Comments on: on inspiration and mothers

By: Morrigan

Morrigan — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:03:37 +0000

I think exposing yourself to different influences while trying to learn and hone a craft is an important thing. How can we possibly learn in a vacuum? Perhaps your own project will begin with in a place similar to Bosse’s and build upon what you learn there, or perhaps you will take a radically different approach and reach completely different conclusions and expressions of the same theme. Either way, it’s all part of the learning process and your own work will likely benefit from this exposure.

By: Sus (wigglerooms)

Sus (wigglerooms) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:45:28 +0000

Really great post, Kate: way more than I’m used to getting when I surf around – so thanks for that. I am drawn to Bosse’s work, too – and completely understand the identity issues of her artist’s statement. Will be interested to see your current project.

By: Beck

Beck — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:02:07 +0000

I think you are very right about influence and art – I know that I’m heavily influenced by the writing styles of many better writers, and I actually have to be very cautious because of a natural impulse to drift into a type of casual plagarism. So there’s a balance there.

The photographer’s quote (”It was a forced change from everything I had learned so far: individuality, ambition and workaholism.”) struck me rather powerfully – my husband and I talk a lot about how young North Americans are sold an untrue bill of goods, that one CAN be indivualistic, career-focused and work a lot and then later on have a happy family life at the time of their choosing. Almost all of the young families (not just mothers) we know who fit that description had a terribly hard time adjusting to parenthood. There’s a post there in itself about what I think young people need to learn about life that they’re not learning.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:55:19 +0000

Germany has an interesting perspective on motherhood. As one prof of mine put it once, when women in N america decided they wanted equality, they left the home and locked the door behind them–when women in Germany wanted equality, they stayed in and locked the world out. As a result, in Germany, maternity leaves are something like five years long. The expectation is still that when you become a mother you will leave the workforce for an extended period, and that the state and society will support you in doing so. I expect that cultural difference would influence the way people in Germany see work on motherhood.

The responsibility of an artist in any medium to society is such a tricky one. You might like Atwood’s Negotiating with the Dead. It’s about writing, but I think the issues are the same and I loved her exploration of that very fine line.

By: kate w

kate w — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:58:24 +0000

Hannah, yes! Those conscious attempts to mimic another’s style or approach are how we learn. I think the true influence comes after that, when you’re no longer consciously aware of it, but we have to go through that initial copying phase to get to the time when we’ve absorbed it. I guess my fear is that I won’t have the time to go through those phases, that I’ll just get stuck in the copying phase. Oh well, I guess some things you just can’t rush.

By: Hannah

Hannah — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:51:30 +0000

Re: influence. I have that problem with reading blogs – I really do! My personal style as you know is very informal; my whole blog is over-a-cup-of-coffee kind of stuff. And yet most of the blogs I read (yours included) tend to be on a more formal level of writing, and heavier on the descriptive passages and references to other writings.

Periodically I find myself trying to write in that style, because I so admire what many of you are able to do with the written word. My own style invariably reasserts itself halfway through and I’m forced to admit all over again that I am just not that kind of writer.

That said, I think my writing has improved since I started blogging, and it’s largely because for a while there I read every blog I could find, soaking up all those different styles and perspectives like a sponge. Now I’m filtering all of that through my brain and further developing my own voice.

You can’t develop a talent in isolation. If I lived on a deserted island, I would be the finest singer in my world. If looking at her work inspires you, then why not? Personally I’d be flattered to think someone was using me as inspiration.