Category Archives: Inspiration

Theory of Obscurity – creating for yourself

July 15, 2007 By in David Theory, Inspiration, Music, Writing 3 Comments

Screen Shot 2017-08-20 at 8.04.49 PMThe Residents may be the world’s most famous unknown band. No one knows who is actually in the band, they disguise their face with giant eyeballs or other disguises, and their music is not designed to appeal to everyone. In fact, it is purposely composed to appeal only to them. They developed their interesting way of looking at the world through the theories of (possibly fictional) Bavarian composer N. Senada. The theory, as stated in this Wired article, goes as follows.

According to this philosophy, artists do their purest work in obscurity, with minimum feedback from any kind of audience. The theory adds that with no audience to consider, artists are free to create work that is true to their own vision.

I bring this to your attention because it led The Residents to try an interesting exercise. They decided for this theory to truly operate, they would have to create music that was not intended to be heard by anyone. They recorded an album that there were going to lock away in a vault until they forgot about it. Eventually, during a dispute with their label, it was released under the name Not Available.

I remember a woman in a poetry class I took years ago. She was so
desperate for an audience and so fearful of a negative reaction that
she would write poems, tear them out of her notebook and abandon them
on park benches and buses. She hoped that someone would find them and
be touched in some way. She would sit in class and cross out negative things in her poems because she was afraid people would like them less.

I was often left wondering what she actually thought because all she wrote was what she thought I wanted to read.

Creating for no audience with the intention of locking something away may be just what you need to spur yourself onwards. If nothing else, forgetting an audience will let you push yourself into areas you might not be comfortable with. It will let you bring up ideas and thoughts that you do not otherwise consider for fear of being judged.

Use the Theory of Obscurity in the spirit in which it is intended. It only matters while you are creating. Afterwards, if someone does see it, it doesn’t compromise the initial process.

Let other people’s failures be your inspiration!

July 12, 2007 By in David Theory, Inspiration 1 Comment

There are really two types of inspiration. One is a work of genius so perfect and complete that it inspires you to set your sights higher – to try to make something as good or better. However, there is another, equally important, kind of inspiration. Genius can be overwhelming and scary. If someone else has reached such heights, how could you ever reach them? If so, the second type is for you.

Have you ever seen a movie or read a book so bad you thought to yourself, I could do better than that. Seeing or experiencing something terrible, a horrible artistic failure, can motivate people to try it themselves.

Not only that, but in bad art the mechanics behind it are visible. Reading a terrible mystery novel reveals every trick a mystery writer uses except done sloppily and obviously. It points out so many dead ends, it becomes a road map for doing it correctly.

The next time you are feeling overwhelmed with insecurity, just find a terrible example of what you want to do. Find a bad movie, book or song that actually got produced and released commercially. Then, read, watch or listen to the entire thing.

Obviously, you can do better than that.

Creativity tip: tell a tall tale

July 9, 2007 By in David Theory, Inspiration Leave a comment

One form of creativity is exaggeration. The ability to take the formless, random occurrences of life and turn them into a satisfying story or image means that you have to focus in on some parts and forget about others. The parts that are focussed on are exaggerated and heightened.

Recently, exaggeration has come under fire. The New Republic attacked David Sedaris for making up parts of his stories and changing details. I hope they also plan on going back and exposing the lies of Mark Twain in his personal essays. And, while they’re at it, they might as well expose the lies of Louis CK, Richard Pryor and every other comedian who tells true stories about their lives.

To deny the value of exaggeration in your creative life is to deny your creative life altogether. As soon as you try to communicate an event you’ve observed to someone else, whether it’s through writing, sculpture, painting or any other method, it is no longer “the truth.”

In my estimation, you should wear your exaggerations proudly. Realize that the people you meet become symbols when they become part of art.  Artists are the most skilled liars in the world. Some are so skilled at it that they have convinced themselves that they never lie.

Lie consciously, lie well and remember your lies so that when you lie again you don’t negate something that you’ve already said.

Allow yourself a moment of stupidity

July 3, 2007 By in David Theory, Genius, Inspiration Leave a comment

stupid face

I know. You are a super genius and I respect that.

However, did you ever notice that a lot of good stories start with a moment of stupidity? A poor choice or easily avoidable mistake is made by the lead character which leads to amazing adventures.

After all, your better judgment is designed to keep you safe and secure. Going against it leads to new experiences. Keep the stakes low, no need to drive 150 MPH on the freeway or try cliff diving. Try going someplace without a map or definite directions or talk to that guy on the bus.

You can sit back and wait to have adventure thrust upon you, or you can chase after it by saying to yourself, “I know that I probably shouldn’t be doing this, but…”

Make trash your treasure: creativity tip

July 2, 2007 By in David Theory, design, Inspiration Leave a comment

joy buzzer

I’m reading Life of the Party a history of the Adams practical joke and novelty company. You know them, they make all those tiny Joy Buzzers and Whoopie Cushions you find on wire rounders in novelty stores. It turns out that their company was founded on a creative use of industrial waste.

Their founder work for a dye company that paid handsomely to remove the chemical dianisidine from the German coal-tar derivative they sold. He noticed that when people were around the chemical they sneezed uncontrollably. So, he packaged it in a tube (labelled Cachoo sneezing powder) and sold it as a practical joke!

So often, what other people dismiss or throw away is actually a good source of ideas or material. Adams built an empire on a waste product. There could be any number of valuable assets just waiting for you in the nearest garbage can.

