FreakGenius Academy Introduction
"A fierce internal debate, between staying moored and drifting away, between holding on and letting go. Perhaps wisdom lies in our ability to negotiate between these two poles. Necessary to us, both of them - but how to live in connection without feeling suffocated, compromised, erased? We long to connect; we fear that if we do, our freedom and individuality will disappear."
- Mark Doty, Still life with Oysters and Lemons
I’m shy, but you wouldn’t know it to see me in public because I’m fairly outgoing and gregarious. I once lost a bet with some college friends who insisted I couldn’t go 5 minutes without engaging with and being friendly to someone/anyone I might see on campus. My friends were right.
I was 18 and a freshman at university and met a guy – a returning student in his late 20s - who invited me for tea and conversation in his dorm room. With tea in hand, he asked me how I do it. “Do what?” I asked. “Be so open,” he said. “I’ve been watching you and how you wave and talk and laugh out there.” This man explained a bit about the harsh environment in which he grew up, and how it affected his ability to be outgoing. He confessed an envy of extroverts who can be open as he never has been able to; and asked me to expound on it any way I could. I examined myself before him - the whys, whats and hows of choosing to combat my own deep-seated shyness with an outgoing persona. I advocated for circumventing fear through productive action, and we ended our evening’s conversation with me urging him to consider being bold. The following week I saw him out on campus and, as I approached he smiled and asked, “Notice anything different?”
I was 18 and a freshman at university and met a guy – a returning student in his late 20s - who invited me for tea and conversation in his dorm room. With tea in hand, he asked me how I do it. “Do what?” I asked. “Be so open,” he said. “I’ve been watching you and how you wave and talk and laugh out there.” This man explained a bit about the harsh environment in which he grew up, and how it affected his ability to be outgoing. He confessed an envy of extroverts who can be open as he never has been able to; and asked me to expound on it any way I could. I examined myself before him - the whys, whats and hows of choosing to combat my own deep-seated shyness with an outgoing persona. I advocated for circumventing fear through productive action, and we ended our evening’s conversation with me urging him to consider being bold. The following week I saw him out on campus and, as I approached he smiled and asked, “Notice anything different?”
“No. Why? You look great. It’s nice to see you.”
“I’m wearing a hat,” he said, pointing to his sporty derby.
“Nice hat,” I said.
“I’ve always liked this one and kept it in my closet with my things. This is the first time I’ve ever worn it out… anywhere. I want to thank you for your words.”
He found a way to summon the needed chutzpah to publicly adorn himself with his (until then, secret) hat. I sometimes think of him and hope he continued to combat his ingrained fears through constructive action. The point of the story is this: That act of donning that hat and walking into the world was his statement, brave, bold, and rebellious. Most people would never know that to look at him - all they would see is some guy with a hat on - yet this man was making an artistic contribution to his own life, and quite possibly to the world. For him, this was very large.
__________
Long after we’re gone, one of the few criteria by which future earthlings will measure the people of our time will be our cultural contribution. The criteria for the measurements are these:
a. How did we treat people (society, war/peace),
b. What did we make (manufacturing and business), and
c. How artful did we make the things we made (culture).
In living creative lives, we develop constructive ways of seeing and expressing experiences and concepts, and see ourselves and our living daily acts of expression within larger contexts. This is because we seek to do more than merely communicate. What we want is to be understood at the most fundamental levels, by others and by ourselves. Collectively, the myriad ways in which we communicate defines and becomes culture.
_______
School often focuses on teaching technique and theory, but leaves aside many practical aspects of creativity. One must learn those upon leaving school and embarking on a creative path. I formed my first performance company when I was 22. I’d studied dance and theater, but now I needed to know enough about the business of building our company to get started, so I spent many years seeking out advice from veterans of the field. But our company had not embraced the standard, non-profit art world business model and there was no one to offer me advice tailored to our company’s needs. I had to learn through trial, error and interpretation/transposition of what others were doing. Years later I realized I’d become the person I’d been seeking advice from all that time, having ultimately gained the knowledge and expertise I’d been looking for in a mentor.
And something similar happened more recently during my masters’ studies, when I again realized that I’d acquired valuable information no mentor had previously imparted: a belief system and philosophy on the examination of the creative process, a set of principles I use to investigate each aspect of a creative endeavor. That is what the Freak Genius Academy offers: an outline for examination of your creative process and your art. I have compiled these ideas into a series of perspectives on artful exploration, called frames. Each frame examines one aspect of the creative act, and, when taken together, all the frames address a comprehensive set of the questions involved in investigating a creative path. An artist using these frames will discover the right questions he/she has at this moment in his/her life; and each person’s unique questions are appropriate and valid for his/her own work, but not necessarily for anyone else’s. Using the Freak Genius Academy outline, the person or group fills in all the aspects necessary to discover what lies beneath a creative urge, and is then able to delve deeper into the messages and intentions that support good practices for making work.
