Tharp Chapter 7: Accidents and Chapter 8: Spine And Fluxus

Tharp Chapter 7: Accidents Will Happen

  • –  When working on creative projects, there’s a fine line to walk between good planning and overplanning
  • –  You can only plan out your creative endeavours to a certain extent, and there comes a time where you have to let go and be aware of the sudden changes that might occur ie. “accidents”
  • –  Habitually creative people are constantly “prepared to be lucky” and knowing what parts of the creative process they can and can’t control.

– They know how to take advantage of the hurdles that come their way – Problems that could disrupt an artist’s creative process:

  • –  Other People:​ In collaboration, you have to trust the people you’re working with. However, sometimes people are unreliable or become injured etc.
  • –  Perfectionism at the Start:​ Seeking to be perfect with every move you make is problematic and could prevent an artist from progressing further with their work without taking real action (“just doing it”)
  • –  The Wrong Structure: ​It’s important to choose the form that’s appropriate to one as an artist as well as one that’s right for their idea
  • –  A Sense of Obligation:​ Commitment and obligation are two different things, and obligation shouldn’t be a reason an artist takes on a creative project for themselves
  • –  The Wrong Materials​: Having unlimited resources doesn’t necessarily mean you will have end up with a better result — restrictions/limitations can be blessings in disguise; “Whom the gods wish to destroy, they give unlimited resources” Tharp Chapter 8: Spine
  • –  Spine is a step in the creation of a piece, coming from the first powerful idea.
  • –  It is the base that you build the piece off of
  • –  The spine does not necessarily have to be visible to the audience, but if you keep it in mind as you progress, it is likely to make the piece more successful
  • –  Every work needs a spine, a motivation for coming into existence
  • –  If you lose track of your spine, an outside perspective (friend, etc…) can help find it
  • –  The spine can be an artist’s “little secret”, it does not have to be ultimately revealed to the audience

– In other words, it is an idea/concept/theme that keeps the artist on-track throughout the creative process