-----
'Doing something “for your own good” is rarely good if it causes you to become less than you really are’ (pg. 139) … this is a quote from Ken Robinson (Ph.D.)’s book ‘The Element’ which I read for the purpose of this book response. As with most reading assignments, I expected to find the book choices bland and dull, braced my heels in the dirt, and expected a long, dry read. However, this quote struck me hard and stuck with me despite the one-hundred and twenty one pages that followed, and in the end I am glad I chose to read it.
His book explores the idea of peoples’ creative “Element”, that is to say, “the place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together” (Introduction, xiii). Throughout the eleven chapters Robinson gives examples of famous people in history, some of who are still around today, whose’ lives were changed because they found their creative Element. These people discovered what they were meant to be doing, and strove to make it their life’s work, despite usually being met by opposition from family or friends. A few of the examples he gives are Paul McCartney (pg. 9), Matt Groening (pg. 4), and Helen Pilcher (pg. 108).
It’s pretty daunting, getting handed a four-page long list of books to choose from, and my first concern was not only finding the books in the first place (in a country I haven’t lived in before), but also finding a book I liked. However, I needn’t have worried; no sooner had I skimmed through the first few pages of ‘The Element’ than I was hooked. The Element is “the meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion”, and while you are engrossed in your Element “time passes differently and [you] are more alive, more centered, and more vibrant than at any other times” (pg. 21). I read this and recognized instantly that this book appealed to me because I could relate to it at once: my Element is art, more specifically drawing. It’s something I’ve always been passionate about, and that I’ve been doing since I could hold a crayon in my mouth. So why, then, didn’t I make a drawing in response to Robinson’s book? Truth be told that was my original intention, but after reading it there were so many things I had to say that I wanted to write down as much as I could in an attempt to share my thoughts.
Paul Samuelson said “Never underestimate the vital importance of finding early in life the work that for you is play … this turns possible underachievers into happy warriors” (pg. 7). As previously mentioned one of the first things I “discovered” about myself was that I loved drawing. Picking up a pen or pencil and making pictures come out came as naturally to me as breathing, and all throughout kindergarten I was constantly drawing. We received cheap sketchbooks from our kindergarten teachers that we would doodle in during “Drawing time”, and I would fill page after page with mostly the same thing: pictures of dragons, fire dragons, water dragons, breathing-fire-at-knights dragons. At that time I didn’t draw humans or many other animals, but that didn’t stop my friends in my class from wanting me to draw for them too. I even irritated the teachers because the other children never wanted to draw on their own anymore, instead they always asked me “Shamine, draw a dragon for me next!” Reading in Robinson’s book that Dr. Terence Tao, a mathematician since a young age, was “extremely fortunate because he arrived at his version of the Element when he was very, very young” (pg. 101) made me giddy, because I’ve known since I was small that “when I [grew] up, I want to become an artist.” It also made me feel very fortunate that I could “be what [I] was naturally inclined to be before the world put any restrictions on [me]” (pg. 102).
What Robinson is referring to is that young children don’t see the need to think outside the box, because they don’t know the box is there. Dr. Tao—and myself—were fortunate to discover our Element before we were old enough to have the “real world” bearing down on us, telling us what would be the “right” thing to do to land a job that would keep the bills paid. That’s not to say I haven’t been met with opposition for my passion in art throughout my life, but again Robinson’s book gave me more examples that proved to me I don’t have to take others’ opinions so seriously, when they tell me there’s no future in art.
For instance, Matt Groening, who everyone knows as the artist and creator of ‘The Simpsons’, would draw in class to keep himself amused (pg. 4). Drawing in class is something I’ve been doing avidly since sixth grade, and it was only in ninth grade that teachers finally left me alone about it, because my grades were almost always the top few of the class. Also like me, “his teachers and parents … tried to encourage him to do something else with his life” (pg. 5), and it was in his first-grade teacher that he found inspiration. Throughout my life my parents, particularly my father, have turned down the idea of art as a profession because of how unstable and difficult it is. He’s a banker, graduated from the University of British Columbia with a major in engineering, and is very left-brain oriented, which didn’t help his opinion of the arts. That’s not to say he discouraged me completely, on the contrary he’d always make sure there was paper and pencils and pens to be had, so that my sister and I could whip out drawings to our hearts’ content, but the underlying tone was always there: do well in maths and sciences, because that’s where you can make a “good living”.
