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On Art and Mindfulness
In On Art and Mindfulness, world-renowned artist and celebrated teacher Enrique Martínez Celaya shares his views and advice on the art-making process, the development of a practice, the management of obstacles, and the day-to-day choices we must make in order to remain creative and honest. Drawn from the actual sold-out workshops that Martínez Celaya taught over nine years at the venerable Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, Colorado, these concise teachings are relevant not only to artists but to anyone wishing to live a mindful, productive life.
- GenresArt
112 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 15, 2022
This book is marvelous—a marvel. It challenged my ideas about art and what it means to be an artist.
It contains thoughts, ideas, and perspectives I’ve never heard before and would have been unlikely to come to on my own. Art and Mindfulness also reminded me of an earlier moral version of myself. I often forget to live by my own ethics and instead check in with social norms even when they lead me astray.
Celaya’s book is a thoughtful examination of work and the worker, also. Art has its operations and mechanics, but no tangible manual of how it runs without an identifiable source of power. An artist’s possible actions can’t be prescribed or dictated by any teacher. Sadly, art exists, when we give in to the idea that everything can be bought and sold, as a commodity in our society.
Celaya points our attention in a different direction. His book doesn’t lead to any easy conclusions. Art and Mindfulness reminds me of the Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. There is something meaningful that is the ground for each book. There is advice without a requirement that you follow it. There is an understanding that all of us are human. At our best, we are looking for ways to be honest with ourselves and with other human beings.
Both books contain a recognition that the effort to stay honest with ourselves and others can bring a deep satisfaction. That effort will ask us to be alert to our shortcomings and to have the humility to begin again without feeling a sense of defeat.
I have lots of passages highlighted and know I’ll return to it again and again. This book feels necessary to me.
It contains thoughts, ideas, and perspectives I’ve never heard before and would have been unlikely to come to on my own. Art and Mindfulness also reminded me of an earlier moral version of myself. I often forget to live by my own ethics and instead check in with social norms even when they lead me astray.
Celaya’s book is a thoughtful examination of work and the worker, also. Art has its operations and mechanics, but no tangible manual of how it runs without an identifiable source of power. An artist’s possible actions can’t be prescribed or dictated by any teacher. Sadly, art exists, when we give in to the idea that everything can be bought and sold, as a commodity in our society.
Celaya points our attention in a different direction. His book doesn’t lead to any easy conclusions. Art and Mindfulness reminds me of the Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. There is something meaningful that is the ground for each book. There is advice without a requirement that you follow it. There is an understanding that all of us are human. At our best, we are looking for ways to be honest with ourselves and with other human beings.
Both books contain a recognition that the effort to stay honest with ourselves and others can bring a deep satisfaction. That effort will ask us to be alert to our shortcomings and to have the humility to begin again without feeling a sense of defeat.
I have lots of passages highlighted and know I’ll return to it again and again. This book feels necessary to me.
July 12, 2023
Celaya's book is a series of aphorisms about being an artist, but its wisdom can extend to many parts of life. Some of my favorite lines:
"Work on polishing your intuition. Few people are born with perfect emotional pitch" (24).
"We are all lying to ourselves to one degree or another. It is important to have a sense of our own lies" (24).
"Art is a testimony of having lived--maybe the most convincing testimony" (35).
"The qualities that distinguish great art from the rest are, directly or indirectly, related to ethics. At the heart of great art you find love and compassion" (44).
"Every artist struggles with the balance between simplicity and complexity, as well as with the tension between similarity and difference. Your life and work will document how you navigate these dualities" (45).
"Learn to live with risk and failure. Through them you discover whether or not you have the reserves you will need to move forward. Empowerment comes from insistence. As an artist, you need to risk much and fail often. You become more empowered every time you set out in the direction of greater risk. You disempower yourself when you play it safe" (53).
"One common way to waste time is to become insecure and self-defeating. It is often an excuse not to face the uncertainty of doing your work" (56).
