Art is not about convincing others to agree with a moral or philosophical agenda. Art is not about telling people what is right or what is wrong, artists do not judge, artists are not politicians nor preachers. Art, as my mentor Rob Mellow always says, ” reveals.” Specifically, something about the human experience through your own.
The best way to think of it is we must behaviorally disrobe. Reveal every aspect of our personality. You may have heard it referred to as range. Every character reveals something about humanity, more specifically, about our relationships to people, places, and things. Humans are all killers, rapists, liars, coveters, thieves, lovers, protectors, healers, sacrificers what determines our behavior is our relationship with that person, place, or thing.
Training is where we learn how to reveal. Where we develop and maintain sensitivity. Where we practice being our true selves. Where we learn to strip off the finery and years of social engineering. If we do not develop the strength and the sensitivity to live our truth, we can only be false. If we do not learn to strip off the armor, we will never understand ourselves, we will only know what we want others to see. If we do not understand ourselves, we won’t be able to understand the characters. If we cannot learn to be, then we cannot become.
