Janismania dvd quote

[Racheldiva]

Hi all,
there's a quote that Janis refers to in the Janismania dvd of what her tutor says when asked about artists being paid a generous salary. She replied that there's no compensation great enough for living with the knowledge that in every moment you (as an artist) know that you are being born and dying. Apologies for my paraphrasing wildly here.

Janis says that she thought a lot about this comment, but I must admit that I am having trouble wrapping my head around it. I just wondered what the forum thought of it? And what your interpretations of it were.:o

[moe75]

Hi Rachel.

Yes I remember that quote, and it is an accurate one. I guess it squared with what I always thought the artist's place was in our society. They pay a huge personal price for knowing things that we want to forget (or choose to forget). It's their job (is that the right word?) to give it to us in black and white, sometimes tinted with paisley. :)

Can you imagine what a world would be without the birds singing? Their songs in the morning remind us of the joy of each sunrise. Artists like Janis remind us of the darkness that live in all us, but like any great blues singer knows, it's the blood that spilt for the soul that matters most.

[Dee]

Intriguing topic, Rachel. Thanks for beginning it.

I like what you posted, Moe.

To me, an artist dares to express (in whichever art form) that which is often not seen on the surface of life by most people. I believe it was Stella Adler who also taught Janis that artists are "born knowing."

Two current examples of what I am trying to say:

The first (which Janis also mentions in the DVD masterclass) was when she wrote On the Other Side, prior to the World Trade Centre attacks, including the line "they say that you were with me when the building fell." Now, how could she have consciously written such an ominous lyric if not compelled by that "knowing" force within?

The second example I’d give is when she wrote The Great Divide just prior to the floods in New Orleans. "Come good people and gather ‘round, step out of the water before you drown, tide is coming swift and deep gonna knock you off your feet, There’s a tide of greed that knows no shame and a tide of money that holds no stain, A tide of men who worship pride and will not be denied."

If you examine this lyric closely then you'll get a sense of the artist as (unwitting) "knowing" visionary that I'm referring to.

[snakegrl]

I think it could be interpreted in a lot of ways, just like art itself.
One could be in taking the chance to put your work "out there", because you never know how it is going to be recieved. That's a little death. But , then you must come up through the ashes , so to speak, and let go of the outcome.
Another way is, that one processes feelings, thoughts, observations, really connecting deeply into all of these things, pleasant or not, and creates something new from them.
For me, it is a kind of death and rebirth.
Sometimes it's just puking on paper. ( better than on the carpet)
I have looked back at poems I 've done and thought, "Did I write that crap?"
Yep, I shure did. So, you get over yourself and write something better and that is a death and rebirth too.
I also don't feel that an artist ever stops being an artist, meaning that one is always in that creative space and way of seeing, feeling, thinking.
It is taking in the world and turning it back out again, like breathing.

[DaveM]

An artist--any artist--essentially takes his or her work into the world by testing the depths of the water with both feet. You know the odds are against you (there are, for example, roughly 200 writers in America who make a full-time living by writing fiction), that you will be ridiculed by some, accepted to the degree of "gee, those are nice pictures" by others. Keep at it long enough and someone may eventually buy something. You may win awards--which won't pay the bills.

And no matter what the honors are, no matter what the financial reward may eventually be, the public is getting a bargain. Because no matter what you write, paint, or sing, if it's good it comes from the heart of hearts, from the most intimate places most people keep to themselves and which an artist shows to the entire world. Even when you create something beautiful, it may arise out of terrible pain. No one sees the exhaustion one faces on finally turning away from the word processor, easel, or piano. Few if any are likely to understand why so many artists need to live life so intensely, if only as a distraction from the drive to CREATE. Hence, the alcoholic writer, the suicidal poet, the obnoxious painter.

I do not believe it is a life anyone chooses. It is a "vocation" in the deepest spiritual meaning. Many hear the call and bury it in favor of something more "practical"....they live out their lives in an unhappiness I would not wish to know. Some find a middle ground--I know an electrician and a cabinetmaker who are brilliant sculptors, and one can see the artist's hand in everything they do.

Others listen. They tend to find a place on the fringes of society, sometimes clashing with it. Some have bad personal reputations, or become virtual hermits. But they create. They create because they must no matter how much it hurts. And because, sometimes, when it's going just right and they're creating something wonderful and they know it and truly don't care what anyone else might think, they know a delight which can only be regarded as of divine origin. And no one who has not been there can ever know what that utter ecstasy is like.

