{"id":1333,"date":"2012-02-27T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2012-02-27T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=1333"},"modified":"2012-02-27T06:00:11","modified_gmt":"2012-02-27T12:00:11","slug":"other-peoples-muses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/?p=1333","title":{"rendered":"Other People’s Muses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cArt is either plagiarism or revolution.\u201d \u2013 Paul Gauguin
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Art is a dangerous thing.\u00a0 It is a key that can open many doorways.\u00a0 However, you don\u2019t know what will be on the other side until you have already crossed the threshold.\u00a0 For an artist, art unlocks perceptions and inspiration you might not have otherwise found.<\/p>\n

I have always been a fan of using art as inspiration for my own art, especially writing.\u00a0 Writing is about perspectives, about being able to shift between your perspective and the perspective of sometimes imaginary people who are nothing like you.\u00a0 Allowing another artist\u2019s work to move you can be a good shortcut.<\/p>\n

Art is always an expression of self.\u00a0 By letting others express themselves, you can get out of your own way.\u00a0 I\u2019ve found inspiration and writing material in the art of many other mediums.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never been one to wait around for ideas.\u00a0 There aren\u2019t little inspiration fairies floating around my head offering to sprinkle me with creativity dust, at least not that I have seen.<\/p>\n

If I need an idea, I go looking for it.\u00a0 I\u2019ve mentioned finding inspiration in lines of poetry in a past blog.\u00a0 But I have also found inspiration from works of art in other mediums.\u00a0 My novel, Kill Creek Road<\/em>, began as an idea taken from the song lyrics for \u201cWater\u2019s Edge\u201d by the alternative band Seven Mary Three.\u00a0 The concept grew away from that initial idea, leaving it behind, but the lyrics got me through the initial planning.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Art is everywhere, in all things, and all art can inspire you.\u00a0 Television can inspire you, even advertising.\u00a0 Movies and music can inspire.\u00a0 But what gets forgotten sometimes, is the power of a museum.<\/p>\n

Museums are treasure troves of inspiration, akin to randomly searching Google for information.\u00a0 Go in to an art museum and look at the work.\u00a0 Think of each piece as a narrative.\u00a0 What does that narrative say about the human condition?\u00a0 What is the story that piece tells?<\/p>\n

Natural history museums can be great, as well.\u00a0 Displays are a narrative of a past history.\u00a0 The phrase \u201cwhat is old, is new\u201d is true.\u00a0 Not much has changed in human motivation.\u00a0 The objects of our desires shift, but our driving instincts remain the same.<\/p>\n

The important thing is to go off the writing grid in looking for inspiration.\u00a0 Your favorite books and writers will always inspire you, but there is always a chance of seeming to be too derivative.\u00a0 You may find something new in the masters of other mediums.<\/p>\n

Devour their art and let it take you new places.\u00a0 Go with it, or revolt against it, your choice, but always be open to their voices.\u00a0 Writing is about letting the voices speak for themselves, those within you, and those around you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cArt is either plagiarism or revolution.\u201d \u2013 Paul Gauguin Art is a dangerous thing.\u00a0 It is a key that can open many doorways.\u00a0 However, you don\u2019t know what will be on the other side until you have already crossed the threshold.\u00a0 For an artist, art unlocks perceptions and inspiration you might not have otherwise found. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[71,548,723,735],"class_list":["post-1333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-influence","tag-art","tag-inspiration","tag-museums","tag-narratives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}