The Importance of Other Arts
Just in case you were wondering, I’m still staying relatively isolated because of COVID19. This means I go out sparingly and spend a lot of time exploring the various offerings of books, puzzles, and streaming services.
When I watched Is it Cake?, Cook at All Costs, Next in Fashion, The Great British Baking Show: The Professionals, The Great British Baking Show: Juniors, The Great British Baking Show: Holiday Special, The Great British Baking Show, Iron Chef, Queer Eye, and Indian Matchmaking, among others, I found a common denominator regarding creatives and our art. Specifically, watching other artists work in other media, I now better understand what I am doing in my own work.
On a grand scale, we’re all trying to tell stories. Watching fashion designers tell stories is a vastly different process than watching a matchmaker. Of course, the producers have the story they’re telling. And, despite the differences, the core desire is to explain some part of the human experience.
Right now, I am currently working on poetry and essays. Each requires a bit of craftspersonship. When I watched Next in Fashion, I was curious about the way designers have to account for the differences in the way a fabric moves, absorbs light, stretches, or takes pressure. One designer, known for patchwork (or the making of his own fabric by bringing other fabrics together to form a coherent whole), sought to do their signature patchwork with a different fabric. One of the judges responded, this isn’t you. Impulsively I snarked “it’s just a different fabric, honey. It is definitely them.” At that moment, I realized how my personal style was and could come across in my writing, since essays are a relatively new medium for me.
Though I didn’t mention it above, I have been watching RuPaul’s Drag Race and Untucked this season. In a recent episode, one queen ran hither and yon on the runway in a tattered gown. She was representing her immigrant parent’s journey from one country to another. This runway presentation was vastly different from other runway presentations, not just in terms of outfit, but also in terms of storyline, attitude, and walk. She was scurrying and turning her gaze outward. There was no camp. And, yet, this was the essence of drag: homage to family, resilience, and struggle with opulence.
I was so proud of that queen because she dared do something different on the runway. I was also intrigued by the way she – and other queens before her – can make room for themselves within the large artistic space known as drag. Again, I’m trying to figure out my own voice within a new genre. This felt like permission.
Many folks are already familiar with my family’s love of music. But, folks in my family have a special appreciation for the arts in ways that are (or were) unique to them. One of my uncles was basically a menswear model. He just didn’t find his runway. Sharp as a tack, I tell you. My mother loves classic film and will tell you all about the plotlines, the starlets, and backstage gossip. One of my aunts introduced me to gymnastics and competitive figure skating. Her joy at triple axels still feels unparalleled. The common thread is that they see how the stories are told across art form. They’ve allowed me to tell my own.
So, if you’re stuck, what other art form can you consult? How can you bring their methods or thought processes to bear on your own work? What story are you trying to tell?