letter 31: art is slow
hi you beautiful being,
how are you? how’s your heart today? what are you doing to tend to yourself?
i’ve been back in NYC for over a week now and while I’ve had my anxious moments on the train, I really do love this city. it’s just undeniable.
within just a few days of being here I had a creative epiphany that led me down an inspiring realm of mapping out next steps for some projects that i’m kicking into motion once i’m back in Mexico City. I trust that the epiphany would’ve found me regardless, but NYC has a way of having me see things from different angles sooner than later, and I love that.
pivoting gears a bit…
i’ve been thinking a lot about the pace at which creatives are being expected to produce their art and I can’t help but continue to circle back to the fact that it’s not sustainable. the way our society is expecting hyper-productivity from everyone has never been healthy, but as time goes on, it seems like we’re being lead down an even more dangerous path.
as I contemplate on the role AI has on our current reality and the ways its being projected into the future there are so many thoughts that bubble up for me. sure, there are some positives to consider, but I can’t help but only imagine the worst case scenarios; especially when I think about how prevalent the use of AI is in the context of art.
it’s being used to:
create eerily accurate human avatars
create brand new songs using the voice of an artist (without their consent)
conjure up high quality images based on key words that are encroaching on the realm of photography
write shows
produce beats and replace the actual human art of creating soundtracks
ETC.
over the past few days I’ve been exploring this theme out loud with friends, and I was able to arrive to the awareness that I love taking in art that took time to be birthed. the paintings, the songs, the woven textiles, the sketches, the dj sets that took months to perfect, etc. on the other side of that realization, I contemplated on my own creative process and how often I feel the need to keep up at a certain pace ‘or else’. I realize now that the feeling of urgency that I impose on myself doesn’t stem from me, but instead is a result of society’s pressure to produce, capitalize, and be as machine-like as possible.
as often as I can, i’ll be reminding myself that the kind of art my soul is interested in making takes time. i’m not AI. my stories, compositions, ideas, and creative musings need time to ferment. most importantly, I want to remain present and in love with the journey of creating. the rushing to be ‘done with it’ is harmful and taking away from the richness of the experiences at hand. i’m done with depriving myself of soul nourishment and growth for the sake of keeping up with algorithms and the illusion of maintaining relevancy.
it’s okay to take things slow.
that’s the only way we can actually take things in.
wishing you wellness,
cat, a gal tryin’ her best
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