One word of caution, despite being labeled “It’s harmless, it only makes you sneeze,” it turned out to be toxic and eventually be banned by the FDA. So, modern sneezing powder is just ground pepper.

The author of Life of the Party, Kirk Demarais, has a great blog with lots of info about the novelty and toy industries.

Adapt a Classical Style: Creativity Tip

June 29, 2007 By in Art, David Theory, Inspiration 4 Comments

Screen Shot 2017-08-06 at 9.28.06 AM

I just visited the Toledo (Ohio) Art Museum and they had a wonderful painting by Kehinde Wiley. Instead of rejecting the past and trying to do something completely new, he has made himself a clear descendant of classical portrait artists.

Looking at his paintings, you can see all the symbols and elements of classics portraits, but they are in slightly different contexts. Sometimes, just putting someone in a classic pose with modern clothes on creates an amazing new piece.

It got me thinking about how much potential there is in completely owning the past and clearly showing the lineage of what you do. When you are trying to create something new, don’t throw everything out. Keep what works and make it better and different.

One more note about Wiley’s paintings, in person, the skill level and craft is tremendous. In the tiny versions on the web some of them appear tossed off. In person, they are huge, amazingly crafted pieces with great detail.

Idea source: police blotters

June 25, 2007 By in Art, Inspiration, Writing Leave a comment

Looking for a plot twist or a dramatic moment? Police blotters may be the answer. They are a perfect cure for writer’s block. Blotters don’t supply all the information you need to understand a situation, just what happened. The emotions and motivations are completely left to the imagination.

Here’s an entry from a San Francisco blotter:

Officer Amoroso and Officer Sugitan were sent to O’Farrell St. and Larkin St. to meet with a victim of a stabbing.  The victim reported that he was walking in the area when three men offered to sell him drugs.  Instead of walking away, ignoring the men, or saying, “no,” the man said he wanted to buy hashish.  The men asked how much and the victim said, “Just kidding, I have no money.” The sellers became irate and pushed the victim away.  Again, tempting fate, the victim pushed one of the dealers.  The incensed dealers then struck the victim with a cane, stabbed him with a knife and started to pummel him with fists.  The victim, now fearing for his life, was able to extract himself, despite repeated attempts to stab him again.  The victim fled and called the police.  The victim was not able to identify his attackers, despite the fact that the officers detained two men who fit the description provided.  The incident is under investigation.

What kind of a day was the victim having that caused him to act that way? What happened to him immediately before this incident? He joked with dangerous people and then pushed one. He could be having a bad day. Or maybe he just got out of his therapist’s office after being told that he should use his sense of humor to make more friends.

There are so many questions to be answered it’s a perfect short story.

Here’s another from Dartmouth College

Dartmouth Safety and Security reported to Hanover Police that a man had repeatedly feigned drowning to entice lifeguards, usually female Dartmouth students, to swim out to him and discover that he was not wearing any clothing. After detaining 28-year-old Luis Hurtado of Miami, Fla., Hanover Police learned that Hurtado had overstayed his welcome in the United States and turned him in to Border Patrol.

Imagine having a character bio like that for a minor character in a novel.

Just type “police blotter” in google and you’ll have inspiration galore.

Art for nothing’s sake

June 19, 2007 By in Inspiration, Web/Tech Leave a comment

Screen Shot 2017-08-20 at 8.17.48 AM.png
Pointless Sites is exactly what it promises, a trip into a universe of pointlessness. With links to everything from Google in Klingon to chicken coop web cams, you’ll find everything you need to waste time.

Sometimes you need to something completely unproductive and impractical to come up with your best ideas! Imagine what a great idea you’ll have after watching chicken’s sleep for a few hours.

Bar none, my favorite “pointless” website is Superbad. It’s half art, half confusion. Just trying to navigate it is a beautiful adventure. It’s not only pointless, but inspiring as well.

If you only click one link today, make it Superbad.

Be inconsistent today

June 18, 2007 By in David Theory, Inspiration, Quotes Leave a comment

Screen Shot 2017-08-20 at 8.23.22 AM.png

Today, try and do something inconsistent with your regularly established behaviors. It can be as small as choosing a different brand of soda than you usually drink. Or, as big as endorsing a political candidate from an opposing political party. Do it front of someone who will notice.

People get frozen into their reality because they are afraid to appear inconsistent even when their consistency hurts them. They would rather suffer than to have other people see them change their mind or challenge their own image of themselves. Don’t be so attached to the status quo that your world never grows. How many decisions have you made that limit your world instead of allowing you to experience more of it?

If called upon to explain yourself, quote Emerson. Because then you appear smart and inconsistent. A great combination.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day.–“Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.”–Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood. . . .

Waste some time: creativity tip

June 15, 2007 By in David Theory, Inspiration 2 Comments

This weekend, set aside a half hour to completely waste. The only limitation is that you have to waste it actively instead of passively. Don’t watch TV or listen to music or nap on the couch, waste it doing something impractical.

Use the time to imagine the stupidest, most foolish idea you possible can. Use it to sew a windbreaker for a monkey complete with tail hole. Write a proposal for the worst movie ever. Break new ground in hot dog technology. Solder a stained glass Pauly Shore.  Make up an imaginary friend who gives you bad advice. Come up with a reality show idea that would only appeal to people over 75. Improve the rubber chicken. Invent a machine to re-straighten used staples.

Actively wasting time is called playing. Try it for a while this weekend.