Bruce Nauman On Clarity

Bruce Nauman

Having to say it out loud, having to explain what you are doing, forces you to be clear. You can’t just fumble through and get something and say “That’s what I meant to do all along”. That is the part I think about in my work: making sure that what I’m doing is really clear. Then it’s available, and those are the kinds of things you look for, in art, and this changes the structure of how you can think about art, and it’s there for you. And those are wonderful things when you are in their presence.

Bruce Nauman

This quote is from an episode of the show “Art in the Twenty-First Century” featuring the American artist Bruce Nauman. You can watch that episode online. He was drawing (no pun intended) a parallel between proof and clarity in mathematics, and clarity in art. I would extend the parallel to creative projects in general.

Re: 25 years of coding, and I’m just beginning

An interesting article made the front page of HN the other day:

25 years of coding, and I’m just beginning by DeChamp.

This article touches on a number of key topics that have affected me as well, so now is a perfect time to get my thoughts on these issues down on digital paper. Please read the article yourself, but here is how I’d summarize the key points:

Continue reading “Re: 25 years of coding, and I’m just beginning”

In honor of Seth Godin

On the website sethgodin.com, it says:

Seth Godin is an Author, Entrepreneur and Most of All, A teacher

By whoever wrote the About blurb on sethgodin.com

When I see that blurb, I think to myself (aside from pondering the confusing but possibly correct application of title case), “Can’t argue with that.” To say that Seth is merely an author is like saying a Vitamix is merely a blender: a vast understatement. And to my ear, his written voice is pretty much the same as his spoken voice, so I’m not sure if he actually writes, but rather just speaks into the paper.

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