"Creating a work of art ought to be a conversation between you and the work in which you are the quieter of the two. At some point when creating your work, there is a moment when you seem to disappear. This is the way" (64).
"Artists often ask, 'When is an artwork finished?' It is finished when it has a life separate from your own" (64).
"Breakthroughs in your work often come from small subtleties. Can you transform your work by noticing some minor events or inconsistencies?" (69).
"Many people tend to associate creativity with freedom and moving laterally across a field of possibilities; in fact, creativity is frequently a response to limits and it usually demands a vertical, deeper incursion into the material" (85).
"Doubt is at the heart of any serious artistic practice as well as the day-to-day activities of an artist. Some artists think the doubts will eventually subside, but they will not. As you mature, new questions appear that challenge whatever development you have attained" (85).
"Exhibitions are not passive unveilings. You should think of them as part of the development of the work" (98).
"Your work is interesting only to you: this should be your assumption when you place your work in the world. You are likely to be right....The first thing your work has to conquer is not rejection but indifference" (99).
"Work on polishing your intuition. Few people are born with perfect emotional pitch" (24).
"We are all lying to ourselves to one degree or another. It is important to have a sense of our own lies" (24).
"Art is a testimony of having lived--maybe the most convincing testimony" (35).
"The qualities that distinguish great art from the rest are, directly or indirectly, related to ethics. At the heart of great art you find love and compassion" (44).
"Every artist struggles with the balance between simplicity and complexity, as well as with the tension between similarity and difference. Your life and work will document how you navigate these dualities" (45).
"Learn to live with risk and failure. Through them you discover whether or not you have the reserves you will need to move forward. Empowerment comes from insistence. As an artist, you need to risk much and fail often. You become more empowered every time you set out in the direction of greater risk. You disempower yourself when you play it safe" (53).
"One common way to waste time is to become insecure and self-defeating. It is often an excuse not to face the uncertainty of doing your work" (56).
"Creating a work of art ought to be a conversation between you and the work in which you are the quieter of the two. At some point when creating your work, there is a moment when you seem to disappear. This is the way" (64).
"Artists often ask, 'When is an artwork finished?' It is finished when it has a life separate from your own" (64).
"Breakthroughs in your work often come from small subtleties. Can you transform your work by noticing some minor events or inconsistencies?" (69).
"Many people tend to associate creativity with freedom and moving laterally across a field of possibilities; in fact, creativity is frequently a response to limits and it usually demands a vertical, deeper incursion into the material" (85).
"Doubt is at the heart of any serious artistic practice as well as the day-to-day activities of an artist. Some artists think the doubts will eventually subside, but they will not. As you mature, new questions appear that challenge whatever development you have attained" (85).
"Exhibitions are not passive unveilings. You should think of them as part of the development of the work" (98).
"Your work is interesting only to you: this should be your assumption when you place your work in the world. You are likely to be right....The first thing your work has to conquer is not rejection but indifference" (99).
July 16, 2018
I first encountered Enrique Martinez Celaya, a contemporary artist, through the excellent writing of Dan Siedell and in particular, his book 'God in the Gallery'. Siedell worked alongside Celaya for some time. I found myself intrigued with Celaya's work, which is conceptual and aesthetically very interesting.
Celaya deals with 'spiritual' and 'transcendent' themes (though we find out in 'On Art and Mindfulness' that he advises against using these non-specific terms to describe art).
---
As the output of an artist, could we perhaps see the book as a work of art?
I haven't fully processed that idea. Aesthetically, certainly. The book is beautifully presented - tactile, waxy dust jacket, clothbound hard cover underneath, an inky motif (a bird, that might also look like a mountain, taken from the photograph on the dust jacket where it is seen through the iron girders of a bridge) throughout and embossed on the cover, several original ink artworks, a couple of photos, lovely paper stock, a black ribbon marker. But there's a pitfall. The excerpts of which the book comprises are taken from art workshops hosted by Celaya. They are snippets that have become aphorisms in the context of the book - wisdom delivered from the established artist to the rest of us. And so the pitfall for the book being an artwork is didacticism. But I'm relaxed about that - I'll take my learning where I can get it.
