Tag: reviews

INSIGHT INTO OURSELVES: REVIEW OF BEST SELLING BOOKS “SAPIENS” AND “HOMO DEUS” BY HARARI.

I’m late to the party on reading these; I avoided the hype and constant recommendations about them when they were released in the UK last year. They are also slightly different to what I would normally review (they are quite unlike anything else I have read, almost genre defying) but their  nature, and what can be gleaned from them, makes them worthy of sharing.

At the moment I am very much enjoing exploring us (humankind) from an outside-in perspective. We are absolutely fascinating, if at times a little worrying. There is a theory related to this called “Pleadian” – a belief that a species of alien, so concerned about planet earth and its inhabitants, and their future, they have contacted certain humans to be analytical about it. This was recently explained to me by a friend after I had regaled him with with the synopsis of these books. It’s a theory I don’t quite believe, (it is exceptionally far fetched and sounds like an episide of Charlie Brooker’s “Black Mirror” waiting to happen) however it’s a nice concept to hang a perspective on.

There is a lot of work that speaks about our species and our history as humans, how our brains are wired and how we have created our lives, from a very level viewpoint, inside looking out. What is truly remarkable about Harari’s work is the removed sense of examination he gives us as a species. There is an almost evidential, regimented analysis that puts things very plainly in bitesize digestable, logical chunks. He also manages to discuss meta topics that may be able hard to pin down such as things like money, legends, religion, and technology in a very concise and matter of fact manner. To relate this to a better image: many people have their head under the water and consumed in their own little bubble; Harari is on a boat, above the water’s surface, watching all this happen.

The blurb and concept of these books make them sound quite clinical, however the tone is far from this. It’s remarkably easy to understand, accessible, and has lots of fascinating tangents and interesting asides that provide comprehensible examples.

In this perusal of humankind, Harari also manages to discuss concepts such as consciousness and how our brain and mentality has evolved over the years. It is hugely relatable and seems very close to home, if not somewhat eye opening with the evidence presented with it.

Not to spoil the ending, (“Homo Deus” seems to pick up very naturally where “Sapiens” finishes, and I’d recommend reading both. They feel like a much larger tome or thought process that has had to be divided to allow them to be printed…) but they finish in a slightly bleak outlook looking towards the future and our place within it. I took some comfort and inspiration in this gloom though. Recently I’d read a few articles about creativity and the human brain being important capital in a world where more and more things are becoming automated. Machines can never imagine or dream, or connect to a human brain the way two humans may connect and interact. That is one thing that is safe guarded from being replaced and will always keep us human; it shows the uniqueness and wonder of the squishy mass of cells inside our skulls that we sometimes take for granted. It also shows why art of any kind has such a huge and important part within society as it allows for those sorts of connections, reflections and engagement to happen.

As artists, who deal with creativity as currency to spark and instigate this kind of activity, it proves we are of value and the work we do is worthwhile doing even though at times it is under recognised and overlooked.

A worthy read for anyone; I would recommend these to those who have a natural curiosity about us and the world around us. They feel like an anthropologist’s dream. Artists or creative practitioners of any form though may enjoy reading them though in being able to gain some insight for collective consciousness of today, and thinking about making work for the human of tomorrow – or at least questioning why we are heading in that direction, or how we got here in the first place….

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CHECKING INTO CREATIVE RECOVERY – A REVIEW OF “THE ARTIST’S WAY” BY JULIA CAMERON

Again, another book always on the recommended reading lists for any creative practitioner or artist, and one of the most talked about. It only seemed right in my own journey of creative evolution that I put myself through the 12 week process to examine my own creativity.

For anyone who hasn’t come across this read, Cameron was a scriptwriter in Hollywood, boasting Spielberg and Scorsese as some of her friends and colleagues. “The Artist’s Way” developed in response to Cameron teaching a class on scriptwriting and her students claiming to have no creativity, and also her own experiences as a artist. It has now taken on its own following, spawning many follow on works and groups around the world….

The book compromises of 12 chapters of working weeks, each focusing on a different aspect of your creativity or existence as an artist. Each contains essays written by Cameron exploring deeper the topics being spot lit that week and then some following homework.

Included also are a few rather lengthy chapters of introduction which set up the whole context for what you are letting yourself into and introducing two key concepts that come into use throughout the book: Morning Pages and Artist Dates. Morning Pages are three A4 pages of conscious thought, written longhand, preferably done in the morning. An Artist Date sets aside few hours each week in which you indulge your inner artist in something you want to do. Some of mine in the last few weeks have included baking, walking, painting whilst listening to favourite album, walking around a food market, visiting a gallery, the cinema the other side of London to see a very obscure choice of film.

