undergrounderground

The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline … but rather the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.

– Glenn Gould

Creative excellence is ineffable. When you see something that resonates, you’ll know  —  it will hold a mysterious, irrational power over you. That's as close to a definition as I can get: Something that moves me. It can come from anywhere; a weird combination of words, a stupid joke, the bright sound of a French horn, the way a piece of wood

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My product won’t write sentences for you. The slow process of writing is what clarifies thought, shapes identity, and cultivates a lens to the world. Writing is the whole point; it isn’t a chore to optimize, it’s an infinite game.

“For taste governs every free - as opposed to rote - human response. Nothing is more decisive. There is taste in people, visual taste, taste in emotion - and there is taste in acts, taste in morality. Intelligence, as well, is really a kind of taste: taste in ideas. (One of the facts to be reckoned with is that taste tends to develop very unevenly.

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The Big Rock Candy Mountain seeks to aid in the acquisition of this knowledge: not by molding the learner into a pre-established pattern, but by providing resources to help him quench his thirst; not by teaching meaningless stockpiling leading to a dissatisfied life, but by encouraging growth in the present leading toward a joyous old age; not by

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What advice do you have for all the illustrators out there who are developing their style?

Don’t ask your parents or closest friends if they like it. No seriously: Find a thing that you’re crazy about or well-versed in outside of illustration, and create a personal project of 20 illustrations based on that thing. Make it the best thing you can do.... See more

In this new book, Han describes the deleterious effects of that degeneration on storytelling. Storytelling used to bind us communally over the campfire; it connected us to our pasts and helped us imagine hopeful futures. The digital screen has replaced that fire, making us individuals performing factitious versions of ourselves to unseen peers,... See more

But we could create a better deal: These organizations could invest in artists rather than owning them outright.

Music studios could invest in musicians and Spotify could invest in podcasts, giving those artists the capital they need to distribute their work on a grand scale, but the artist could retain majority ownership and creative control over... See more