Put Yourself In A Box

When was the last time you made something? I ask you to reflect on that as you read on.

A month ago on a random Tuesday, I felt the urge to do something I hadn’t done before. I texted my friend Kyle and invited him out to Canter’s Deli for a hot pastrami sandwich, some matzo ball soup, pickles, and coffee, with the intention of coming up with an idea for a film and then immediately shooting it.

Rick Rubin, a man I look to for many of my artistic insights, regularly talks and writes about the beauty of enacting rules or limitations on your creative projects for the purpose of seeing what innovation can come from it.

Here were my rules:

1.     Go to Canter’s Deli with a yellow legal pad and get some pastrami sandwiches with Kyle.

2.     Ideate, shoot, edit, and release an entire short film in the scope of that single afternoon.

What exists today is called Deli Boy, a glimpse into the life of a young man grappling with his place in contemporary Jewish society.

Watch Deli Boy HERE:

Kyle, a great friend, and collaborator, improv’d his initial lines and from there, the idea for the rest of the film had been created. The full film is expected to come to a delicatessen near you!

The crucial element that allowed for the completion of Deli Boy were the rules. I could have easily spent a whole other day editing and gathering more footage for it, but it would have defeated the point of the project.

What I am trying to get at here is that I understand how difficult it can be to just come up with an idea and then go do it. For those of you out there that have the hankering to create something and don’t know where to start, (A common reason artists don’t make things) I urge you to sit down and think of some rules for your next project.

The only way to think outside of the box is to put yourself in one.

Think of it like a playbook. If it needs altering, go for it.

If a rule ends up becoming a hindrance to your work, rework it.

If you don’t like a rule 3 days later, change it.

There are no rules to rulemaking.

If this all feels contradictory, welcome to making art. But more on that in the next issue.

Franz Kline once told a group of artists, “the minute you step into that studio and pick up that brush, you are part of art history and you’ll never be lonely.”

Whether it’s your studio or your desk, office, or bed… wherever you decide to make your art… what a lovely reminder to think about. You can take comfort in knowing that you are part of a long line of artists who have come before you and who will come after you, all contributing to the greatest phenomenon in our natural world—Art.

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ART OF THE WEEK

WATCH: Pray For Me HERE

Kyle Blumenthal’s debut short film about suicide prevention.

Libby Rosen

This last weekend I went to an art opening at Night Gallery near DTLA where two artists, Anne Libby, and Anna Rosen collaborated under the moniker of Libby Rosen. Each work holds you in a hypnotic grip from the fusion of Rosen’s Ebru marbling techniques paired with Libby’s precise stitchings.

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Thank you for today, and see you next time.

If you missed last week’s issue, you can view that HERE

Follow me on Instagram for more daily art picks HERE

MAXIMA is a devotion.

Your pal,

Eli