Spanners
Spanners
The Characteristics and Attributes of Artists
Whose Careers Span Fifty Years or More
I recently introduced a discussion in my teleconferences about artists whose careers have flourished for long periods of time. We considered the careers of Picasso, Matisse, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Norman Mailer, Paul McCartney, and others. In a couple of months Paul McCartney will be – you guessed it – 64 years old. And what a career he has had. I believe he is as vital today – maybe even more so – than he was in his time as a Beatle. He wrote his first song in 1956; fifty years ago.
I call these people Spanners. Some questions:
What are the attributes and characteristics (A's and C's) present in Spanners? How do you measure up? Few have all the A's and C's. Many of us have a little of each. Some may be worthwhile to focus on and to improve. Others may just be considered genetic.
Go through the list. (see the full article for the list) Define the terms for yourself. What is talent? It is defined as a natural apptitude. However, if you have it, are you using it fully? If you do not use it, will you lose it?
Are you inspired and do you inspire others? When was the last time you surprised yourself while creating? Do you love your dream strongly enough to apply the energy required to bring it into being -- no matter what?
Obsession is a common attribute of Spanners. Matisse was so obsessed by his calling to make art that he told Amelie when he proposed that his love for his art will always come before everything else. And that is the way he lived his long and productive life. I just finished reading an insightful and extremely informative two volume biography of Matisse. Read it. Matisse had most of the A's and C's most of the time. As in most of us, A's and C's oscillate: they wax and wane.
Richard Avedon's career spanned 60 years.
Pablo Picasso's career spanned 77 years.
Henri Matisse's career spanned 65 years.
Irving Penn's career spans 63 years and he is still at it.
Norman Mailer's career spans about 60 years - still going strong.
Pablo Picasso's career spanned 77 years.
Henri Matisse's career spanned 65 years.
Irving Penn's career spans 63 years and he is still at it.
Norman Mailer's career spans about 60 years - still going strong.
I call these people Spanners. Some questions:
What are the attributes and characteristics (A's and C's) present in Spanners? How do you measure up? Few have all the A's and C's. Many of us have a little of each. Some may be worthwhile to focus on and to improve. Others may just be considered genetic.
Go through the list. (see the full article for the list) Define the terms for yourself. What is talent? It is defined as a natural apptitude. However, if you have it, are you using it fully? If you do not use it, will you lose it?
Are you inspired and do you inspire others? When was the last time you surprised yourself while creating? Do you love your dream strongly enough to apply the energy required to bring it into being -- no matter what?
Obsession is a common attribute of Spanners. Matisse was so obsessed by his calling to make art that he told Amelie when he proposed that his love for his art will always come before everything else. And that is the way he lived his long and productive life. I just finished reading an insightful and extremely informative two volume biography of Matisse. Read it. Matisse had most of the A's and C's most of the time. As in most of us, A's and C's oscillate: they wax and wane.
A Life of Henri Matisse
Hilary Spurling
Volume One: The Unknown Matisse 1869-1908
Volume Two: Matisse The Master 1909-1954
(Alfred Knopf)
Henri Matisse
Self-Portrait in a Striped T-Shirt.
1906.
Oil on canvas.
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark
I have provided a matrix to help you ask yourself questions like these. You will see the attributes and characteristics which we identified on the left side of the matrix. If there are A's and C's not represented, add them. There are three columns immediately to the right. Using a scale of 1 – 10, how would you rate yourself right now. Be fiercely honest. The next column marked with an F is for feasibility. Using a scale of 1 -- 10 and considering everything you know and believe about yourself, how feasible would it be to raise your score. And finally, the third column marked with an E is for effectiveness. How effective would it be for you to focus and put energy into raising each A and C?Hilary Spurling
Volume One: The Unknown Matisse 1869-1908
Volume Two: Matisse The Master 1909-1954
(Alfred Knopf)
Henri Matisse
Self-Portrait in a Striped T-Shirt.
1906.
Oil on canvas.
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark
From the dust jacket: ..."If my story were ever to be written down truthfully from start to finish, it would amaze everyone." ...With unprecedented and unrestricted access to his voluminous family correspondence, and other new material in private archives, Hilary Spurling documents a lifetime of desperation and self-doubt exacerbated by Matisse'sattempts to counteract the violence and desperation of the twentieth century in paintings that now seem effortlessly serene, radiant and stable.
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| Attributes and Characteristics |
Now | F | E |
| Curiosity | |||
| Courage | |||
| Committment | |||
| Drive and Energy | |||
| Open to Learn - Growth | |||
| Passion | |||
| Belief there is More | |||
| Ability to Stay in the Present When Working |
|||
| Natural Curiosity and Interest in Many Things |
|||
| Ability to Stay Focused |
|||
| Risk Taking |
|||
| Strong Sense of Self |
|||
| Knows What He or She Stands For |
|||
| Inspired and Inspirational |
|||
| Obsessed |
|||
| Sense of Adventure |
|||
| Deliberate and Intentioned |
|||
| Spontaneous | |||
| Surprises Themselves and Others |
|||
| Highly Talented |
|||
| Visionary | |||
| Craves Action |
|||
| Considered 'Weird' |
|||
| Welcomes Pressure |
Comments
Ian,
You forgot compulsiveness!
Which leads me to thinking about
how many of these A & Cs would be considered "symptoms" in the DSM IV?
(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV))
Certainly obsessiveness would fall into the symptom column. It's interesting to think about mental health disorders like OCD or ADD in the light of successful careers. As OCD is really just part of a group of anxiety disorders, can one infer anxiety is helpful to spanners as you call them?
Further, John Ratey in his book Shadow Syndromes discusses the positive aspects of OCD and gives the example of Einstein's obsessiveness around electromagnetic fields. Can we then add more DSM IV symptoms to your list?
"meticulous"
"ritualistic"
"perfectionist"
"restless"
"tireless"
"addictive"
I won't add "narcissistic" or "manic" or even "depressive" to your list just in case Picasso's daughter is reading your blog and would find me celebrating these characteristics as attributes.
Posted by: Russell Kaye | May 4, 2006 09:49 AM
Thanks Russell.
I don't mean that possessing these A's and C's have anything to do with sanity. They are characteristics meaning typical of particular person or a group of people. This list of characteristics serves to identify them. They are attributes in the sense of qualities or features inherent in a person or group.
I hope I did not come across as judging the ethical nature of these A's and C's. I am simply pointing out that 'spanners' seem to have most of them.
This begs the question of whether the A's and C's are necessary to produce great art or to sustain a long term committment to a career. My conclusion based upon observation, experiences, and readings is that most 'spanners' do indeed have many of these A's and C's.
I hope the article is not misunderstood. As far as looking at what A's and C's any of us have and whether it is important to increase the values of each, some are positive and some are seemingly negative traits.
Indeed being obsessive may mean that one fills their mind continually and intrusively to a troubling extent. The Middle English definition is being possessed by an evil spirit.
I believe that untreated anxiety is a detriment to creativity. Can it rule over the so-called positive A's and C's making it impossible or difficult to create?
Is it possible to sustain a career for fifty years or more without passion, courage, commitment, drive, curiosity, taking risks, etc?
Posted by: Ian Summers | May 4, 2006 11:37 AM