For Groening, his first-grade teacher kept his pieces, which flattered him because “there’s like, you know, hundreds of kids going through [there]” (pg. 5). I was surprised at this, because in the first grade I had a teacher who I still remember very well for how much she supported me, even at that early age. Ms. Velasquez was always very happy and encouraged my drawing to a certain degree. There were always times where drawing all over my paper was unacceptable, of course, and she made sure I learned that, but she cherished the pictures I drew and would constantly tell my parents that I had something there. I was living in Japan at the time, and when I left she gave me two illustrated books about the culture of Japan done in a very cartoony way, and even signed one, telling me to keep on drawing, so that one day when I was famous she could point and say “I taught her!”
Robinson also makes clear the importance of “mentors” in many of these successful peoples’ lives. These are people “who [see] something in us that we don’t see in ourselves … [or] a person [who brings] out the best in us” (pg. 174). Again I have to recall Ms. Velasquez, as my parents have told me it was her constantly reminding them that I had something there that finally led them to believe I wasn’t just another kid drawing scribbles on a piece of paper. At that time, too, drawing was just something I found “fun”, but I had never considered having any sort of talent, especially when I saw the art older students were producing. But it was things like this that have kept me going, and to see examples of others who had similar experiences, complete with discouragement from family members, in Robinson’s book gave me hope that maybe I could achieve something similar later in my life.
Robinson also points out that the reason many people are discouraged from finding (or, if they’ve found it already, pursuing) their Element is due to the outdated education systems we have. The educational systems most schools still follow were “designed to meet the economic interests of those times … dominated by the Industrial Revolution in Europe in America” (pg. 13). During the eighteenth and nineteenth century mathematics, science, and language were important because of the jobs arising as a result of the rapid industrial improvements in nations across the globe. Additionally, the academic culture of universities has “tended to push aside any sort of activity that involves the heart, the body, the senses, and a good portion of our actual brains” (pg. 13). Schools are no longer nurturing the students’ Elements. An extreme example Robinson gives to illustrate his point is of Paul McCartney, lead singer of The Beatles, and Elvis Presley (no need to introduce him) who were both rejected from their schools’ choirs because “[they] weren’t … good enough [singers]” (pg. 11). Paul finished school without anyone once acknowledging he had any sort of musical talent at all, and yet he went on to become part of a band that sold millions of gold albums around the world, and is still being celebrated today.
As a result of these academic systems being carried through into today’s generation, children’s creativity is limited, if not “destroyed”. People still believe that force-feeding their children a “nationally prescribed menu of reading, writing, and arithmetic” (pg. 15) will see them better prepared for university, and a well-paid job in the end, even when this pushes their children into a direction that doesn’t nurture their creative input. For instance, societies have even based themselves around the IQ test to see if their children are qualified for tougher systems of education. Ironically, Alfred Binet, who was one of the creators of the IQ test, intended it to be used to identify children with special needs so they could receive compatible schooling. Another extreme example of society’s preconceptions about intelligence is the SATS. Robinson quotes John Katzman, who criticised the SATS, saying “What makes the SAT bad is that it was nothing to do with what kids learn in high school … the SAT has been sold as snake oil; it measures intelligence, verified high school GPA, and predicted college grades. In fact, it’s never done the first two at all, nor a particularly good job at the third.” (pg. 42).
I include these examples because I agree with Robinson’s arguments completely, in fact I ruled out the options of going to university in the USA because I didn’t want to have to participate in what I considered a useless test. However, it was also rejuvenating to read an adult’s opinion that I agreed with, stating how outmoded these IQ tests and strictly academic-based school systems are. My parents made me participate in an IQ test when I lived in Australia, and throughout my two years there they were constantly sending me off for a few weeks to participate in MENSA, a “society” of people considered to have the highest IQs in the world. And let me make it perfectly clear: I hated it. I remember complaining and wondering why I had to spend my summer break cooped inside large halls, feeling so small and timid sitting by myself, a third-grader surrounded by sixth, eighth, maybe twelfth-graders, bent over exam sheets and tables. In fact, the only thing these MENSA weeks managed to do was make me feel all manner of miserable and stupid, because the questions always confused and confounded me, and I felt like I didn’t know anything.