[hoops]

I agree with all that you all say. I would like to add this to it. As humans being we are all being born and diying in every moment. we are becoming who we are and letting go of who we we're, in every instant. I think artisits are and need to be more aware of this than...say...non artisits. human nature thirves on change human beings do all they can do to avoid it, because change, whether it be good or bad involves losing something which involves grieving. Knowing that this happens is amazing enough, being able to "describe" it in a way that makes us average people understand is art. Imagine celebrating and grieving ALL the time! that's what life is. artisits have the honour and responsiblility of sharing this with the world.
just my thoughts
hoops

[GodSistah]

Racheldiva, thanks for the excellent thread! You might want to check out some of the books by Stella Adler. I have always found when studying artists I like that you learn a lot of insight by also studying the people that influenced them. Needless to say, Stella Adler was a HUGE part of the make up of Janis post 70s.

I picked up a couple of the books off Amazon and although I did some acting, directing and writing for stage in my Militant Chicana days in college, lol, I also found that this was excellent mind food for me as a musician/composer as well.

I have three of her books...just some of the titles of the chapters alone got me excited. From "The Art of Acting": Ch.1-"First Steps on Stage", Ch.2 "The World of the Stage isn't Your World", Ch.5-"Developing Imagination" and from "Acting with Adler": Sec I - "Artistic Standards", "Spiritual Standards, "Physical Standards". Very intriguing books! Great for any creative artist and any fan really.

~Andrea~

[Mike UK]

Good question Rachel. And superb responses so far - all of them!

And Dave .... I think that's the finest and most insightful thing you've ever written here, especially the final paragraph! I identify with it all, completely.

Artistry is a very painful pleasure. "And how you suffered for your sanity ...".

Mike

[DaveM]

To my mind, it's important to keep in mind that almost ANYTHING can be art in the sense of being a creative process. Hence, "the medical arts", etc. Art is a state of mind as much as it is a "product".

A fine example can be found in the movie "Chariots of Fire" in which Eric Liddell, a devout Christian, is asked whether the time he puts into training interferes with his theological studies. His reply, which to my knowledge is a real-life quote, is to the effect that: "God made me to carry his message. But He also made me fast. And when I run....I feel His pleasure".

Liddell later became a missionary and worked in China. Some discussion of his later years (hidden behind a rather obvious pseudonym) can be found in the book "Shantung Compound", which deals with the lives of a group of foreign civilians who were placed in an internment camp by the Japanese during WWII. Liddell became a spiritual leader among the community at the expense of his health, and regrettably, died only a few weeks before the war ended.

[Kath of the Guitar]

I have often thought about that statement....and I have to tell ya, Dave.. you really moved me, to the point of tears in my eyes.... We are left with no choice but to go on regardless of the consequences... It is truly the BLESSING and the CURSE..... you are dammed either way... And if you try to be something you're not, you don't feel complete. I put my guitar down for about ten years and I couldn't figure out for the life of me why I was so miserable... something was not right. It wasn't until I got back into my passion that I realized... this is not a CHOICE... It's a calling and the only time I feel whole, is when I'm creating. There have been times when I wished I was just plain ol' anybody else.... The everyday people whose lives seem boring to me, lucky for them they don't know any better...There's the pain.. there's the rub. Sad but true!

[DaveM]

The real trick to being an artist is reaching a level of expertise where to the casual onlooker the work appears effortless. Ask anyone who has seen Kath play--or Janis, of course. The struggle is always there....but if you're REALLY good....no one will ever notice.

[Racheldiva]

I have often thought about that statement....and I have to tell ya, Dave.. you really moved me, to the point of tears in my eyes.... We are left with no choice but to go on regardless of the consequences... It is truly the BLESSING and the CURSE..... you are dammed either way... And if you try to be something you're not, you don't feel complete. I put my guitar down for about ten years and I couldn't figure out for the life of me why I was so miserable... something was not right. It wasn't until I got back into my passion that I realized... this is not a CHOICE... It's a calling and the only time I feel whole, is when I'm creating. There have been times when I wished I was just plain ol' anybody else.... The everyday people whose lives seem boring to me, lucky for them they don't know any better...There's the pain.. there's the rub. Sad but true!

Kath,
I agree totally with what you say here. All of it-it is so true. Non creators think you're nuts though don't they. I've tried to explain and they look at me with a far off look in their eyes, probably thinking, yeah right - you diva!

[Kath of the Guitar]

Dave, Thank you for your kind words (always)..... but I wish I could see through your eyes.... most of the time I'm trying to get the monkey off my back. However, getting to the level of effortless is something that comes from everyday practice.... It just becomes second nature, honestly I don't think about it, and I'm sure Janis don't either.....except when I'm watching her, I stand in amazement... as we all have done. She is a musician's musician.
Racheldiva, I have a great Tee shirt that you would love....it says,
"YOU ALL LAUGH BECAUSE I'M DIFFERENT... I LAUGH BECAUSE YOU ARE ALL THE SAME...:p

[DaveM]

I have a button which reads: "Conform, Go Crazy, Or Become An Artist". When you think about it, that pretty much sums up one's choices in this world.

[Racheldiva]

Dave and Kath,
I want one of your buttons/t-shirts - they sound really apt!
:D