November 17, 2023 • 36 mins
In episode 9 of "There Is No System," titled "The Artist's Dilemma: Expressing Beliefs through Creativity" host Brian Behm, an Austin-based motion designer, artist, musician, and Art Director at Emergent Order Foundation, delves into the intricate balance between artistic creativity and personal ideologies. Drawing from his experiences in the art world and as the art department head at Rooster Teeth, Brian reflects on the constant mental tug-of-war between one's artistic soul and ideological brain.
This episode unpacks the inherent struggle in creating art that genuinely reflects personal beliefs without succumbing to societal pressures or ideological tribes. It discusses the challenges faced by artists who straddle different viewpoints, especially those leaning towards classical liberalism or other non-dominant ideologies. Brian emphasizes the importance of fostering a marketplace of ideas, advocating for a creative expression that's not bound by a single narrative or ideology.
Exploring concepts like intersectionality and epistemic humility, Brian proposes recontextualizing these ideas to enhance artistic expression. He shares his journey of balancing risk-taking in art with personal and familial considerations, illustrating the tightrope walk between daring creativity and societal acceptance.
The episode aims to empower artists to embrace their unique blend of creativity and personal beliefs, encouraging them to stir the pot of conventional artistic expression. Brian's goal is to ignite a dialogue about the role of gatekeeping in the arts and its impact on creative freedom, urging listeners to reflect on their own artistic journeys and the influences shaping them.
Written and performed by Brian Behm
Original Music (unless noted) by Brian Behm/No_System
Stock Music provided through Audiiio
Music Included In This Episode
Que Parks - Unlock (Get Ready For It)(Instrumental)
Adi Goldstein - Inspiring Heights (Pt.2)(Instrumental)
Adi Goldstein - Morning Spring (Instrumental)
Adi Goldstein - Magic Hour (Instrumental)(Loop)
Adi Goldstein - Safe Ride Home (vers 1)
Beach Tiger - Numb (Instrumental)
Liam Back - Innocence (Instrumental)
Rhodan - Bloom (Instrumental)
The Purple Kite - It's Time To Start Something New (Instrumental)
The Prams - Now That We're Far (Instrumental)
Yair Cohen - Haze (Instrumental)
-- clips used or referenced
The Crow Hill Company: Make Music, YOUR Music.
https://youtu.be/D7tCNqmp6f0?si=WfqJeRkMZlgEKWV1
Death of a Salesman Trailer
https://youtu.be/zsJhonpcetk?si=vEtCArr5Ao4D-Ub6
Cars Sink Through Ice on Lake Pepin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suwAK7y0Qdc
Truck Falls Through Ice on Lake Hanska in Southern Minnesota
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOvCRMHWBok
Harvard, Hamas, and the Barbaric Death Of Discourse In The West
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6noX5AUuzwU&t=1s
The Walk
https://www.y
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
How often do you find yourself in a mental tug
of war with your artistic soulon one side and your
ideological brain on the other?
If you're nodding along, you'rein good company. Something that
I've struggled with and it'skind of like we're all
undercover agents in the ColdWar of Creativity and belief
systems.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
There was
Speaker 3 (00:24):
No system.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
There is
Speaker 4 (00:28):
No system,
Speaker 3 (00:31):
No system. Episode nine, artistic Allegiances,
exploring the tightrope walkbetween personal beliefs and
artistic expression. To knowmore about no system , visit
nosy knows.com .
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Welcome back to There Is No System. I'm Brian
Beam , uh, motion designer,artist, musician, and art
director based in Austin,Texas. I'm currently the art
director at Emergent OrderFoundation and I spent many
years before that building theart department of Rooster Teeth
. If you'd like to see whatwe're up to at no system ,
check out nosy nos.com ,N-O-S-Y-S-K-N-O-W-S, and quick
(01:13):
heads up. I'm starting tobrainstorm some concepts for uh
, no System Patreon. If youhave any wild or wonderful
ideas or even just some showfeedback, drop me a note at
nosis@nosynos.com. That'll alsobe in the show notes. Today
we're diving head first into aseries of episodes on maybe not
(01:34):
the Spiciest topic, but alittle spicy balancing creating
art and your personal beliefs.
In my life and in therollercoaster that's been my
career, I've found myself drawnto artists and thinkers and
friends who see the worlddifferently than I do. It's
weird, right? Their views couldbe as different from mine as
(01:56):
oil and water, but there'ssomething in their work or just
who they are that just clicksevery election cycle. Some
musicians are angry thatsomeone is playing their music
with an opposing viewpoint andall the time between elections.