Some people overcame these barriers set up by the educational system, and the stress from their parents and families to conform to these linear expectations, by leaving them, even if temporarily. This reminded me of one of my creative influences who I absolutely idolize: the Gothic musician, artist, stop-motion animator, writer, and teacher, Mr. Aurelio “Voltaire” Hernández (quite a mouthful isn’t it). In his blog (yes, he keeps one, and it’s a very interesting read, including not only snippets of stories that he’s written, but sometimes his creative process as well) he mentions, in regards to his family looking down on him, that “ … at seventeen I was smart enough to know when to run. And that's what I did. And I never looked back.” He also states in an interview that “I think that schooling is important for some … However, some of us are better off without schooling.” I think he’d be interested in reading Robinson’s book. These days he’s released ten song albums, nine comics, two books, and has made many stop-motion animations and, perhaps ironically, teaches stop-motion at the New York School of Visual Arts.
The final point in this book that really stuck with me, was when Robinson suggests that “most of the people in this book … found [their] way not only when [they] found [their] Element but also when [they] found [their] tribe.” (pg. 131). He also mentions being in “The Zone”. To be in the Zone is to be “deep in the heart of the Element” (pg. 86), and finding the right tribe involves finding people who share your passion about your Element, or a similar one. I could relate to this once more as I associate my tribe with the website DeviantArt . DeviantArt is an online art community I discovered accidentally more than four years ago, where artists around the world can create an account for free and upload pictures into an online gallery. As Robinson said, “often we need other people to help us recognize our real talents. Often we help other people to discover theirs.” (pg. 25). On DeviantArt many of the people there have already discovered their Element is art through whatever means (digital photos, digital paintings, traditional oil paints, watercolors, pencil sketches, prisma colors, you name it) or at the very least enjoy art to the side and can offer constructive criticism and support to artists they admire. Occasionally I’ll get a comment on my page from someone saying my art inspires them, and it’s a nice feeling, to know they’re finding their tribe, too.
Robinson includes a good quote by Isaac Newton, saying “If I saw further it was because I stood on the shoulders of giants” (pg. 118). This refers to Newton’s discoveries not having been completely his own, but as a result of building off the discoveries of scientists before him. This quote is relevant, as, like Newton, I through DeviantArt and the artists I’ve met feel as though I’ve developed even in my own “field of expertise”. Recently I completed a “meme” that had been circulating DeviantArt, where you post snippets of your art in 2003 through to 2009 to show how you’ve improved, and the jump from 2006, when I first joined DeviantArt, and to where I am now is tremendous. Throughout the last four years I’ve been looking up tutorials on how to effectively color digitally, asking other artists (who were kind enough to answer!) how they achieved this certain effect, and lately exchanging art or having other people so enthralled by my own characters that they want to give me gift art. It’s really an empowering experience, and gives me all the more courage to pursue my Element. Additionally, some of these people on DeviantArt such as Nathie, Kerem Beyit, and Richard Johnston, do what they love for a living: they’re in their Element.
I’m not suggesting Robinson is egging me on to run away from my home in the hopes of building myself an artistic empire from the bottom up, or ditching school in the hopes of achieving what Voltaire managed to do, but ‘The Element’ offered many inspiring examples of people who have been able to do what they love for a living, and how they did it. The main reason I enjoyed reading this book so much, despite my initial intimidation, was that I felt I was able to connect to it, and relate what I was reading to people I know and/or idolize.
--Sak
External links:
Voltaire's blog: http://voltairenyc.blogspot.com/
Voltaire interview quoted: http://www.starvox.net/intview/voltaire.htm
Voltaire's official website: http://www.voltaire.net/
The Meme I completed to show the improvement of my art found here http://canadian-rainwater.deviantart.com/art/SAK-s-Improvement-Meme-152319693:
Examples of fanart mentioned in the reponse above
My character Jaris from the MMORPG 'Aion - Tower of Eternity' as drawn by me (Sept. 6th, 2009) found here: http://canadian-rainwater.deviantart.com/art/OOC-About-Alchemy-p2-136067555
Fanart of Jaris by Nathie (January 25th, 2010) found here: http://nathie.deviantart.com/art/Hello-Mr-Sexy-151712083
My original creation, the dragon species called "Baroca" (Nov. 14th, 2009) found here: http://canadian-rainwater.deviantart.com/art/Watersports-152749364
Fanart of my Baroca, a sculpture by Richard Johnston found here: http://richardj.deviantart.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment