The interesting thing about being an artist is that sources of inspiration and influence can come from literally anywhere. It is of course extremely useful, practical and almost necessary to find books that relate to some aspect of your work as well. Books on painting techniques, art history and art theory can be crucial to an artists development. However sometimes its fun to see how seemingly unrelated books influence not just subject matter but our concepts and methods of producing art. For this article I will be focusing on the books that do not fit into the typical categories and discussing a bit about them and how they influence my art even though they are not about art.
[in most cases links are to the free full texts online but all are available for free from your local library]
What it is:
This is a fiction story about a world inhabited by 2 dimensional shapes; circles, squares, triangles, etc. The story unfolds as the main character (a square) talks about dot-land, line-land and then its own flat-land culminating in its belief that nothing more exists. However it one day finds itself in 3 dimensional space talking to a cube and the cube explains that 3 dimensional space is the the actual end, not 2 dimensions and that the little square had been wrong. The square however having just had its entire worldview exploded in its face says “O Hell No!” (paraphrasing) there must be 4 dimensions and 6 dimensions and on and on, but the cube just can’t buy it and is stuck with the same thinking the square previously had.
How it influences me:
There is nothing more amazing about being human than the fact that we will never know it all but we so often think we do. The idea that there can always be more to know, to experience or to express is one of the driving forces for an artist. Artists almost require a certain level of discontent, its what drives our imaginations and our ambitions. I have found myself so often dreaming of the possibilities and the potential of my paintings and I realize a lot of my ability to think further and further and be open and excited to the most insane ideas comes from reading this book at an early age, the square really seemed to be on to something, what if there really are infinite dimensions?
Groovy excerpt:
“And once there, shall we stay our upward course? In that blessed region of Four Dimensions, shall we linger at the threshold of the Fifth, and not enter therein? Ah, no! Let us rather resolve that our ambition shall soar with our corporal ascent. Then, yielding to our intellectual onset, the gates of the Six Dimension shall fly open; after that a Seventh, and then an Eighth —“
2) The Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Casteneda
What it is:
This book follows the story (true or fiction?) of a man who stumbles into the graces of an amazing teacher and begins a journey of rediscovering reality. Don Juan puts the main character through a variety of rituals and tasks which cause deeper and deeper challenges to his knowledge of what is real and what is not. Through various plant mixtures the protagonist experiences things he assumes to be hallucinations but slowly learns might be other than he realized.
How it influences me:
Knowing that things may not be as we understand them is very useful to an artist. As an artist I have learned to find a deep trust in my instincts and intuitions and to question where my knowledge comes from. I have learned that my body is a conduit of nature and can often bring my awareness to places I would not have placed it if I used only my brain and cultural conditioning. This can lead to observational discoveries like finding certain colors and patterns that aren’t obvious or to more conceptual discoveries like connecting various ideas from disparate fields of thought.
Groovy excerpt:
“Then I didn’t really fly, don Juan. I flew in my imagination, in my mind alone. Where was my body?”
“The trouble with you is that you understand things in only one way.”
“But what I mean, don Juan, is that if you and I look at a bird and see it fly, we agree that it is flying. But if two of my friends had seen me flying as I did last night, would they have agreed that I was flying?”
“You agree that birds fly because you have seen them flying. Flying is a common thing with birds. But you will not agree on other things birds do, because you have never seen birds doing them. If your friends knew about men flying with the devil’s weed, then they would agree.”
3) The Castle by Franz Kafka
What it is:
A story about a man named K who arrives in a village to perform his job as land surveyor. The whole story revolves around K’s attempts to navigate the bureaucracy of the Castle and the village in order to do his job. This task becomes increasingly ludicrous and impossible so K spends much of his time in the village observing and interacting with its people waiting for the official channels to clear various obstacles.
How it influences me:
Kafka is unparalleled at expressing the unattainable and endless qualities of the journey of life. This creates perfect parallels with the creation of art. Similar to the Balzac’s short story The Unknown Masterpiece, but much more relatable to modern life, The Castle really makes me feel the visceral sensation of not being able to achieve something and in feeling that helps me to pay attention to when I should struggle on and when I just need to let go. Unlike K from the novel I want to find the right balance between reaching for the unreachable which is really what every artist is doing and accepting the moment as complete.
Groovy excerpt:
“Only a total stranger could ask such a question. Are there control agencies? There are only control agencies. Of course they aren’t meant to find errors, in the vulgar sense of that term, since no errors occur, and even if an error does occur, as in your case, who can finally say that it is an error.”
4) Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
What it is:
This is an ancient text with a kind of poetic spiritual quality that goes through about 80 “chapters” covering a variety of situations, lifestyles and nuggets of wisdom. It puts a lot of complex concepts into very simply poetic words that really exemplify the definition of wisdom. In a way each chapter is a guide to a certain understanding of some aspect of existence. It feels like the precursor to Buddhist thought with less structure and more of a meandering feel to it. Some of its repeated themes include looking to nature as a model, allowing things to be as they are and not relying on words to understand life.
How it influences me:
There is something very important about art that I never want to lose sight of and that is its potential as a profound poetic expression. This book makes sense to me on a very strange level, it always puts me at ease to read it and makes me feel like everything will be ok. It is this same feeling which I try to convey with my artworks as it is the only reason I can justify making them. The book also has an uncanny way of saying things while saying we shouldn’t rely on saying things which I think is a crucial thing to remember while making art, there is a lot of paradox in being an artist.
Groovy excerpt:
“Failure is an opportunity.
If you blame someone else,
there is no end to the blame.
Therefore the Master
fulfills her own obligations
and corrects her own mistakes.
She does what she needs to do
and demands nothing of others.”
5) The Miracle of Mindfullness by Thich Nhat Hanh
What it is:
This book runs through various short stories and anecdotes about meditation and Buddhism. It presents very profound ways to view and understand your everyday experiences but it leaves a lot up to you to connect the dots and make what you will of the chapters for yourself. It gives a very instructional information but through very fluidly crafted writing that is very easy and quick to read.
How it influences me:
I would say this book is responsible for me really pursuing Buddhist ideas and practices as well as laying the foundation for how I developed an understanding of those practices. One of the early chapters is about when doing the dishes only do the dishes. This basic principle summarizes the entirety of mindfulness for me and is always what I go back to when I need to remind myself. As an artist its crucial to have a patience and mindfulness throughout the whole process of creation. At each moment the work is speaking back to you in various ways and its important to be ever listening to the work and to the life in order to find new things to express and new ways to express them. At the very least the philosophy from this book helps me to stay centered and focused while cleaning brushes and prepping materials.
Groovy excerpt:
“If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.” What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won’t be able to drink our tea either.”
Be well
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