picked up that book “bird by bird” again this morning.
i’ve been feeling down on myself for the last week or so - when it comes to this whole music thing. the highs and lows, it’s talked about pretty frequently and it doesn’t get much easier to navigate. but searching for inspiration seems to be a pretty potent antidote.
something i just read has me frenzied, in a good way.
in just a few pages, anne lamott deconstructs this idea of writing’s core purpose being to instill hope in your reader. i’ve heard quite a few artists talk about how their goal is to spread hope and positivity through their work, and it’s pretty cliche at this point. but i think i’ve been framing it wrong in my mind. you can evoke a sense of hope without making “hopeful” art. i guess when i hear musicians describe this mission for positivity, i immediately think of bubbly, major key anthems… but i just had an “aha” moment that has me rethinking a lot.
hope means so many different things for people. when used as a noun, the dictionary definition of hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” hope is about desire, and capitalism has our sense of desire all over the place.
i’ve been thinking a lot about how i use social media as a consumer. what things do i actually want to see in contrast to what i think i need to see to stay relevant in my field.
i want to see beautiful architecture, unique interior design and things that make me laugh (that i haven’t seen before). because i desire to live in a home that makes me feel in a world of my own. because i want to experience joy through something new. i want to feel inspired and motivated to work toward not having to view those things on a phone because i am already living in it.
i think i need to be caught up with my favorite artists and peers so that i know how to keep up with an industry that doesn’t want me to survive in it.
social media makes us compare our lives to other lives because it is actively working to figure out what it is that we desire.
we gravitate toward art that creates a feeling or world that we desire to be part of in some way or another. artists give people hope by taking the time to create that world and make people believe in it, maybe even convince them they are already living in it.
a couple questions i have for myself right now: how do you make art that expresses the deep disappointment you’ve been feeling, while still making room for hope? how do i inspire awe through my own discouragement?
