hckrnws
What I learned about creativity from a man painting on a treadmill (2024)
by 8organicbits
The writer mentions Kilduff is a 'trained comedian'. Is that really something you can go to school and study? To me it came off as implying that was superior to being an untrained comedian.
How is this from 2024 and I get a NRD (newly registered domain) block? Site was moved?
Love this. I feel this narrative is woefully under-appreciated. I think there’s something beautiful about watching people who aren’t near the top of their field, “normal” people who are just trying to have fun. But that doesn’t make a good story usually. I’ve tried writing some fiction along these lines, and it requires quite a bit more narrative to convey.
"On the other hand, if we can’t accept failure in our hearts, we’ve already lost. Not only do we deny ourselves the possibility of succeeding (and what is success in art but a chance to enjoy ourselves and connect with people?), but from experiencing the process and all that it has to teach us. We have to embrace it all or embrace nothing."
Words of wisdom and inspiration.
https://youtube.com/@letspainttv
beautiful art
I started to see them on IG a few years ago when I used it a lot more than I do now
the "positive power electronics" music thing is a take I don't think I had seen before (though it must be more uncommon than rare), and it's delightful
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_electronics_(music_genre...
positive, as in, compared to, say, big name UK act Whitehouse https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m0wDEjccTkHXUG52Cz...
fwiw, not all of it is that harsh!
there's a fair netradio for that style; https://www.radio-browser.info/search?page=1&order=clickcoun...
I think a lot about the "it's easier to destroy than create" thing, to paint a dystopia than a eutopia, n the Let's Paint work is an interesting reflection on that
What's the positive power electronics thing? I think I missed it. Would love to see the take.
My wife commissioned a painting of my dog from John Kilduff after I made her watch some Lets Paint TV.
This is just another way of pampering and making people insensitive or oblivious to what is desirable and what is not, what is progress and what is not. Saying whatever you do is right or no need to strive for improvement etc just for the sake of keeping them happy, is more harmful than telling them that they are doing it bad. People should learn to accept correct feedback, not expect total lack of it.
There is nothing called absolute success or failure, but there is a direction for improvement. You need to make sure to know which direction is improvement and which is not, and move in right direction. Correct feedback is important, just like what this my comment is doing.
> Saying whatever you do is right or no need to strive for improvement etc just for the sake of keeping them happy, is more harmful than telling them that they are doing it bad.
I notice you don’t say why this should be true. It’s easy to see why one might consider it true for someone’s profession - but when it comes to hobbies, or people trying something they’ve never done before, your perspective is less obviously correct.
This is great. One of the things I say to my wife all the time, which is taken from a Kurt Vonnegut quote, is that "I don't have to be good at my hobbies".
You could head for Chesterton as well: "anything worth doing is worth doing poorly."
when reading that I couldn't help but think of how you could learn from failure from this early apple story:
https://www.folklore.org/Make_a_Mess,_Clean_it_Up!.html
(maybe not the same as not worrying about failure)
Comment was deleted :(
Nice reminder that constraints can push creativity in ways perfect conditions never do. The treadmill setup makes the painting less predictable and more intentional, and the piece works because of that challenge, not despite it.
Crafted by Rajat
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