---
I wonder what 'mindfulness' means in the context. I don't think the word itself was ever used within the main body text. I have some idea what the word 'mindfulness' means in a wider context and my interest in that was one of the things that drew me to the book ... would it be about being present in the moment and how that relates to art practice and creation? Well, not explicitly. Here mindfulness seems to to be synonym for awareness - being aware of your thinking about your art - intentionality. Challenging your own thinking when need be.
And as a kind of double meaning - Celaya is known as a thinker - the mindfulness here is in some ways the book being full of Celaya's mind or mindedness.
Mindfulness involves zooming in and zooming out ... and to keep the flame of being an artist alive, perhaps this book can provide some threads and tracks for such movement. Or some ideas that spark.
Celaya ends with this in a little afterword: "The advice that matters most ... is to remain mindful of the flame, an advice that is hard to implement without examples. I hope this book can provide a few - examples I myself need and use daily."
Celaya deals with 'spiritual' and 'transcendent' themes (though we find out in 'On Art and Mindfulness' that he advises against using these non-specific terms to describe art).
---
As the output of an artist, could we perhaps see the book as a work of art?
I haven't fully processed that idea. Aesthetically, certainly. The book is beautifully presented - tactile, waxy dust jacket, clothbound hard cover underneath, an inky motif (a bird, that might also look like a mountain, taken from the photograph on the dust jacket where it is seen through the iron girders of a bridge) throughout and embossed on the cover, several original ink artworks, a couple of photos, lovely paper stock, a black ribbon marker. But there's a pitfall. The excerpts of which the book comprises are taken from art workshops hosted by Celaya. They are snippets that have become aphorisms in the context of the book - wisdom delivered from the established artist to the rest of us. And so the pitfall for the book being an artwork is didacticism. But I'm relaxed about that - I'll take my learning where I can get it.
---
I wonder what 'mindfulness' means in the context. I don't think the word itself was ever used within the main body text. I have some idea what the word 'mindfulness' means in a wider context and my interest in that was one of the things that drew me to the book ... would it be about being present in the moment and how that relates to art practice and creation? Well, not explicitly. Here mindfulness seems to to be synonym for awareness - being aware of your thinking about your art - intentionality. Challenging your own thinking when need be.
And as a kind of double meaning - Celaya is known as a thinker - the mindfulness here is in some ways the book being full of Celaya's mind or mindedness.
Mindfulness involves zooming in and zooming out ... and to keep the flame of being an artist alive, perhaps this book can provide some threads and tracks for such movement. Or some ideas that spark.
Celaya ends with this in a little afterword: "The advice that matters most ... is to remain mindful of the flame, an advice that is hard to implement without examples. I hope this book can provide a few - examples I myself need and use daily."
February 2, 2024
I am somewhere between a 3-4 on this collection of thoughts on the way of an artist. I had hoped for dialogue, but this book felt to me more like a collection of prompts to get into longer discussions. This book particularly focuses on the inner life of artists.
If you have already been practicing a mindful approach (to anything) then everything in this book will ring true. If you are new to the process, (or life), then I'm not sure this will come across as anything but inspirational quotes. In other words, the thoughts expressed in Celaya's book are hard won lessons, and good advice, and reading about them is not a good substitute for earned experience.
Others have found it meaningful- this is not a negative review. I was just looking for something different than this.
If you have already been practicing a mindful approach (to anything) then everything in this book will ring true. If you are new to the process, (or life), then I'm not sure this will come across as anything but inspirational quotes. In other words, the thoughts expressed in Celaya's book are hard won lessons, and good advice, and reading about them is not a good substitute for earned experience.
Others have found it meaningful- this is not a negative review. I was just looking for something different than this.
November 18, 2017
A small volume of notes derived from the author's lectures at Anderson ranch. Brimming with thoughtful reminders of what is really important I n the artistic process...creation
September 4, 2021
Excellent!!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews