Art Isn't Easy

In the musical Sunday in the Park With George an artist, George Seurat describes art, his work, the canvas, his life, himself, his technique….any one of these perhaps.

"Order.

Design.

Composition.

Tone.

Form.

Symmetry.

Balance."

- Stephen Sondheim, Color and Light from Sunday in the Park With George

The above moment, as it plays in the Broadway musical, has always been a powerful teacher and message for me personally. It speaks volumes I think for any artist, any creator of art (e.g. music, film, television, written word, performance, et al.) seeking the key to mastering their craft. In the musical, George is painting a large canvas. He has a dedication and unwavering focus and for him it’s all about bringing that canvas to life no matter how long it takes him to do so. His concentration is unshakeable. For the real George Seurat, the people of his day laughed at him. What he was creating was unheard of and considered vulgar. His style broke all of the traditional molds and conformity of the day. But he ignored all outside influences and remained determined to bring his vision to life. What remains today is a powerful snapshot of Seurat’s own thoughts and imaginings, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte (1884, Currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago) is his legacy. It’s detail supreme. It’s execution masterful. Every spec of paint is placed there with a purpose – “providing order to the whole”. Look upon this canvas that took two years to complete and you will see in all of it’s thousands of delicate pixels, dots and dashes: Order, Design, Composition, Tone, Form, Symmetry and Balance. A recipe for any master of any craft.

If you wish to be the very best at what you do, no matter what your focus may be: writing, producing, directing, managing, creating, critiquing, editing, building, designing – all of ‘em perhaps….consider the above quote from the musical a formula and treat it as a road map for how to get the most out of your entertainment career. And if you think this is too rigid a thing for an artist to follow then look a little deeper at your craft – even the most outrageous and wildly inventive artist have one or more of these ideals in their stable of tricks – they’re just so good at what they do that you’d think it all comes so natural and with little to no effort at all.

And that, my friends is why it’s called “Showbiz”.

A featured song from the Sondheim musical Sunday in the Park With George.