Thursday, February 28, 2013

174 ~book news

THURSDAY LINKS: CRÈME DE LA CRÈME






*****


Click to order  I say Who, What, and Where!
an inspirational novel about the courage to be oneself freely.

Click to order  Deconstructing INFATUATION
a thought-provoking novel about infatuation.

                                                                  

Copyright © 2013 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

173 ~on art & spirituality

CONCERNING THE SPIRITUAL IN ART



Concerning the Spiritual in Art  by Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), an influential Russian painter and art theorist, contains two parts and twelve illustrations.

This short book tries to answer the question What is he trying to do?, question some of us formulate when we stand in front of an abstract painting. They say, ‘Kandinsky paints music’; he actually breaks down the barrier between music and painting. Let’s listen part of it. (It can be also absorved for writers and other makers of art.)

PART 1: ABOUT GENERAL AESTHETIC

Food for the soul:

“With cold eyes and indifferent mind the spectators regard the work. Connoisseurs admire the ‘skill’, enjoy the ‘quality of painting’ (as one enjoys a pasty.) But hungry souls go hungry away.

The vulgar herd stroll through the rooms and pronounce the pictures ‘nice’ or ‘esplendid.’

Those who could speak have said nothing, those who could hear have heard nothing.’


The spiritual triangle: the spiritual art, to which art belongs:

“At the apex of the top segment stands often one man, and only one. His joyful vision cloaks a vast sorrow. Even those who are nearest to him in simpathy do not understand him. Angrily they abuse him as charlatan or madman. So in his lifetime stood Beethoven, solitary and insulted.

In every segment of the triangle are artists. The greater the segment so the greater the number who understand the words of the artist. Every segment hungers consciously or, much more often, unconsciously for their corresponding spiritual food. This food is offered by the artists. ”

“In each artistic circle are thousands of such artists, of whom the majority seeks only for some new technical manner, and who produce millions of works of art without enthusiasm, with cold hearts and souls asleep".


Fusion of arts:

“Consciously or unconsciously artists are studying and proving their material, setting in the balance the spiritual value of those elements, with which it is their several privilege to work.

And the natural result of this striving is that the various arts are drawing together. They are finding in Music the best teacher.

This borrowing of method by one art from another, can only be truly successful when the application of the borrowed methods is not superficial but fundamental.”


PART 2: ABOUT PAINTING


Music is not judged by how much the music sounds like noises in nature, whereas painting is judged by how well the painter reflects the natural world. Kandinsky points out the explanation by association by saying:

“To let the eye stray over a palette, splashed with many colours produces a dual result. In the first place one receives a purely physical impression, one of pleasure and contentment at the varied and beautiful colours. The eye is either warmed or else soothed and cooled. But these physical sensations can only be of short duration. They are merely superficial and leave no lasting impression, for the soul is unaffected. But although the effect of the colours is forgotten when the eye is turned away, the superficial impression of varied colour may be the starting point of a whole chain of related sensations.

On the average man only the impressions caused by very familiar objects, will be purely superficial. A first encounter with any new phenomenon exercises immediately an impression on the soul. This is the experience of the child discovering the world, to whom every object is new. It is realized that trees give shade, that horses run fast and motor-cars still faster, that dogs bite, that the figure seen in a mirror is not a real human being.

As the man develops, the circle of these experiences caused by different beings and objects, grows ever wider. They acquire an inner meaning and eventually a spiritual harmony. It is the same with colour, which makes only a momentary and superficial impression on a soul but slightly developed in sensitiveness.”

“But to a more sensitive soul the effect of colours is deeper and intensely moving. And so we come to the second main result of looking at colours: Their psychic effect. They produce a corresponding spiritual vibration, and it is only as a step towards this spritual vibration that the elementary physical impression is of importance.


The choice of one of the elements in the harmony of form must be decided only by a corresponding vibration in the human soul:

“The more abstract is form, the more clear and direct is its appeal. The more an artist uses these abstracted forms, the deeper and more confidently will he advance into the kingdom of the abstract.”

