Analysis Paralysis

Many ask questions like, ‘do you think about an idea before you paint,’ or ‘what inspires you?’ The most common one is, ‘how long will you take to do a painting,’ and ‘when did you start painting,’ or something like, 'did it come out just like you had imagined?' all these and similar ones sound pretty simplistic to an art practitioner who grapples with the deeper and tougher issues of art making. Yet one has to respect viewers and be humble about it, as they are sincerely asking these because may be they are genuinely curious and they really like to connect with you somehow.

An artist’s is not a well-defined position in the society. It is not considered essential for basic survival or sustenance unlike the so-called ‘useful’ professions. This may be different among various cultures of the world. Parents generally get nervous to send kids to art school. There are reasons for this which further leads to the central and deeper questions like, what most people are striving for in life and why they all are doing what they are doing right now. Does the quality of life matter? Or is it very subjective? 'Is this what my real call in life' is a question that is becoming irrelevant in general, during these seemingly choice-less, cynically anxious times of political unrest and media explosion.

In the meantime, a person who is attracted to art-making is still doing it. An individual who has decided to be an artist is already chosen to go off the usual path of a mundane routine. May be s/he has that ‘off’ gene in the system to begin with, or later on the bug got in somehow. Once an artist is always an artist. It is almost like a religious practice. There are better income generating careers than art for sure. The truth is that art is still a fulfilling thing to do, personally.

A visual artist is passionate about images and imaginations. An art practitioner is full of new ideas most of the time. Anything can trigger in one’s mind to open up a portal to fresh concepts. The issue with this is that there are too many paths to travel. But as one gets experienced, the selection process becomes a second nature and the new ideas and other unworkable concepts will not become a detour from the current projects. One becomes an expert in the process of elimination, by working through long hours.

The critic inside oneself is harsher to oneself than the one outside. 'Oh! This is not a good idea, don't do it. It's risky. That one is definitely going to be a mediocre piece. Oh! Boy, who do you think you are? A master in this medium? Look at that work by him? Are you even an artist?' The critic goes on and on...The analytical part gets stronger and stronger as one goes too much into the comparison business. This paralyzes one and creates unnecessary blockage along the way. There is no creative person who hasn't experienced this 'ANALYSIS PARALYSIS'. This one is the deadliest among any creative.

There is no single blue pill for this disease. One has to believe and keep on working. That is one sure remedy. Then on a case by case basis, a combination of many methods are being used. It is interesting to see various artists try many different things to beat this paralysis. 'Don't talk about what you are going to do, just do it first,' said one friend, 'just be in the studio' said another. 'First work then intellectualize, if at all it is needed,' another's suggestion. 'Start working in a new medium and bring that discipline to your earlier medium.' 'Keep a journal, write something in the morning every day without fail, before your inner critic wakes up, even if you are not inspired.' So on and so forth...

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“Don't think too much about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if its good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” ― Andy Warhol