It's not like plenty of artistshide their opinions and refrain
from sharing their beliefs.
Most of the time, their sharingtends to trend one way, mainly
(02:19):
towards the left. Those wholean to the right either don't
think of themselves as artistsor aren't people currently in
the vanguard. I spent a lot oftime thinking about it as
someone who would identify as aclassical liberal. One of the
guys that , uh, has helped mythinking before he went through
his evangelical transformationwas a man named Frankie Shafer
(02:43):
and he wrote about howChristians should be impacting
art. Not a perfect analogy totalk about Christians in art
and right-leaning people inart, but I still think both
communities have strayed awayfrom the art world and as
someone who believes in theidea that Andrew Breitbart
preached that politics isdownstream from culture. If
(03:04):
we're gonna change the world,we need to impact it in the way
that the world is most greatlyimpacted, and that's making
great art. My ultimate goal forno system has been to encourage
people who may not have seenthemselves as someone who can
create and change their worlds.
I want someone to feel likethey have agency, and for the
(03:24):
record that's not necessarilyabout ideology. I want to do
what I can to foster amarketplace of ideas. We're
stronger when talking about andnot hiding the things we
believe in, and when one sideor another has a monopoly on
feeling free to talk abouttheir world, that's not a
healthy situation. One of theways I've been thinking about
(03:46):
the way we approach thecrossover of art and ideology
is to look at it through theidea of intersectionality. You
know, the buzzword, which isusually about identities
clashing. I actually thinkthere's a way to twist and
recontextualize it. Picturethis, what if instead of
looking at intersectionalitythrough the guise of how people
are oppressing and beingprejudiced against us, it's
(04:10):
about the unique cocktail ofour creative flare and personal
ideologies. I think that, and Iguess it's a Venn diagram, is
interesting and maybe I want totwist the definition of
intersectionality because Ithink it's destructive on some
level. I know I'm a middleaged, almost middle, upper
(04:32):
class white man , and exceptfor the fact that I have ADHD ,
which makes me neurodiverse, Ihave much less right , unquote
, to speak than someone else. Iwant opportunities for everyone
to participate and create, butI think there's more to it than
that. It's like finding outyour favorite drink is a mix of
(04:54):
two things you never thoughtwould go together. I guess I'm
trying to use my privilege todo good things in the world,
but back to Venn diagrams for asecond. Whether you're rocking
out to punk will advocating forconservative values or you're a
classical liberal who can't getenough of modern art, it's all
part of your unique story. It'swhat sets you apart and what
(05:18):
gives your art a uniquezinging. I joked about it
before, but I find quite a bitof inspiration in Austrian
economics. It's very differentfrom the design world, but I
still find a lot of things thatresonate inside of emergent
order. The company where Ispend my days started because
my boss, John Pola , foundeconomic papers impenetrable.
(05:40):
They're really not written forpeople to absorb. Well, not all
people, they have a lot ofwisdom in them, but ideas are
conveyed through storytelling,and storytelling isn't
something most economists aregood at. John was using his
daily commute to betterunderstand the 2008 financial
crisis. As he dug into papersand podcasts, he contacted
(06:01):
economist Russ Roberts tocollaborate on a project
unpacking John Maynard Kane'sand Friedrich Hayek's fight
over differing ideologies.
There's a good chance that ifyou lean libertarian, you've
probably seen the rap battlethey put together or one of its
sequels. One of the things Iappreciate about John , and
frankly he doesn't listen tothis podcast, so he probably
won't hear this, is that he wasable to bring his intellectual
(06:24):
wonkiness alongside hiscreativity. I remember seeing
the video when it firstappeared and being really
inspired by the idea that otherpeople like me were trying to
combine these things. I didn'tknow who the filmmakers were,
but I knew that I wanted toknow them, and now I guess I
do. So if you've ever felt likeyour own crowd might give you
(06:46):
the side eye for your mix andmatch approach to art and
beliefs, and you don't feellike you're necessarily allowed
to be who you are, I hope youfind this episode to be your
jam. My goal is that it's agreen light for you to break
the mold. We don't have to bejust one thing or another.
(07:06):
We're a wild, fabulous mix ofeverything. So let's stir the
pot and see what bubbles up.
