I am Man. Male.

In This Bloutcher

• I am Man. Male.
• Announcements
  

I am Man. Male.

That means I don't ask. At least in public where I might be embarrassed for not knowing. I don't ask for help. Or anything else that might hint at a handout. I figure it out. I am good at repartee, not disclosure. I'm the hunter. I capture or conquer. I provide.

I am a craftsman. I know how to make things--that's THINGS--and make them work. Homo Faber--Man the Maker, the fabricator. I don't whine. I solve problems. I'm a man. Male. And I am lonely.

Being Male means innovation, yes. It is practical. It has utility. Creativity, eh. Pure whimsy. What's its purpose?

Being Male inhibits my creativity. Creativity flows from vulnerability. From longing. From wonder. Not from solving but from touching the untouchable. Not from the hands or the brain or even from the wits, but from the firmament. Look up, O Male. Take in the stars. Close your eyes and see!

Please excuse the above rant--well, actually don't excuse it. I wanted to give you a sense of where one of my paintings came from. It speaks to the sources of inspiration. And the peculiar process of creating. I'm sure we have all experienced it at different times and in different ways.

Let's go back to the day I was leafing through a copy of The New Yorker and came across this photo.

It caught my attention for reasons I could not explain at the time so I tore it out and kept it in my studio for many months. Whenever I looked at the photo I couldn't escape the feeling that it was something more than a photo of a man running down the street in a suit. Perhaps he was Modern Man? Post Modern? Whatever that means. On the run in any case. But from what and toward what? And then he seemed so alone. I was also reading about and looking at the work of Spanish painter Francisco Goya at the time. And was both floored by and inspired by his painting The Dog (1820-23), a foreshadowing of post modern (whatever the hell that means) angst.

That is when I started sketching out some possibilities. Example on the right.

And then I moved into painting. I might stumble across something in the process, I thought. I didn't need an answer at the outset. I just needed to get started. Sometimes I have a title in mind before working on a painting and I keep it. Other times I end up changing the title. And still other times I don't have a title until the end, if even then. And then I change it. This one I called "Running Man" and I have kept it all the way through. The quote in the painting is from Ecclesiastes: "Running Man is like a breath...his days are like a passing shadow."



That doesn't mean I didn't run up against problems while working on it. In fact, at one point I was so frustrated that I made the above entry which kicks off this bloutcher (I am Man. Male.) in my sketchbook. Ouch. Did I really mean it? Do I really believe this? Does being Male limit creativity? Neuroscientists are discovering that creativity is a whole brain activity (versus an exclusively right brain activity) so perhaps creativity is enhanced through the union of opposites--the best and worst of male and female.

And what does the experience of creating the Running Man painting say about the creative process of living and life change?


Here are a few quick thoughts:

• Sometimes the best way to engage an idea is to separate from it. [Thank you Dr. George Klavens for this notion.] Instead of pursuing it, let it pursue you. Sometimes you simply have to let an idea float. It's not ready for prime time or for action.
• Creativity does not occur through thinking but when emotion and thinking combust with each other. When we are considering life change or are in it we need to listen to both our heads and our hearts.
  
• And, finally, when you and the idea are ready for each other it only means the work is just beginning.
  

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Announcements:

• On October 4th, 7 p.m., I will be speaking at University of St. Catherine, Jeanne D'Arc Auditorium, 2004 Randolf Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota, sponsored by the pioneering organization SHiFT. Topic: What the Great Masters of Art Can Teach Us About Navigating the Second Half of Life with Vitality, Creativity and Meaning. Start time is 7 pm. Admission is free with donations accepted. For reservations simply email: DavidBuck4@gmail.com
• There is a movement afoot called Positive Aging. For those who are dissatisfied with the old model of aging as one of decline, stepping away and retreating then please check out the 4th International Positive Aging Conference in Los Angeles December 7-10. Go to the Life Planning Network website at: http://www.lifeplanningnetwork.org/index.cfm?action=main.conference10
• I will be speaking at the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE) on October 16th at Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT. http://www.arohe.org/conferences.php