“Meterlinck stated, ‘The soul is curious for beauty.’”

*****


Click to order  I say Who, What, and Where!
an inspirational novel about the courage to be oneself freely.

Click to order  Deconstructing INFATUATION,
a thought-provoking novel about infatuation.

                                                              
Copyright © 2013 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

172 ~on writing

NO IGNORAMUS (INNOCENT OF EDUCATION) HAS EVER PRODUCED GREAT ART




John Gardner, author and creative writing teacher and also professor of medieval literature, presented The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers in two parts:


1.     Notes on Literary-Aesthetic Theory.


Intuition plays a great role in writing:

“Art depends heavily on feeling, intuition, taste. It is feeling, not some rule, that tells the abstract painter to put his yellow here and there, not there, and may later tell him that it should have been brown or purple or pea-green.

The great writer has an instinct for those things.

He must think as cleanly as a mathematician but he must also know by intuition when to sacrifice precision for some higher good, how to simplify, take short cuts, keep the foreground up there in front and the background back.”


Gardner throw two elements we need to reflect on: Humanness and Trust (based on the author’s intelligence and sensitivity).

“When an artist of true authority speaks—someone like Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Racine, Dostoyevsky, or Melville—we listen, all attention, even if what he says seems at first a little queer.

The great writer’s authority consists of two elements. The first we may call, loosely, his same humanness; that is, his trustworthiness as a judge of things, a stability rooted in the sum of those complex qualities of his character and personality (wisdom, generosity, compassion, strength of will) to which we respond as we respond to what is best in our friends, with instant recognition and admiration, saying, “Yes, you’re right, that’s how it is!”

The second element, or perhaps I should force, is the writer’s absolute trust (not blind faith) in his own aesthetic judgments and instincts, a trust grounded partly in his intelligence and sensitivity—his ability to perceive and understand the world around him—and partly in his experience as a craftsman.”


2.    Notes on the Fictional Process.


Put a snake in every scene:

“A scene will not be vivid if the writer gives too few details to stir and guide the reader’s imagination; neither will it be if the language the writer uses is abstract instead of concrete.”


Faults of soul can be corrected:

“Sentimentality (not sentiment!), in all its forms, is the attempt to get some effect without providing due cause.

Frigidity occurs in fiction whenever the author reveals by some slip or self-regarding intrusion that he is less concerned about his characters than he ought to be—less concerned, that is, than any decent human being observing the situation would naturally be.

Mannered writing is writing that continually distracts us from the fictional dream by stylistic tics that we cannot help associating, as we read, with the author’s wish to intrude himself, prove himself different from all other authors.”


*****


Click to order  I say Who, What, and Where!
an inspirational novel about the courage to be oneself freely.

Click to order  Deconstructing INFATUATION
a thought-provoking novel about infatuation.

                                                                  

Copyright © 2013 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Monday, February 25, 2013

171 ~on creativity

IGNITING THE CREATIVE FIRE THAT LIVES WITHIN US ALL





In Cirque du Soleil: The Spark - Igniting the Creative Fire that Lives within Us All,Lyn Heward, former President of Cirque du Soleil, tells the story of an ordinary man searching for meaning in his life and work.

Creativity means courage:

“Creativity is first and foremost all about courage—a willigness to take risks, to try new things, and to share the experience with others.”


Envision your life and take a leap of faith:

“I realized I was starting to fall back into the same rut I was in before—sleepwalking through life, eyes half open, with no real sense of direction. Why I had chosen my profession in the first place? Why had I chosen to live this way?

You have to find something you care about enough to build your life around it.

Nothing of significance could be accomplished without taking a leap of faith. But first you need a vision.”


Embrace the unknown:

 “It is amazing how much we fear the unknown—even when the unknown carries with it the possibility of success. We are so determined to stick to our comfort zones that we learn to live with disappointment, as long as it’s familiar and safe. Our fears hold us back, makes us fall short of our goals. Only by taking risks can we hope to accomplish the extraordinary.”


