tonight we kicked off a new series at the art gallery: "twocities conversations". our hope is that this series would focus on the creative process and the lovely overlap of art and life as we interview various musicians and artists with whom we work. our first guest was steve sweeting, a brilliantly talented jazz pianist who we've been collaborating with for five years. i hosted the program as the interviewer, putting some of my journalistic training to work (thanks, BU) and living out one of my daydreams as a talk show host (move over, oprah).
it was a lot of fun interviewing steve, especially since he's grown to be a good friend through our years of working together. he's also one of the most gifted, astute and imaginative musicians i know, and he never ceases to amaze me with his breadth of creativity and depth of thinking. he spouted quite a few things tonight that were worth mulling over and digesting - everything from the importance of playfulness in cultivating creativity to the capacity for improvisation and openness to surprises in music and life.
steve shared about the process of songwriting, how inspiration can come in many ways and many shades. there is rigor involved in constantly working and reworking songs, trying this style or that key, setting it in this or that time signature, until the song develops into something you can be satisfied with. there is obvious joy in the process for him - even in talking about songwriting and experimenting with different arrangements, his face lights up and his fingers twitch as if itching to dance across piano keys.
being an excellent musician or artist (or anything in life, i suppose) requires a certain commitment to the "process." there must be a willingness to try and fail (sometimes spectacularly), and fearlessness to take risks. it's not about always obtaining measurable outcomes.
i've learned a lot about process from my time in shanghai, particularly working at twocities. patience was never one of my great virtues, and i usually operate at two speeds: 1) fast and 2) faster. i used to think patience was about waiting: sitting around wearing some calm composure, a face of serenity that could rival the placid visages of mother mary statues, hands folded in gentle acquiescence, waiting. but lately, i've started viewing patience from another perspective: perhaps it's not passive waiting but a very active engagement in the process. our lives are always in some sort of transition - i think those moments of complete inactivity are rare. we are constantly growing and learning, trying and adjusting, succeeding and failing, acquiring and losing. in the midst of it all, we are impatient, wanting to push past this stage, get rid of this or that now, move to the next level, etc. we cannot allow the process to occur and run its natural course. we struggle with being fully present and committed to the process. we grow in discontent.
but to see our life as a work of art - a sculpture being chiseled or a song being penned bar by bar - to allow the process to be and to remain open to what we cannot plan or manipulate...
and how reassuring to know there is a Great Artist who is shaping us, who forms my bones and my days, and who knows exactly where and how the process needs to be....
i am striving to not just learn patience; i am learning to be more present. i am learning to derive more joy from the process.
on a side note, at the end of the interview with steve, i peppered him with a series of questions proust-questionnaire style, in the tradition of "inside the actor's studio." here are the ten questions that i aim to ask every guest in subsequent "twocities conversations":
1. What is your favorite word?
2. What is your least favorite word?
3. What makes you happy?
4. What makes you angry?
5. What is your favorite quality in a man?
6. What is your favorite quality in a woman?
7. Where would you like to live next?
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
9. What profession would you not like to do?
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
just for fun, here are the answers i would give:
1. cacophony
2. retarded
3. hugs
4. stripping away of dignity
5. humility
6. resilience
7. italy
8. chef
9. mechanic
10. "well done, good and faithful servant."
how would you answer these questions?
cups of coffee: 2
mood: excited
No comments:
Post a Comment