6th of March

“When asked how he made something as spectacular as his staue of David, Michelangelo replied:  “I did not 'make David'. He was already there, inside. All I did was to chip away the parts that were not David.”

- Michelangelo

This story has several versions, but this is the phrasing that I respond to the most. “All I did...” Love that. Just that little thing that resulted in his sculpture of David, a work that took him 3 years to complete. He finished it before he was 30 (he would be 535 today, by the by...). A colossal effort, resulting in an absolute masterpiece. 

I am going to assume this quote is relatively accurate, and though I admire the sense of humility that is conveyed, the sense that he was a channel, a facilitator for this work of art to come into being, I am even more intrigued by his perspective on the process. Obviously, he worked in a wide array of media, and only this particular medium lends itself so fully to this quote... there is no other form that is arrived at in quite this way. Most things are made, or built up to a degree, before there is editing, or altering, to get to your 'final draft'. I think most art is a mixture of creating and destroying, working something until it shines. In this case, you have a block of marble, where bits and chunks are consistently removed until you arrive at the shape you are trying to realize.

But this idea of removing the obstacles, of getting rid of anything that is not the final form, is truly cool. It assumes that there is a 'best version', or 'best form' for a particular work of art. I think this is true, though it is maybe rare that people can help to bring those things into existence. Perhaps, that is what we mean when we say 'masterpiece', or when we recognize that a work of art has changed the playing field irrevocably. 

So too, is this idea compelling in life. If I focus on trying to make something happen, it very well may happen, I may be able to manifest my best self, my best path toward that goal. Maybe. It might come about more easily, and more fully if I make room for an additional perspective: that of getting rid of any obstacles in my life. This does not mean I am going to mow over the neighbor, because I think they might get what I want before I can - quite the contrary. It means that I have to look deep inside and get rid of the things in me that will distract or derail me. It means I have to line myself up with that best self, that best path. I have to do what I am made to do, be the person I am meant to be. 

I wish there were a book where we could all just go look it up, but alas, it is more complicated than that. And maybe all the more beautiful when someone gets to that place... they create, they edit, they put in the work, and then they truly shine. If I can say this without being totally saccharine, when someone does put in the work, aim at something, and chip away the things that are not their best self, then they are, in the fullest sense of the word, a masterpiece.

Happy Birthday, Michelangelo!

the Keeper (word to think about/keep with me for a bit): 

"Masterpiece” - n. 1.) a work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship. 2.) an artist's or craftsman's best piece of work.

May I conistently chip away the things that are not me, the things that do not help me to realize the things I am made to do. May I work toward my best self.

3rd of March

“Not every person has the same kinds of talents, so you discover what yours are and work with them. Don't try to be me, or try to be Frank Lloyd Wright, or try to be I.M. Pei. Try to be yourself. You have to understand what drives people to build buildings.”

- Frank Gehry

This resonates with me on two levels: one, where he is Frank Gehry, ridiculously talented architect, saying that you need to be true to your talents and not try to be anybody else, and two, the link between understanding what drives people and creating spaces for them to live, work, worship, or play in. Not what people do, though that is connected to drive, but what motivates them.

I kind of freak out over his buildings – if you know not of them, go forth and investigate. Explore. From the wildly imaginative and seemingly impossible structures like The Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, to his more modest structures using found or industrial grade materials (his home in Santa Monica, for example), he is endlessly inventive, and continually interested in pushing at all sorts of boundaries. If I remember correctly, he has been quoted as saying “If you know where you are going, it's not worth doing.” I'm paraphrasing, but this is close. Love that. This is a guy that will never hang up his spurs. 

'Use what you got' is pretty much what he gets at, repeatedly, in different ways. But he would never suggest that you use what you got in the 'expected' way... no, no, no! Work it into something new, something that is a unique expression of you. Which requires, first, that you look deep within yourself, and then to look deep within people on the whole. And then to keep looking, keep learning. 

I maintain that you need to understand what drives people (first of all yourself) to build, or do, anything. If you want to do it well, that is. From whatever perspective, it is a crucial thing to be able to do. Not unhelpful to be able to access more than one perspective, by the by. At the very least, if you have put in the work to try to understand people, whatever it is that you are doing, making, or building will resonate with people, because they will be a part of it in an integral way.

That is a thing to aim for, methinks. 

the Keeper (word to think about/keep with me for a bit): 

"Resonate” - v. 1.) produce or be filled with a deep, full, reverberating sound. 2.) evoke or suggest images, memories, or emotions. 3.) produce electrical or mechanical resonance.

Try to be yourself. Try to understand what motivates people in general, but certainly those that are around you regularly.

18th of February

“To express is to drive.  And when you want to give something presence, you have to consult nature. And there is where Design comes in. And if you think of Brick, for instance, and you say to Brick, "What do you want, Brick?" 

And Brick says to you, "I like an Arch."

And if you say to Brick, "Look, arches are expensive, and I can use a concrete lentil over you... What do you think of that?"

“. . . ."

"Brick?"

Brick says: "... I like an Arch." ”

- Louis Kahn

Everything has its place, its proper manifestation. Just as a poem, short story, novel, film, painting, photograph, or fireside regaling might be the best form for a certain story, so too do people have their proper mode. And by “proper”, I do not mean for a second 'fitting in with society's expectations'... I mean 'best possible path' or 'highest manifestation' for the person at hand. 'Best' and 'Highest' are problematic words, in that they are loaded with all sorts of hierarchical blah, but, in their truest meaning - for each individual – they are a good reference point. 

Let's say Person A is an all-around addict. A total fiend. They, at one stage in their life, might make the argument that they are an addict, and addicts wallow in their addictions... this is what they do, says Person A. Maybe. But, at another stage in their life, they might decide that the drug/food/exercise/sex/what have you, is actually dragging them down, keeping them from doing 'what it is they're supposed to do'.... They get clean, straight, centered, or the like, and begin to realize some other part of themselves. Some would say they are being 'true to their nature', at this point. Which is it? It can cut both ways, obviously... but you have all seen someone on both sides of this particular example.... most would probably agree that, if an addict, sober is the way to go. It tends to be more constructive. Other than the poet John Berryman, I cannot think of an example where this wouldn't be true. And, I'm not even sure about that. 

So, like Brick, we all have a thing we want to be, consciously or otherwise... we all have a mode/job/thing to be or do that is the highest expression of ourselves, the best that we can be. If we get past the Hallmarkishness of this statement, and really sit with it, it is a bit startling. Can be quite scary, really.

Pretty sure Mr. Kahn would consider only two options: the highest/best form, or not at all. The middling compromise is not really worth it, AND it goes against the nature of the thing (or person). The end result is disappointing if you don't honor what it wants to be.... Sounds right to me. 

Then it comes down to this: “What is your nature? What and who are you?  Then... you just act accordingly.  “Just”.

the Keeper (word to think about/keep with me for a bit): 

“Realize” - v. 1.) become fully aware of (something) as a fact; understand fully. 2.) cause (something desired or anticipated) to happen. 3.) to give actual or physical form to.

I hope to fearlessly realize my best self, to be the thing I am supposed to be – whatever that may be.