----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Glover" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2012 1:32 AM
Subject: Re: [MD] Creative Freedom in Jazz
Hello everyone
On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 4:07 PM, Carl Thames <[email protected]>
wrote:
Dan:
Well, possibly... but I'm not sure you're taking this part into account:
“It’s very important to remember,” Evans says, “that no matter how far
I might diverge or find freedom in this format, it only is free
insofar as it has reference to the strictness of the original form.
And that’s what gives it its strength. In other words, there is no
freedom except in reference to something.”
He is adamant that there is always a reference base pertaining
strictly to the original form. That part is never gone... if it were,
the work of art isn't good... in fact it would devolve into nonsense.
At least that's how I read this.
Carl:
I agree with you. I think he's talking about the expression of the idea,
rather than the idea though.
Dan:
Isn't art the expression of ideas, though?
Carl:
You contradict this immediately below. The art is in the expression, not in
the idea.
Carl:
In visual art, there are rules about
composition, etc. (even Piccaso had to stick with the basics; i.e. a nose
is
a nose is a nose, even when it's stuck to a kneecap) and in writing there
are the basic rules of grammar. They can be butchered, but if they are,
the
piece descends into the nonsense he's talking about.
Dan:
See... the rules are the ideas whereas using those rules allows the
artist to express their ideas. I don't think the medium matters so
much as the message the artist attempts to send. I am not a musician
nor do I dabble in the visual arts. I write. But I get the sense all
artists approach their craft in much the same fashion. Those who
succeed perhaps have some natural proclivity but likely as not they've
also worked their asses off learning their craft.
Carl:
Agreed, and the artist succeeds to the extent that s/he can get that idea
across in a way that contians the "Ahhhh" of artistry. If you've been
writing very long, you've no doubt heard that there are 36 basic plots. If
you go more into it, you find there are 4 basic scenerios, depending on the
level of education you manage. (Man vs. Man, Man vs. nature, etc.) I did
all that, including working my ass off, and did manage to get some stuff
published, but then made the decision that it wasn't what I wanted to be
doing. I still miss writing, because it was so much a part of my life for a
long time, but I don't miss dealing with the pinheads you had to deal with
to get it published.
Carl:
In my opinion, the
difference between the mundane and art is the arrangement of those
basics.
To achieve the level of art, they need to make sense, but in a way that's
recognizably different than anything previously experienced. One of my
favorite definitions of art is, "An object that is done in such a way
that
the viewer is never again able to look at a similar object and not think
about it." A friend here did a ceramic cup like that. I have never looked
at a cup since then without thinking about the cup she did. In that
instance, the cup she did was sq, but it brought a touch of DQ with it,
IMHO.
Dan:
I tend to think of art as more of an act than an object, I suppose.
And I am sure there are as many definitions of art as there are
artists so I see nothing wrong with your definition above.
Carl:
Would you say it's the act, or the execution? Is there a difference? Can
you sit down to create art, or is is something that happens while you're
sitting down? i.e. how much intent is involved?
Dan:
Still, the flash of inspiration that appears out of nowhere, something
new and surprising, is the primal response we feel to this experience
we call life, or Dynamic Quality. By carefully honing the skills it
takes to recognize and make use of this response, we come to know
ourselves... the unexamined life not being worth living, and what
not...
Carl:
I'm not sure how to respond to this one. The best story I've ever written
just happened. I sat down to write, like I was doing every day then, and
just started with a line from a country song. I went from there, and three
hours later I had the story. I'm not even sure how much active mental
whatever went into the story. Do you know what I mean? It wasn't a flash
of anything, it just manifested. I could never just sit down and write a
great story. Frequently, I would start writing, then after while the story
would show up. I would go back and delete the first three pages or whatever
and continue on. I wish I could explain that, but I can't. That experience
would make me question the idea of the unexamined life stuff. I was pretty
unaware at the time, and in fact I was living in a dissociated state. I was
a pretty good witness, but not much of a participant. Food for thought.
Dan:
I get the feeling many people cover this up by working a regular job,
by watching television, by playing video games, by endlessly surfing
the 'net... by doing anything that covers up that tiny voice crying
out in the wilderness... that creative urge we all feel if only we
allow ourselves a moment of silence.
Carl:
To a point. I've met people who achieved their greatest bliss making a car
run. We need to be careful about projecting our values onto other people.
A lot of them go for numb, (I think I've met most of them) but there are a
few who are actively involved in creating, but not in creating anything you
or I would call art. My oldest sister achieved her "Ahhhh" by decorating
cakes. She is really good at it, and thoroughly enjoys doing it. I think
she would do it for free if someone supplied the supplies. Different
strokes and all that. Now, for Joe Sixpack, it's a different story. It's
almost as if he has given up on life, or never begun to live it. Maybe he
or she (Jane Sixpack) did when they were young and were snuffed? Someone
told them that what they wanted to do was impossible, or whatever, and they
believed the person? I don't know.
Dan:
Ah... but what of that...
Carl:
The difference between a life realized and one just lived? This begs the
question of just how important Quality is to us. How much real difference
does it make in our lives? We are born, we grow, we fulfill the biological
imperitive, then we die. Our children are born, grow, etc. etc. ad naseum.
Hmmm, is Quality the "brass ring" we're supposed to go for? More food for
thought, eh?
Having fun musing,
Carl
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