art is e=mc^2

I’ve been thinking a lot about Mike Flanagan a lot lately.

Who is that? He’s the creator and director of multiple Netflix shows like The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and Doctor Sleep.

In particular, I think about a soliloquy at the end of Midnight Mass (I promise no spoilers) that kickstarted my thoughts the links between art and science:

“I remember I am energy. Not memory. Not self. [….] I am the lightning that jumps between. I am the energy firing the neurons, and I'm returning.”

—

Christianity tells us we were made in the image of our creator. Though I don’t believe in a Christian god specifically, I do believe we are energy made cognizant into mass and matter (E = MC^2) and as such, we are made in its image and are creators ourselves.

—

To me, art is two-fold: self-expression and connection. Internal and External.

Everyone is a creator; only the art form is different: engineering, painting, music etc. When you don’t express that energy, or you use your energy to tell someone else’s story (IE working for corporations), you stress the system and the body, creating burnout and depression and anxiety. (I KNOW I KNOW I sound super woo woo but like, hear me out.)

I mean, imagine trying to speak to someone in a language you only know two words in. It’s frustrating. It’s limiting.

And then to connect with others, we need clarity, AKA system efficiency. Having mastery over your technique & practice helps communicate your message to others. Music has rules to sound pleasant, color has theory and form, storytelling requires concise articulation.

—

Art, visual art in particular, in the framework of self-expression and connection, is bought and sold because there is a clear path from the artist to the buyer emotionally. There is a story the artist tells that resonates with the buyer. Energy transfer with high efficiency and no heat loss. ;)

So really, I’m selling my own energy, my own electrical patterns. That’s what I want to think of as my legacy. That’s why we go to talk therapy. That’s why we love communities where we feel seen. Meanwhile shame and blame is like a high value resistor. It limits our current flow. It limits who we are.

—

I wish there was a more clear structured document to articulate all this but perhaps I will save it for another day.

It’s so funny telling my theories to other engineers/STEM leaning people because this analogy begins clicking with them with IMMENSE clarity. I suspect because we tend to value structure, organization, and physical sciences.

Anyways, these are my thoughts of the week, helped from reconnecting with old MIT alums I’ve been meeting up with with more frequency. That perfect blend of driven, creative, introspective, and goofy as hell. :)

Is Art Even Essential?

I didn’t pursue art for a long time because I myself didn’t even think art was necessary.

I had the idea that starving artists make art nobody needs while living along the poverty line. That nobody even buys art except for the rich and famous.

Even when I started pursuing art full-time I wondered - is this even necessary? At least engineering made more sense from an economic perspective.

I tried living life without making art for a while. No dancing or painting after work or making videos on the weekends. My days became dry and routine - rolling onto the couch after work to the bed and back again.

I realized I needed art. I needed to create art to feel like life was joyous and wonderful and not mundane, lifeless, boring, muted.

Art, in my opinion, at its most basic definition is expression. Art of dancing, art of writing, art of engineering - we are all expressing something inside of ourselves and releasing it. When you spend all day helping create someone else’s story, or worse a corporation’s, you hold so much of yourself inside.

I have A LOT to express. And the tools and technique to express them. To create art and selling it is my way of saying - I see you and you see me. I want to help you express this part of yourself when you might not have the tools.

All around you are stories someone is telling: we are economical and are competitive against our rivals(TEMU?), we care about your safety and want to be reliable(Fire alarms), we care about your comfort(blankets), we love to be bold, we love to be calm.

I think in that way, maybe you could argue that Art with a capital A fine art might not be necessary. But art as expression? It’s everywhere. It’s all around us. It’s built into our very beings.