Creativity demands confidence:

“There are no limits; anything is possible. Believe that, live that way, and you can accomplish extraordinary things.

Michelangelo said, ‘David was inside the stone—I just needed to chip away all the pieces that weren’t David.’"


Pace the stretch zone:

“We face our fears every day. The fact is, we want to scare ourselves some—to reach our limits and then go beyond them. We have to shove ourselves off the cliff before we start flying. The greatest danger is not failing but getting comfortable.”



*****
Click to order  I say Who, What, and Where!
an inspirational novel about the courage to be oneself freely.

Click to order  Deconstructing INFATUATION,
a thought-provoking novel about infatuation.

                                                                  

Copyright © 2013 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

170 ~book news

THURSDAY LINKS: THUNDER ON THE HORIZON









*****


Click to order  I say Who, What, and Where!
an inspirational novel about the courage to be oneself freely.

Click to order  Deconstructing INFATUATION,
a thought-provoking novel about infatuation.



Copyright © 2013 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

169 ~on passion

TALES OF PASSION




“Fiction happens in the womb. It doesn’t get processed in the mind until you do the editing.”

Isabel Allende


Watch the video:








*****
Click to order  I say Who, What, and Where!
an inspirational novel about the courage to be oneself freely.

Click to order  Deconstructing INFATUATION,
a thought-provoking novel about infatuation.


Copyright © 2013 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Monday, February 18, 2013

168 ~on perseverance

WITHOUT THE DOING, DREAMING IS USELESS




PER▪SE▪VER▪ANCE Noun 

Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.


Watch the video of Rilla Alexander:

Rilla Alexander is an Australian-born Berlin-based designer and illustrator. Her cast of creatures dance across Madrid’s Museo del Prado’s ceramics and stationery products, populate Swiss Credit Cards for Cornér Bank and sleep on the walls of Hotel Fox in Copenhagen (where she replaced the bed with a tent). 







*****
Click to order  I say Who, What, and Where!
an inspirational novel about the courage to be oneself freely.

Click to order  Deconstructing INFATUATION,
a thought-provoking novel about infatuation.



Copyright © 2013 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

167 ~book news

THURSDAY LINKS: BOOK SHOPPING FOR VALENTINE’S DAY




  • Valentine’s day reading: Dan Rhodes’ top 10 marriages tales. TheGuardian.
  • The ten best romantic books for Valentine’s Day. Independent.





*****
Click to order  I say Who, What, and Where!
an inspirational novel about the courage to be oneself freely.

Click to order  Deconstructing INFATUATION,
a thought-provoking novel about infatuation.



Copyright © 2013 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

166 ~on simplicity

SIMPLICITY IS THE PATH, NOT JUST THE DESTINATION




Simplicity, many people think,
Is an end in itself
But they’re getting it backwards
Simplicity is the path, the means
It’s not a far off destination,
Somewhere in the future
It’s right here, right now
It’s taking things one at a time
It’s asking simple questions
It’s taking simple actions
It’s doing it slowly
It’s considering and being conscious,
With everything.

When you find yourself becoming overwhelmed
On the path to simplicity
Taking a complicated, frenzied path
To get there
Stop, consider, and choose
The simpler path
And take it slowly
And easily
And lovely.



Simplicity is the path, not just the destination, by Leo Babauta



*****
Click to order  I say Who, What, and Where!
an inspirational novel about the courage to be oneself freely.

Click to order  Deconstructing INFATUATION,
a thought-provoking novel about infatuation.

Copyright © 2013 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.

Monday, February 11, 2013

165 ~on writers

IAN McEWAN ON HIS WRITING PROCESS




‘To work all day in the knowledge that he was seeing 
an interesting friend in the evening.’



Watch the video:





*****
Click to order  I say Who, What, and Where!
an inspirational novel about the courage to be oneself freely.

Click to order  Deconstructing INFATUATION,
a thought-provoking novel about infatuation.

Copyright © 2013 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.