Comments on: A Challenge to Artists

By: Karl Zipser

Karl Zipser — Thu, 04 May 2006 04:35:00 +0000

Ossi, without disputing your point about adapting stress levels, I think you are missing what I see in CB’s challenge/expectation. CB is saying that what seems difficult to artists is not really so difficult in an absolute sense. If we remember that we in modern civilization are adapted to a low stress level (compared to the situations CB describes), it seems to me we can intentionally set ourselves harder goals, raise the level of difficulty and challenge, beyond what seems the default for our comfortable modern lives.

You can fairly disagree with CB in many respects. Rather than disagreeing, I am taking what I find useful.

By: Karl Zipser

Karl Zipser — Thu, 04 May 2006 04:13:00 +0000

CB, I take inspiration where I can find it. Call your comment a challenge or expectation, it’s fine with me. I was up early today and started drawing. I’m challenging, or expecting, myself to continue. I used to do this often, don’t know how I lost the good habit. The early hours are valuable, I find — almost like time gained. Staying up late seems like time lost, at least with the schedule I need to keep.

As you point out, in a relative sense most of our lives are easy. But that does not mean it is easy to accomplish any goal that we set for ourselves. In fact, an easy life can make it more difficult to reach some goals — because it becomes so easy to do something different.

Being an artist is difficult for reasons that go beyond the emotional ones you are finding or imagining in the blog. The reason I find your challenge/expectation useful is that you make me realize that to accomplish difficult goals, I need to push harder. I knew that anyway, of course, but it is always good to hear it again.

By: CB

CB — Thu, 04 May 2006 04:08:00 +0000

It’s not a challenge, it’s an expectation. You are (I assume) an adult; you should be able to take responsibility for your decisions without needing to portray yourself as a martyr or victim. I checked out the full comment on the blog and noted you seemed to think ita badge of honor to submit to suffering arising before dawn to do art. If your lover woke you up for a cuddle in the pre-dawn hours, would you walk around complaining the same way? OTOH, if your cat woke you up coughing up hairballs at that hour, well, you might have some justification. Where do you place your art production on that scale?

Cheers;
CB

(cross-posted from Google art discussion group

By: Porcupine

Porcupine — Wed, 03 May 2006 21:45:00 +0000

Wait… You think the art world is about to fall apart? Talk about burying your lead!

By: ossi ostermann

ossi ostermann — Wed, 03 May 2006 16:29:00 +0000

A silly comment. Human nature adapts to the level of stress in an given environment by establishing a new set point. A mother is upset if her child breaks an arms and the CEO of a company is upset if her company gets bankrupt.