Welcome to part one. It's timeto get started.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Section one, the artistic dilemma and tribal
wiring, the pull towardsideological tribes.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
So what's with our human obsession with
ideological tribes? It's notjust a random quirk or a
byproduct of bad luck. No, it'sall wired into our brains.
Think about our ancientancestors. For the most part,
they have the same brains. Wedo, well, not the same brains,
but brains that werefundamentally the same. When
(07:44):
you're looking at timescalesdevelopment, the difference
between the first people and uswhen you're talking about
geological timelines is, isreally nothing. They had the
instinct that straying from thetribe wasn't just socially
awkward, but a fast track tobecoming prehistoric. Kitty
chow Getting exiled was theoriginal game over. Think about
(08:10):
when you moved into a newplace. Those first few days,
you're in new surroundings andyou're not completely settled.
When you go to bed, you're onedge and that's your lizard
brain feeling uncomfortable.
It's your lizard brain keepingyou safe. It's the same
instinct. We still play bythose ancient rules. Our tribal
(08:34):
instincts haven't just poofedinto oblivion. In fact, in this
hyperconnected world, theirtribal drives are turbocharged.
We're forming communitiesfaster than ever are at least
online ones, but instead ofdodging saber tooth tigers,
we're navigating an ideologicaljungle. Think about your brain
(08:54):
as a secret agent. It's alwayson the lookout. It's guarding
your social standing like thecrown jewels and shaming is one
aspect of that tribalism. It'skicking someone out of the
tribe like white blood cellsattacking a perceived virus,
but in order to understand it,we're gonna have to grab our
(09:15):
metaphorical binoculars and goon a safari into the heart of
the creative wilderness. Let'ssee how our tribal wiring plays
out in the artistic realm andat what it means for those of
us that want to be the creativerebels in our world.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
The eternal struggle, creativity versus
conformity.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
When it comes to creativity, it's all about
kicking down boundaries, notpolitely stepping over them.
It's where your internalmonologue is all punk rock
while you're also secretlyhumming. Taylor Swift's love
story, no judgment, we all havethat one song that's our not so
guilty pleasure high school. Iwent through a Tom Jones phase.
There's, it's nothing quitelike crooning out. It's not
(09:57):
unusual. It is not unusual toread podcast scripts and yeah,
let's, let's not get started.
You , you don't want to hear mesinging right now, but our
ancient fear of being the oddone out can clash with our
burning desire to create andbreak the mold. The key is that
(10:21):
it's not about picking sides,but finding that sweet spot
where, where rebellion stopscompletely conflicting against
acceptance. Have you ever feltthat stomach twist when you're
on the edge of defying thenorm? That's your primal brain
going into meltdown soundingalarms left and right. It's
practically screaming. Warning,don't wander off or you'll be
(10:42):
the main course for a sabertooth tiger. But here's the
twist. If we always play itsafe and always color inside
the lines , can we truly callwhat we're making art when we
don't go far enough? It's whatFather Bronx from the Make Art
Not Content Podcast might callcontent. It's disposable. It
doesn't change anything. If wewanna create soul stirring art,
(11:07):
we have to intentionally skateon thin ice, something that I'm
still learning to do somethingthat isn't natural. I grew up
in Minnesota and every yearthere'd be some idiot on either
side of the freeze or thaw whowould drive their truck out
into a lake to get a day of icefishing in. All too often that
(11:28):
truck would go through the ice
Speaker 5 (11:30):
Officials in South Central Minnesota are warning
about thin ice. The BrownCounty Sheriff shared these
pictures of a truck that wentthrough the ice on Lake Ska,
which is south of New Walm .
Both people did make it outsafely, and they're now working
to try to pull that truck outof the water.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
The heart of no system is our bold dive into
intellectual curiosity, butwhen we drive out under the
ice, there's always the chancethat we're gonna break through.
Speaker 6 (11:56):
On Saturday, Brock says the parking lot was full,
so drivers started parking onthe lake. He watched from afar
as six vehicles fell throughthe ice and had to be a real di
.
Speaker 7 (12:06):
I felt bad for 'em because I mean, it can happen
to anybody, and they, theydidn't know that they shouldn't
have been parking out there.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
We flaunt our geekiness like a medal of
honor, but I'll admit sometimesI've tried too hard to blend
in. Instead of creating workthat was authentically no
system, I created designs thatwere fine, but not something
someone else could have done. Iwant people to like me just as
(12:34):
much as anyone else, andsometimes that's led me to
doing the safest and leastexciting thing, means that my
truck isn't gonna fall throughthe ice and
Speaker 7 (12:45):
We all wish and wait for us to be able to drive out
there.
