Klarinet Archive - Posting 000955.txt from 2000/12

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] Performance [was, Peplowski continued]
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 10:50:24 -0500

On Mon, 18 Dec 2000 07:39:58 -0800 (PST), Bilwright@-----.net said:

> Tony Pay wrote:
>
> > I don't have it to hand, but an example of how a grown-up came to
> > change how he thought of what he was doing, in a different discipline,
> > is the story of how Richard Feynman, one of the greatest physicists,
> > learnt to draw in later life. His description (in, 'Surely you're
> > joking, Mr Feynman!') of what his teachers said to him, and how he
> > didn't understand what they were talking about at first, is very
> > relevant to this discussion, I'd say. Feynman subsequently got good
> > enough to have his own exhibition, under a pseudonym.
>
> The name was Ofey.

I remembered that, but didn't say, because -- sshhhhhh! -- it was a
pseudonym!-)

> One of the things Feynman wrote was (and this relates to creativity
> and "making the music your own"):
>
> > I noticed that the teacher didn't tell people much (the only thing
> > he told me was my picture was too small on the page). Instead, he
> > tried to inspire us to experiment with new approaches. I thought
> > of how we teach physics: We have so many techniques -- so many
> > mathematical methods -- that we never stop telling the students how
> > to do things. On the other hand, the drawing teacher is afraid to
> > tell you anything. If your lines are very heavy, the teacher can't
> > say, "Your lines are too heavy," because _some_ artist has figured
> > out a way of making great pictures using heavy lines.

The bit I was thinking of -- pity I don't have it to hand -- was the bit
where they kept on telling him to loosen up, and not try, consciouly, so
hard. He didn't understand that at first.

It's what I keep trying to get over in our interchange.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN family artist: www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

.... STICK 'stik n. 1: A boomerang that doesn't work.

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