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Saturday 27 August 2011

Intangibles

I write from feeling. For me, it's about capturing a little intangible, a tiny little something that I feel.

Labels like happy, sad, lost, alone, confused, angry; they're useful descriptive terms, but they're not the real deal.

There's a little exuberance I feel when I watch Chaplin, it makes me want to run out in the streets and jump up and down like an excited kid.

Cameron Crowe's films capture the essence of aliveness, what it is to feel possibility.

And I listen to Ryan Adams because he communicates and consoles for those lonely sorrowful pangs that I feel on those sad Sundays when they come along.

That's what I love about art, and it's what drives me to create. My difficulties in writing are never about plot or story, when it flows those things get driven and informed by the intangibles. I'm nothing without the intangibles.

That's why I gotta be vulnerable. Gotta love, gotta get lost, gotta trespass, gotta stand up for things--- because that's where the juice is. The joys of new people, the complexity of human relations, the risks -- whenever it's tricky or traumatic or exuberant, those times I find a pot of gold.

I think everyone has this. When you're coming home from a party, or driving away from the person you loved and left; you feel something different to what is expected -- and it's a feeling, an essence, that has been with you all your life.

That's where the art is at. Its great to have a clever concept or a complex plot, but they're nothing without the juice, the little diamonds you find after years on barren land.

13 comments:

  1. Whenever I read your posts I never know whether you're going to make me laugh, cry or think.
    Your line "driving away from the person you loved and left" really struck a nerve with me tonight and I'm not sure exactly how I feel; but I know it's different than normal!

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  2. Kid you are absolutely right. That small spark which makes u feel this is it ; this is what I want to convey. I know it!

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  4. I totally agree. A lot of your posts describe feelings I have as a writer. Feels like you're in my head sometime. Maybe, it's that we all have the same thoughts but you just put them out there.

    I found this blog as a film fan but I'd glad you make it more than that. Always a great read because these words have heart behind them. Great post Kid!

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  5. Hi Kid, what Paul S said above is exactly how I felt when I read it yesterday. No one had commented at that point and I had just received some disturbing news and my mind was racing. This post really hit a nerve but I didn't know how to put it. Thanks Paul.

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  6. Intangibles, YES! What separates the casual fan from the lover, the child from adult, where child always wins! This is in large part why I can never opine about what I too consider art - classic film and television And great performances. How can I ever rate them by numbers. Numbers are too concrete a concept to express what deeply moves me and why. When I watch Judy Garland emote through a song, watch Fred Astaire Dance, hear Barbra Streisand sing, see the glory of Cary Grant on screen or, like you, am exposed to the genius of Chaplin. How can one appropriately put into words
    that which they cannot fully understand - the things that make me shake my head and sigh?

    I am often rendered speechless and wordless when confronted by "my" art. As the song "Love and Learn" states in its last line, "Love and learn...that you've learned, not a thing at all." And, indeed, I know not a thing at all. But, I am - quite often - enchanted and bewildered by the intangibles.

    Great post, kid!

    Aurora

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  7. I know this feeling. When I have it, I say that the film or song "got me *right there*". It's hard to explain. Sometimes, it feels like a piece of art is just too wonderful to exist, and I start to wonder how it's even possible to pay for the pleasure of such a priceless experience.

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  8. It's really, really wonderful to see that this post resonates with you guys. Thank you thank you thank you! :)

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  9. "That's why I gotta be vulnerable. Gotta love, gotta get lost, gotta trespass, gotta stand up for things--- because that's where the juice is."

    This, so much this. You know that it's good when you've got that burning feeling in your stomach, right at the point below the end of your chest bone. Butterflies. Fear. Insecureness and vulnerability. That's when it starts to matter - and if it matters to you, it will matter to your readers. It's only when we pull away the curtains and start to get honest that we truly can connect. You know when you're on the right track, getting closer to it. You feel it because it's starting to get uncomfortable.

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  10. Kid, I watched "Almost Famous" because of the way you wrote about it. When people truly open up and share their feelings about things they love, it's infectious. That was a great film and I see why you're such a Cameron Crowe fan.

    When people put themselves into a project, it's always better. My favorite things aren't made for critics or record sales, but for fans looking to share a feeling or memory. We're all looking for a connection. The best movies and songs are the ones that help us find it.

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  11. You have to feel to know you're alive. :)

    I watched my first Chaplin the other day - The Kid. I absolutely loved it and was so swept in the story that I completely forgot it was silent.

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  12. Another post that you put into words so well what I feel (as an artist not a writer which I am not). I love the posts where you describe art and inspiration and creativity like no one else can. You have such a gift.

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  13. I wrote my latest post about my dad while thinking about this post and trying to capture the intangible elements of what he meant to me and my regrets. It really has been an inspiring post.

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