I wish to point out that, in addition to being a good outline for making creative ideas, this set of frames can also be used to examine previous work and current works-in-progress. Whether it be art to be displayed or performed for an audience, or a new way in which to slightly improve one’s daily habits and rituals, these frames are boundless and can be used and revisited and will always provide a solid foundation for deeper investigation.
So…
If you merely wish to add some creativity to your life in simple ways, I am happy to offer my frames as fodder for thoughtful engagement with your own urges to add to your existence.
If you already make art, I certainly hope you will find this approach useful as a foil by which to gauge your own methodologies.
If you are in need of a new set of perspectives, may this provide you a foothold from which to venture forth.
If you are in need of a way to start, I offer this as a gesture of generosity in the hope it may provide you a solid outline to begin a thorough investigation.
My very best wishes to you and I look forward to hearing any and all feedback and insights you wish to share with me. Contact me when and how you wish. I am available as best I can to help you unravel and unpack the questions and opportunities yet to be examined.
- Paul Gordon
founder, Freak Genius Academy
“I’m wearing a hat,” he said, pointing to his sporty derby.
“Nice hat,” I said.
“I’ve always liked this one and kept it in my closet with my things. This is the first time I’ve ever worn it out… anywhere. I want to thank you for your words.”
He found a way to summon the needed chutzpah to publicly adorn himself with his (until then, secret) hat. I sometimes think of him and hope he continued to combat his ingrained fears through constructive action. The point of the story is this: That act of donning that hat and walking into the world was his statement, brave, bold, and rebellious. Most people would never know that to look at him - all they would see is some guy with a hat on - yet this man was making an artistic contribution to his own life, and quite possibly to the world. For him, this was very large.
__________
Long after we’re gone, one of the few criteria by which future earthlings will measure the people of our time will be our cultural contribution. The criteria for the measurements are these:
a. How did we treat people (society, war/peace),
b. What did we make (manufacturing and business), and
c. How artful did we make the things we made (culture).
In living creative lives, we develop constructive ways of seeing and expressing experiences and concepts, and see ourselves and our living daily acts of expression within larger contexts. This is because we seek to do more than merely communicate. What we want is to be understood at the most fundamental levels, by others and by ourselves. Collectively, the myriad ways in which we communicate defines and becomes culture.
_______
School often focuses on teaching technique and theory, but leaves aside many practical aspects of creativity. One must learn those upon leaving school and embarking on a creative path. I formed my first performance company when I was 22. I’d studied dance and theater, but now I needed to know enough about the business of building our company to get started, so I spent many years seeking out advice from veterans of the field. But our company had not embraced the standard, non-profit art world business model and there was no one to offer me advice tailored to our company’s needs. I had to learn through trial, error and interpretation/transposition of what others were doing. Years later I realized I’d become the person I’d been seeking advice from all that time, having ultimately gained the knowledge and expertise I’d been looking for in a mentor.
And something similar happened more recently during my masters’ studies, when I again realized that I’d acquired valuable information no mentor had previously imparted: a belief system and philosophy on the examination of the creative process, a set of principles I use to investigate each aspect of a creative endeavor. That is what the Freak Genius Academy offers: an outline for examination of your creative process and your art. I have compiled these ideas into a series of perspectives on artful exploration, called frames. Each frame examines one aspect of the creative act, and, when taken together, all the frames address a comprehensive set of the questions involved in investigating a creative path. An artist using these frames will discover the right questions he/she has at this moment in his/her life; and each person’s unique questions are appropriate and valid for his/her own work, but not necessarily for anyone else’s. Using the Freak Genius Academy outline, the person or group fills in all the aspects necessary to discover what lies beneath a creative urge, and is then able to delve deeper into the messages and intentions that support good practices for making work.
I wish to point out that, in addition to being a good outline for making creative ideas, this set of frames can also be used to examine previous work and current works-in-progress. Whether it be art to be displayed or performed for an audience, or a new way in which to slightly improve one’s daily habits and rituals, these frames are boundless and can be used and revisited and will always provide a solid foundation for deeper investigation.
So…
If you merely wish to add some creativity to your life in simple ways, I am happy to offer my frames as fodder for thoughtful engagement with your own urges to add to your existence.
If you already make art, I certainly hope you will find this approach useful as a foil by which to gauge your own methodologies.
If you are in need of a new set of perspectives, may this provide you a foothold from which to venture forth.
If you are in need of a way to start, I offer this as a gesture of generosity in the hope it may provide you a solid outline to begin a thorough investigation.
My very best wishes to you and I look forward to hearing any and all feedback and insights you wish to share with me. Contact me when and how you wish. I am available as best I can to help you unravel and unpack the questions and opportunities yet to be examined.
- Paul Gordon
founder, Freak Genius Academy