that they would necessarily be improved. As a junior Art Director, I'm not sure my work or my confidence then was aided by a hovering Creative Director, though my work and confidence today probably is.   

He also referred to the emotion and opening of veins many artists and creative people apply to their work.

“What does Don Rickles tell us about himself in his show? Probably not much. He’s not pouring his guts out to you, but his craft is so amazing, his skill is so amazing, there’s depth in that.”

In the profile, Seinfeld doesn't come off as dispassionate. He's very passionate about getting things right, and about presenting his best to his audience. But this was interesting to me, the notion that you don't have to bleed for an audience for them to recognize your commitment.

His perspective on the matter - your great work demonstrates your commitment.

Of course, stand up comedy isn't commonly thought of as an art form. But storytelling is. And standups are some of the most effective in that field. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/magazine/jerry-seinfeld-intends-to-die-standing-up.html?hp&pagewanted=all&_r=1&

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Making Tracks

Most artists work in permanent media, or strive to. We've seen experiments in sound and using vapor in which the air itself becomes a fleeting medium. But artist Simon Beck creates works of art in large fields of snow by walking out patterns by foot. 

These patterns are massive (the size of three football fields). They hearken to the crop-circle phenomenon due to their geographic nature. Each pattern appears perfectly formed and take full work days to accomplish.  

As snow falls, Mr. Beck might retrack a snowed-over area to prolong the life of one of these creations.  For us the idea of creating these intricate patterns in such a temporary canvas is intriguing enough. The beauty and sheer scale is another level of creativity.

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/simon-beck-snow-art

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