Iván Sparrow-Ayub

As the spirit wanes the form appears.

–Charles Bukowski.

Structural rigidity prevents access into the very constituents of life and things. It is through intuition that we can encourage an openess that comes from perception, that is, from direct contact with our surroundings, ourselves and others.

Systems –like ideologies– replace the need for intuition with a sense of structure and order. The problem is that when structure begins to take over, it overpowers everything that can’t be explained or understood in logical terms, thus turning us into incomplete beings. On the other hand, intuition –which is not at odds with logic– is our natural way of going-about in and understanding our world. Since it doesn’t rely on fixed notions, ideas or habits, intuition opens us perceptualy and it hightens our awareness of the moment we’re in.

In terms of music making, structure can asphyxiate. It shouldn’t be surprising to listen to so much neurosis in the music of our times, which is overwhelmed by structural thinking, from micro to macro levels. Sounds become units of interconnection whose value is that of building blocks. Timbre then becomes just a (sometimes pretty) facade.

Intuition in music is conducive to a more direct relationship between psyche and sound, which can be in a constant state of flux. The thing with intuition is that it acts, if we can put it in those terms, based on who and how we are and what we are exposed to. I believe this is a crucial aspect, for in the end we are those sounds. Music then is an extension of a particular concience, not the result of an abstract or even implanted idea.

"The ivory tower of the artist may be the only stronghold left for human values, cultural treasures, man’s cult of beauty."

— Anaïs Nin, 1939 (via explore-blog)

poetsorg:

Multiple choice question. By Robert Creeley.

(Source: mimeomimeo.blogspot.com)

"The economic pressures have also turned into intellectual pressures. When humans feel panicked, we tend to become more conservative and risk-averse — we go with the sure thing, rather than the gamble. The problem is that creativity is all about exploratory risk. The goal is to find new things — to go beyond state-of-the-art and to discover or create things that the world has never seen. It’s a contradiction to simultaneously forge into the unknown and to insist on a sure bet."

—

One university professor’s poignant meditation on leaving academia.

The above excerpt explains a tragic lot today, well beyond education, including the precarious non-future of space exploration.

(via explore-blog)