Hearing what's being said

As individuals, we each have slightly different penchants for what we find entertaining, and more frequently, what we find boring or downright insulting because we just wasted our time or money to watch something that didn't appeal to us.

The same thing can happen in a conversation, even one that we share with our friends. The chatter may move away from a topic we are interested in, and suddenly we find ourselves thinking of something else or realizing that we are bored, even if it is just for a moment.

Each of us has something to say. We are all aware of in inner voice. But we often aren't aware of what's beyond our own voice. We often don't pay as close attention to what others are saying as we probably should.

Artists are unusual among people in that we are willing to emotionally stick our necks out. We are willing to look foolish just to have the opportunity to play with an idea that's floating around in our heads. And that idea can start with something as simple as a single sensory impulse...a color, a scent, the way we feel when we hear a melody, or simply how a phrase strikes a chord in us. Others may not understand this, but that isn't what's important. What IS important is that we take this impulse and put it up an a large, wrinkled, bedsheet screen as we try to express to anyone who will listen "This is how I feel. This is what I see."

What we see may strike us as the most brilliant combination of sound and picture we have ever seen and inspire us to want to create. It can also seem raw, undisciplined, short on technique, and cliche-ridden, and leaving us asking the question "Why did they bother making this movie?"

And that is the critical question. Why. It begs to be asked of the artist, hopefully in a respectful way. It begs to be discussed among your peers as you try to decipher what you're seeing. Even if you don't like the work, don't discount it and move on.

Those of us who have children spend countless hours talking with them, questioning them, and trying to understand them and help them understand the world as they struggle with a vocabulary that can never express the wonder that they experience the world with.

As they mature, many artists struggle with a limited vocabulary that they are trying to expand. Spend the time to ask the questions, and try to understand some of what the artist is trying to say. Because you may have missed the message, and the message might unlock some unexpected beauty for you.

Be open, and be curious.