"Masterclass" on HBO

A friend just told us about this series, Masterclass, on HBO, and we watched a couple of them last night. (Don't know when they actually air, because our TV service automatically records HBO series; but they're well worth watching.) The idea is for a handful of specially talented young students to encounter a "master" for two-three days--we saw them working with Olafur Eliasson, the Danish artist who works with light, water, color, and magical space modifications, both interior and exterior--he did the "waterfalls" in New York City you might have read about; Liv Ullman, the Norwegian actress whose work with Ingmar Bergman is legendary and who is now also a director; and the Spanish-born tenor, Placido Domingo. Quite a line-up of talent for these young people to learn from.

Amongst all the great reflections on art and the creative process, this one stands out:

"Don't ever feel ready"--Placido Domingo.

It's akin to my own adage, "How do I know what I think 'til I see what I say," because the suggestion it carries, for me, is that I must always be ready for the next discovery, the next surprise.

It has, too, some relevance to our discussion of "branding." As I see it, branding assumes that I already know who I am as an artist--writer, musician, actor... If I brand myself, I become a known entity. "Being ready" implies having it all down pat, knowing who I am, where I stand, and what I have to say or do. Creativity, though, is all about discovering who I am--those parts of me, those ideas, those actions, those paths I don't already know. This is what makes it exciting, and eternally new.

Bottom line: Branding says, "This is who I am." Creativity asks, "Who am I?"