character

Looking To Establish Character (Goodwill)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

The first time I heard someone refer to another person as the “genuine article” or the “real article”, I didn’t really get it, dear readers.
I thought all people were real. After all, we are all standing there visible to the world around us. Admittedly, I was probably 9 or 10 years old.
That cultural idiom is there for a reason though, because it’s easy to substitute in behaviour in order to gain something from other(s). And that is the challenge – genuine good will is a difficult thing to accomplish. Anyone can donate their things away and be perceived as generous, but if we stop to consider what’s going on behind the scenes, in the mind of the donating party,  the only one who really knows if they are donating something with the intention of benevolence, kindness or from a place of friendliness is the gift giver.

Del Griffith’s Speech

Now I want to tie this in with an example. There is this great scene from the movie Planes, Trains, & Automobiles that perfectly encapsulates my point. It’s the one where John Candy gives the infamous John Hughes type speech – it is brilliant, emotional, and timeless in it’s delivery.
We could very easily read that scene from the perspective that Del Griffith is a moralistic character we should aspire to be like, especially after we know the twist of the film, and sit down for a second viewing. But consider this for a minute creative cuties, what if John Candy really was manipulating Steve Martin’s character into doing the right thing by using emotions to transform their relationship into one of interdependence? Maybe it was intentional maybe it wasn’t, but the guy is lonely and is seeking affirmation that his decisions are well founded and that his life has meaning.
Now this variation of the narrative is played to great effect in a parody scene that Family Guy did years later.

Empathy and Goodwill

Sometimes we enact a process of goodwill to develop our own moral compass – Investing personal meaning that it is important to do charitable works in order to feel good and to contribute to society proper. This of course is also not a guaranteed act of genuine good will, but it is on the right track towards selfless behaviour of a pure intent.
In business, gaining a reputation of goodwill is sometimes just as important to customers as the valuation of it’s goods and/or services. An intangible asset that contributes to the brand in a positive way. When we take this idea into the realm of the arts, and the salable component of art making, we can see how artists might craft their art to make themselves appear more vivacious, charitable, intelligent, rebellious, funny, dangerous or any combination of traits that help demonstrate the value and intent of the work. I’ve written about this before, but by viewing the artist as an individual comes the risk that we don’t like what that artist says and does, but we enjoy their work for personal reasons.

My theory is this, if you make art for the purpose of self development and pleasure FIRST, and then add in a layer of consciousness next, altruistic behaviour naturally evolves out of it.

In a very generalized way, the philosopher Aristotle probably said it best, your ethos or character is established through a number of factors – your level of goodwill, trustworthiness, authority on topic(s), similarity to others, and resonating communication abilities. One of the most powerful ways to demonstrate goodwill is through is through empathy. To relate to others by aligning with them demonstrates your understanding of them and it makes way for your message to be received in a strong light.
In the holiday season, it can be very easy to get lost in the state of affairs. Wanting to do good without understanding what it means to be good. When you make your art, live your life, share your purpose with the intent of empathy, no matter what your passion is, people are more likely to tune into your message, and you will connect with them in a positive way. This is important and essential in a world where many don’t relate to those around them.
But that is just a theory – my last wisdom based theory of the year in fact. Luckily, I’ve got one more post to share tomorrow.
Tim!

Quality Assurance (How To Be Authentic)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Authenticity can be difficult to achieve in the arts, whether you are a painter, a musician, an actor, a writer, a photographer or designer, the list of creative professionals this concept affects and is effected by goes on and on. Authenticity is especially difficult if you are a historian, collector or curator. Questions of who authored the work, when it was made, and its relationship to the culture it’s associated with abound.

And what if the originator isn’t in question at all, but quality of the work against said genius and their oeurve is in question? That’s a tough question too, but believe me I haven’t even addressed one of most difficult questions just yet. The one which I suspect most of you were leaning towards when the word first came to mind – how sincere, thoughtful, and genuine the output of the work is and whether the artist is demonstrating passion in their efforts. That question is one for the ages and something I struggle with too.

Feel like I’m writing a lot of nonsense already dear readers? That I’m going over your heads? That’s because I haven’t even touched the subject proper yet, and we’ve already uncovered a number of definitions and issues with the topic at hand.

This of course is because no matter what level of investment in the arts you ultimately have, the word authenticity itself is difficult to define and important to address in context.

But for the sake of fleshing out an argument, let’s take the definition which I indicated many of you were leaning towards to begin with. Merriam-Webster defines authenticity as follows –

authenticity – true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character

Now as an artist, a lover of language both visual and written, I thought it would be fun to run an exercise to break down the definition and build it back up again, in case there are some outliers in our midst. Here is what Merriam-Webster has to say about the words which make up the basic definition of authenticity, as it relates to the individual, in particular the artist.

true  –being in accordance with the actual state of affairs

personality – the set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other people

spirit – the inner quality or nature of a person

character – the way someone thinks, feels, and behaves

Now let’s add that definition back in, with a little more detail (my highlighted selections above) and see what happens with the results.

authenticity – being in accordance to one’s own emotional qualities, inner quality, or the way someone thinks

If you sit with that explanation for a minute, it gives a true picture of what authenticity means for an artist if they wish to be sincere with their work and marry that with passion proper. In fact, the words that help explain the word authenticity are composed of the same sorts of words themselves in their own definitions.

What that means for us is that there are commonalities and that at the root authenticity is about quality. Without proper quality something or someone no longer has worth.

5souaga

Let’s put it another way.

You see friends, I have this theory that in order to be authentic, you have to know what you are made up of, what your personal experiences have been. Then and only then can you start to address your emotional qualities, your inner quality or nature, and the way that you think about life and then act upon it. What this means for you is that you are fully capable of changing the world and participating in it, but you have to sort out your doorstep first.

You are valuable, but no one is going to sell your worth for you, you have to figure it out first, begin selling yourself and become part of the global marketplace. Sure there are experts who can appreciate potential, but they know just as I do, that the experience of sorting yourself out is invaluable, and has to come from within.

We’ll touch upon the subject more in future posts (in all forms), but for now, I’m out of theories friends. Share this with an artist and join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. See you tomorrow with something melodic.

Tim!