Artsy entry

So...one little sneaky non-music entry. Sorry.

My job is to tell stories. And we have only two rules.
1. Don´t bore.
2. Don´t confuse.

Last week I met an artist, whose films are both boring and confusing ... (he looked like he wouldn´t take it as an offense, cause it´s not, honest).

There was this lecture in my favourite Dublin gallery, The Hugh Lane by Declan Clarke.
I sat through about hour and half of his work displayed there.
Gallery films, you know, the type that somehow count on you coming in and leaving at any time. Giving more of a vibe and concept, than a story to follow.

The lecture afterwards was amazing and inspiring.
He talked about different subjects with a great passion. 
The thoughts behind the films were (unlike with loads of cinema filmmakers) really complex, profound and interesting. The radius of meanings and ideas was rather shocking to me. Politics, history, art... Even the structure was more elaborate than one would say at the first glance.

So why making it the way, that the viewer won´t get it?

I asked him.
And his answer, as well as his actual approach is still very liberating to me.
I can´t quote it and I doubt I can explain it, but here:

There are people, who will get it exactly as he intended to and who will find all the symbols and meanings.
Ambiguity is good.
He doesn´t force you where you should look and what you should see (as movies do). He just shows the whole thing and you decide what you see.


And why is it liberating?
Because for a change I met a filmmaker, who just tells what he wants to, the way he wants to.
And you know what?
It works.

The things that he says can´t be said any other way. If you won´t get them, well... pity. But you´ll get something else. It gives you, as a viewer a certain feeling of competence. Which is sometimes better than the usual certainty of competence. But that´s a false certainty and it always kicks in.

So go, anywhere, somewhere, if you have time. Look around you.
There´s always something to remind you that things can be done differently and that you´re free.