Blog #8-Brainwashed

http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/66.01.Brainwashed

According to Seth Godin the Lizard is the resistant part of our brain. It's what makes us worry about our security, and our safety, and dishes out anger. It also has the unfortunate side effect of shutting down our artistic skills. To be an artist is too be free thinking, and creative. It's what makes us stop being Winston Smith, and instead being obient. But if we acknowledge it, we can fight it. Making art is the most unique part of being human. It's doesn't require instructions, or a manual. Instead it requires interacting on the human level to create something that changes lives, that's "real art. Being generous is essential is the modern economy, instead of doing something for profit, you do it to help support, and grow with your fellow artists, and deliver their products more faster than anyone ever could.

These three layers-the Lizard, Creating Art, and Being Generous are all key factors in being a good creative person. During this quarter, we have to keep a Blog, and in away all of these layers have in one way, or another. The Lizard has predominantly found it's way into these blog posts. All of these posts came with a syllabus of what must be in each weekly blog post. Granted of course, sometimes we had a little freedom to chose what to write about, but we had a rigid set of instructions to follow including a set word limit for each blog post. I don't consider these blog posts as "Creating Art". I don't interact with people, on the human level. These blog posts are not very profound. To the best of my knowledge only my TA reads these. It's true that in a sense I have created something, but this is not done by any human interaction, and these simple blog posts really don't have the power to change something, so in that sense they are not art. With regards to "Being Generous" I'm afraid these blog posts don't posses this trait either. When I write these blog posts I do them for the sole purpose of keeping my GPA up. They do not help promote the work of young artists such as myself, or help support them. They do instead help promote the commercial work of artists such as Christopher Nolan who is already well established, and has the road of success before out his feet. I have been writing these blog posts all quarter, and now I am faced with this question: have these blog posts helped me to become a better artist? The answer is yes in a way. Although these blogs do not give me the chance to actually make something, they do allow me to help verify, and understand the basic rules, and principles of this highly creative competitive business, often by dissecting small scenes from my favorite films to better understand the basic principles that went into making them, and therefore understand how to apply these basic prinicples such as the 180 line, rule of thirds into my own work someday, and therefore make it look not like the work of some novice, but instead looks like it was made by a pro. So it that respect yes these blogs have helped me to become a better artist after all