Dabblers of the world unite! (3/52)
Let's stop stigmatizing the Jacks, Jills, and other Jays of all trades.
We strapped on our KN95s and braved the Museum of Fine Arts Houston last weekend to see the Georgia O'Keeffe photography exhibit before it closed. You may be surprised to hear that O'Keeffe dabbled in photography; I certainly was, which was why I didn't want to miss this exhibit!
It was a compelling collection. O'Keeffe really excelled at using shadow as a compositional element, and I loved the way she took multiple shots of the same place or object, framing and reframing it in various ways. Many of her photographs had a stark gravitas akin to the aesthetic of her paintings.
However, it was clear she was a dabbler in the medium. She had no interest in the mastery of the technical side. She didn't develop her own photos, though she did her own touch-ups, and only owned two cameras (one of which was a Polaroid). She was, of course, a phenomenal artist, but it seems to me that photography was just a bit of a hobby for her, more of a form of play. She took elegantly framed photos of her dogs and captured the same sort of stark interplay between shadow and form with her cameras as she did on her canvases. But it wasn't the thrust of her work.
I'm willing to bet, however, that it helped her painting. Novelty helps the brain make new connections, and creative skills often translate from medium to medium.
It was artistically reassuring to see the results of a far more famous and talented dabbler than myself. There's a lot of cultural pressure to pick one thing -- just one -- and let that be your life's work. But most of us, especially creatives, aren't "one thing" people, even when we excel at something specific and become known for it.
Why are people surprised when a famous actor also paints or writes? Why are people shocked when rock stars do movies? If you know any creative people in real life, you almost certainly know a painter who is also a poet or a musician who also designs jewelry. I am a writer and a performer, but I also sew and like to draw, and I hope to re-learn how to play the piano one day. I would never want to pick just one pursuit forever. Why would someone else be different just because they're famous?
There's a lot to be said about the pleasures of exploring many different pursuits. And we can call it dabbling, but it feels more like a process of discovery to me.
The Update
I had to drive 3 hours round trip to pick up W2 envelopes, because of course I did. Welcome to January. It's always like this.
In my other newsletter, I wrote about developing a "take care of it now" mindset.
I finally fixed a Chrome issue that had been driving me completely bonkers for a while. It has been such a trying month that this feels like a legit reason for celebration.
As embarrassing as it is to admit, I genuinely love the movie "Stargate"* and this recap from Lindy West is the most bani wei thing ever written about it in the history of the universe. True facts.
I meant to include a song this time, but I apparently didn't bookmark it and can't remember which song it was. I could have omitted this explanation, but I think it's best to be open about what kind of a dingbat I really am. You're welcome.
Okay, that's more than enough for this week. Bye!
*I saw "Stargate" at least four times at the dollar theater and was so obsessed with it when it came out that my girlfriend got me "Stargate" action figures for Christmas that year. I wasn't a child, my friends; I was in college at the time. (I was so attached to the movie that I refused to watch "Stargate: SG1" when it first came out. I had to kick myself again and again for being such a prejudicial idiot when I finally came around and watched it years later. It's now in my top five sci-fi series of all time! Don't be like me! Keep an open mind about television spin-offs, folks. Hahaha!)
I dabble in painting, music, photography, and ... digital manipulation? I filter the shit outta images. Whatever that is.