In speaking to colleagues informing them I was working my way through “The Artist’s Way” it was interesting to see that many had rebuked the idea, trying it in the past and stopping after a few weeks in finding it not very helpful. Admittedly this undertaking isn’t for the faint hearted, some weeks with Morning Pages, Artist Dates and the homework set, it can be quite time consuming. Cameron also asks you to delve into the dark corners of your mind and confront a few home truths which can be quite uncomfortable. I stuck with it though partly because so many people had claimed to have such success with the book; I was determined to do all 12 weeks as a promise to my own development (even if I took nothing away from it I would be able to say I’d done it and able to talk about it from an educated perspective

To clarify, Cameron hopes that in undertaking her course you rediscover your creativity, or further indulge in your creative tendencies. I expected it to be very different to what it actually is. Whilst expected tasks like collages and drawing are included, there’s also quite a lot of analysing, making lists, comparing and documenting. I wonder if this is why some of my colleagues struggled with it, it doesn’t immeadiately scream “this will make you more creative!”. What it does do, and I only realised this as I was coming to the end of the 12 weeks, is present you with a huge amount of evidence about yourself and gives you permission to explore realms of possibilities you may rule out in the day to day running of your life. It’s an excellent way to gain a distanced perspective of you as a whole person, from an honest and well rounded point of view.

12 weeks is a long time and I can’t say I enjoyed what was asked of me every week. I had to bear in mind that it’s a process that has been devised and refined for a specific reasoning to cause effect. Overall, take it with a pinch of salt and read into it what you will. Cameron refers to God in the book quite often, but you don’t need to believe in such a concept or be religious, I certainly don’t. Cameron merely asks you to believe in energy greater than you and that I can get on board with – this book is about opening up to possibilities, the world and energies around you and letting yourself channel them.

Can I say I am more creative for having done it? I don’t really know, I wonder whether it’s a bit like going to the gym; you rarely notice the small changes as you are living them day to day. I can say though this book has provided me with some excellent tools which I will be using again and again, and also a more open minded approach to thinking and problem solving. There are also some excellent essays penned by Cameron that I will be re-reading as resources and means of support on aspects of living a creative life, or life as an artist. (It’s as good as turning up to Artists’ Anonymous once a week)

I’d recommend “The Artist’s Way” to anyone, whether they were wanting to pursue a creative lifestyle or not, it’s a really delightful journey to reconnect with yourself and your key values. You emerge from the 12 weeks a better, more coloured-in version of yourself. For those of you wondering, and maybe have read the radical changes that some people have made in their lives after doing this book, divorcing partners, selling their belongings etc, there’s very little in this book that asks you to completely change your world. Moreover, it merely asks you to reconnect with yourself and harness the power of possibilities.

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“WHAT IS SCENOGRAPHY?” BY Pamela Howard

I’ve just finished re-reading “What is Scenograhy?” by Pamela Howard. I read it a few years ago whilst training as part of the reading list and it’s sat on my shelves gathering dust since. I thought now was an excellent time to revisit it.

Similar to my critique of Katie Mitchell’s “The Director’s Craft” this too feels a bit like a beginner’s guide to theatre design, more cunningly disguised as an elaborate series of essays, the key point to mention though (and Howard states as such) is that she is not a theatre designer. Howard is a scenographer.

What’s wonderful about this book is the subtle drawing of lines in the sand that Howard uses to show differences between theatre design and scenography. I’ve heard it being argued as the same thing amongst colleagues and peers, or rather that scenography is what theatre designers do. Having re read, I’d now like to side with Howard.

The craft and practice of scenography is an evolution of theatre design, theatre design 2.0, a more holistic approach . Her arguments take scenography into a new realm of design, to that of visual storytelling and interpretation. A designer, it could be said, merely will solve the problems of and create solutions to the list of prerequisites presented by the piece.

A scenographer, as presented from this read, is effectively a visual translator and close collaborator to the director – it is design in a much more applied and comprehensive manner from a greater stand point and concept. They have a deep understanding of the text, usually heavily analysed and prepared (to the extent that they could step in as director if needed, and Howard mentions having trained in direction as part of her training). They also seem to have influential say in the shape of the piece via their creations.

It has made me consider the idea of scenography in relation to puppetry. There is a difference here therefore to being a puppet designer, one who designs the things to be animated and then a puppetry designer/scenographer, one who would look at the overall concept of puppetry as a storytelling element. (This warrants a separate article before I vere off tangent wildly)

Howard’s book is a relatively easy read and highly accessible, punctuated with some rather exquisite drawings and diagrams from her own work. The 7 working chapters focus tightly on the elements that make up her practice and could be read as stand alone pieces with very little difficulty.

There is much to be gleaned from this book if, like me, you are in search of some inspiration and aspiring to develop your own practice. Read with a pad and paper by your side though, her ideas and tools are peppered randomly through the chapters and although explained well and thoroughly, if you were looking for them specifically in a focused turn-to-the-page-via-the-index-style-search you’d struggle.

Controversially, I can’t necessarily say I would recommend this to theatre designers, unless those designers are open minded and willing to accept a differing opinion and view point (there may be a lot of cross over with what they already do but haven’t considered it “scenographic” by Howard’s terms). It’s definitely a good read though to other theatre practitioners, particularly those who span several disciplines and class themselves as theatre makers. Similarly, Howard’s opus would offer great insight into anyone looking to investigate visual storytelling or understanding the semiotics of putting together a visual narrative.