Courage
April 22, 2008
“To see is itself a creative operation, requiring effort. Everything that we see in our daily life is more or less distorted by acquired habits, and this is perhaps more evident in an age like ours when the cinema, posters, and magazines present us every day with a flood of ready-made images which are to the eye was prejudices are to the mind.
The effort needed to see things without distortion takes something very like courage.”
– Henri Matisse “The Nature of Creative Activity”
Entry Filed under: Writing. Tags: art, courage, creativity, Matisse.
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1.
lauralyn Thompson | April 23, 2008 at 3:17 am
Wow, how true is that. I wonder if seeing things without distortion is even possible. I theorize that no, it is not.
I’d say something like the instrument is distorted, (moi) or sight is only a factor of light and mechanics, or something. Or just that most of us are completely incapable seeing anything with imbuing it with our own experience. Even if we’re courageous, I wonder if that’s enough.
2.
sarahemc2 | April 25, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I agree with Lauralynn… I think distortion is our lot. Perhaps the thing that defines the human condition, in fact. And I think, more dangerously, we see that less when we are in agreement with most folk about what we see. It doesn’t make us any less wrong, but it does make us more sure that we are right.
Okay, that’s enough post-modernity for today. I need to get back to doing the laundry.
3.
inktarsia | April 25, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Perhaps the distortion is hwat makes someone’s writing / art interesting? That’s why “just the facts” journalism isn’t enough. We crave perspective, even if it’s slant. The tricky part: being able to recognize my own distortion enough to work with it.
4.
inktarsia | April 25, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Perhaps the distortion is what makes someone’s writing / art interesting? “Just the facts” journalism isn’t enough. We crave perspective, even if it’s slant. The tricky part: being able to recognize my own distortion enough to work with it.