12 hours in Barcelona El-Prat Airport, "ideas" don't matter that much, a cat fighting a scorpion
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High Thought is an intimate infusion of (high) thoughts that are a mixture of frivolous and (sometimes) profound if I’m lucky. Written with consideration for those interested in the creative process or personal peek behind the curtain into a particularly chaotic brain room.
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12 hours in Barcelona El-Prat Airport
I wrapped up a big job this week with some of my best friends and favorite collaborators. It was a long, hard job but one that makes you grateful and proud on the other side of it when everything is finished and there’s no remaining part of yourself you can give to it.
Anyway, my flight out of Barcelona was cancelled due to a “mechanical issue” and I ended up spending 12 hours killing time in Barcelona El-Prat.
My brain was fried and all I really had the energy to do was watch something. During the pandemic, I got really into MasterClass and while the format keeps changing, I’m still interested in listening to experts in their field talk about the practical, theoretical, and honestly existential things they’ve learned throughout their careers. As someone who used to go every Sunday to see her perform live at UCB in Chelsea in the mid-00s, I was excited to watch Amy Poehler’s class called “Prepare to be Unprepared.” She’s smart and also just really joyful. Some of the things she said in her class really really hit me.
One thing she talked about is that the idea is actually not the most important thing. Rather, the idea can always be made better with the right people and right process. This is something that of course I knew, but had never really thought of as explicitly as the way she put it. As artists, we get so hung up on ideas and originality and working on the singular “idea” that is going to set this particular work apart. But the best idea in the world can be a flop if you don’t focus most of your energy on the process and the people who help you bring it to life. None of us do anything alone. We do it with the help of those around us, support from people who believe in us…however abstractly it may be sometimes. Fresh off this job in Barcelona, it’s even more apparent. The only thing that really matters is who you execute with and how you do it. The rest falls into place because those are the main ingredients that pull you across the finish line.
I like thinking about “ideas” abstractly because at times trying to harness them feels like hitting a brick wall. But they really are just a component part of the creative process holistically. It reminds me of something that Rick Rubin ( in The Creative Act) and
(in Big Magic) have both talked about extensively. There is no person who is a *genius*, but rather genius happens to us through preparing and establishing a good home within us for the idea to settle in. David Lynch calls it “catching an idea.” Lynch envisions ideas as butterflies which require a sharp awareness to catch them when they fly through our heads, Rubin sees them as cosmic whispers that require a patient, tranquil mind. Gilbert is a little more woo-woo, describing ideas as autonomous energies seeking human hosts. A symbiotic relationship between the idea and its eventual creator.There’s something so reassuring about this concept. It’s a lot less pressure than burdening oneself with the prospect of coming up with something great. Let it come to you, catch it, execute it. If not, it will flutter down to tap on the mind of the next person. And that’s ok, too! : )
Mr. Chow
When I finally got home after being up for exactly 25 hours, I couldn’t sleep, so I watched Mr. Chow on Max, which I had been looking forward to seeing for a while. As a lover of Basquiat, I knew the restaurant Chow ran was a kind of a safe haven for him in the city where he otherwise felt rejected as a Black artist.
If you don’t know about Michael Chow, I recommend this doc. He’s an interesting and very complicated man who lived his life (in his words) like it was a movie. He often describes key moments in his life as if reading a screenplay. Chow said something in the film that I believe to be true and helps me when I wonder if what I’m doing is worth anything. He says “Art isn’t trivial, it’s one of the things that makes us human.” There are a number of ways one could interpret that. For me it means I’m compelled to make what I make and that’s that. Tune out the noise, tune out the audience. Just make what you make and that in itself is a worthwhile cause. It’s really, really hard to remember and retain this and a LOT easier said than done, but the reminder once in a while is helpful.
My Bag’s Many Journeys Without Me
I have an ongoing series of screenshots of my bag in places it shouldn’t be. Like in the Madrid airport yesterday when I never went to Madrid and am instead at home in Brooklyn. Hopefully she’ll be back with me soon.
Thanks for reading! Have a good weekend, freaks! 😈
Cait 🌸
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P.S. Last night I made a drawing before bed.
That’s a cat fighting a scorpion at the bottom. Anyway, thanks for reading!
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I've never watched Mr Chow but from the sounds of it I'll definitely give it a watch ! His quote reminds me of a pretty famous quote by Van Gogh where he said, "I have nature and art and poetry, and if that isn't enough, then what is?"
I’m very into the idea of repetition of ideas, either with the same team or variations on the team or the approach. I guess essentially saying working the same idea from many approaches and that refinement or genius can come out.