Ars Gratis Artis
I recently experienced a rare moment of inspiration listening to a radio show. One of the guests was Satish Kumar and one sentence he said almost off hand and without emphasis, stuck in my mind and stayed with me: “there is nothing to achieve.” In his narrative he dismissed the importance of success, instead stating that the more important things in life are fulfillment and self-realization. This was not new to me, having been exposed to Jain philosophy in the past, but the simple statement that there is nothing to achieve cascaded in my mind into many other directions.
Perhaps the most relevant musing to those of you who pursue creative arts is that the greatest value is not in the finished piece but rather in the creative process – in the discreet pleasure and fleeting fulfillment of being engaged in something for the one simple reason of wanting to do it. Being in a state of having a singular preoccupation that silences all other voices, ignores all other distractions, and is unencumbered by preconceptions or needs, is rewarding in ways that are almost impossible to convey other than the simple truth in this simple sentence: there is nothing to achieve. The achievement is meaningless. The state of mind, the activity, is its own reward, independent of anything else.
Art for the sake of art. Just because… Try it.
Category: Thoughts and Musings
Yes, absolutely. “singular preoccupation that silences all other voices, ignores all other distractions” That is it exactly. But then there is the inspiration and satisfaction when you can be the fly on the wall that overhears the conversation of viewers of the art; and the amazement when every now and then someone tunes in to the thoughts and feelings you had while creating the work.
The creative process has always been a Zen like process for myself. The act of creativity is meditative. I’m not thinking much beyond putting myself in tune with my surroundings (mentally) and with my equipment (physically), ideally creating a situation where I can create what I see in my mind’s eye. I’ve never thought why I create with photography. I just do it because if feels right and is enjoyable. If it wasn’t enjoyable it wouldn’t be meditative in nature.
I agree about the fact that ‘journey is more important than destination’.You may or may not achieve your goal, anyway you’ll be satisfied if you enjoy the journey. But if you concentrate on goal, you may or may not be happy, immaterial of the fact if you win or not.
In any art say ‘photography’ , one may be working toward a goal, achieving a position or wining an award etc. Even if one manages to achieve his goal, unless he enjoys the journey, the process of reaching there, he won’t be able to experience the complete fullfilment. Even the sense of achievement has a very short lifespan, after a time, it looses the impact.
There is an urdu couplet which means –
What you call world or success is a magical toy, if you get it, it is nothing and if you loose it, it is gold.