Speaker 8 (12:49):
Don't park near the shore, just don't park near the
shore.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
But it also means that I didn't get to go out on
the ice at all. Honestly. It'sa wild ride and it's a hard
ride. We've clicked with partsof our tribe and when I meet
someone that gets it, gets whatno system is about. It feels
like a really great, big, giantelectrical buzz. But the
(13:18):
thousand true fans that KevinKelly talks about, I think
we're still 995 away from it. Ithink that's in part due to my
hesitations to own who I am.
It's put the brakes on ourgrowth. I look up to the likes
of Bob Dylan and Frida Kahloand David Bowie. They flip
(13:39):
norms and expectations on theirheads. I , I will never
completely understand theability to just run into the
storm. I'm sure they wereafraid, but the secret is that
as much as I crave to channelthe boldness that they all had,
the shadow of being too boldand the fear of its impact on
(14:01):
me and my family hangs over myhead, is pushing the envelope
too hard to gamble? Is it toobig? I'm always in a balancing
act, a tug of war betweendaring and caution, between
blazing new trails and the fearthat's always somewhere in the
(14:21):
back of my head of only everbeing a Willie Lohman. He's the
character from Norman Mailer'sPlay Death of a Salesman. If
you haven't seen the PBSadaptation with Dustin Hoffman,
it's worth seeing
Speaker 9 (14:34):
I and right I'm die , but than I'm Willie Loman .
Willie Loman never earned a lotof money. His name was never in
the paper. He's not the finestcharacter that ever lived.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
It's a fine line.
Actually, you know what? It'snot even a fine line. It's a
giant chasm, and I'm stilllearning how to evil canvel my
way back and forth. But everytime you bury your soul and
your work, it's like rollingthe dice. People gonna get it.
Are they gonna vibe with it orare we just gonna get blank
(15:06):
stares? Or even worse, thebacklash isn't that the essence
of impactful art? Impactful artstirs the pot. It evokes. It
provokes. I'll never have thesheer audacity of an edge, Lord
, but some days I wish I hadsome of their chutzpah. I won't
(15:28):
sugarcoat it. It's daunting.
You're serving a slice of yoursoul on a platter and you're
not sure if it's gonna besavored or it's gonna be spat
out, but I've also kind of cometo see those butterflies as a
good omen. If I'm feelingjittery about something I'm
about to unleash, there's agood chance. It's because it
(15:48):
matters. It's my gut nudgingme, Hey, this could be big for
what it's worth, and I hopethat means that it's something
I've got butterflies in mystomach while I'm writing this.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
The price of authentic expression,
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Each time you take a risk, however small and you
come out unscathed, it feels alittle less daunting the next
time. It's like flexing amuscle. The more you exercise
the beefier that muscle gets,you start small, you survive
and then you think, okay, wellmaybe I can crank it up a
(16:24):
little bit more the next time.
Recently at work, we had avideo essay on the emergent
order channel called America'sBarbarian Children. It was John
talking about how he feels andthe collegiate response to the
recent tragedy in Israel thatparents have a responsibility
to their children to raise themnot to celebrate violence or
(16:48):
condemn the injured assuppressors who got what they
deserved. The comment sectionon the video, both on the
emergent order channel, andlater when we re-released it on
our dad says , America Channelhas really heartened me. I
didn't know what would happen,but people have engaged with it
and overall had a primarilypositive discussion, even if
(17:11):
they disagreed, and that's thekind of exercise that I'm
talking about. I'm not sayingthat everything needs to be a
polemic, but we also shouldn'tshy away from larger
discussions. And the more weput out into the world, the
more we bring ourselves to whatwe put out into the world, the
(17:32):
more opportunities we have toexercise and practice. And
aside from the downsides, therereally is an upside. The risky
stuff is the stuff thatconnects. It's the stuff with a
better chance of hitting homelike striking gold. It goes
beyond just avoiding a flop.
It's about igniting a spark, athought, a feeling, a shift.
(17:58):
Your work starts to resonate ona deeper level. Putting your
cards out on the table mightexpose you to criticism and
even rejection, but it's alsothe pathway to the good stuff
like real connections andmoments of shared
understanding. Our goal reallyshould be for our art to make
(18:18):
someone pause, reflect, or, orfeel something profound, and
that's when I know that I'monto something special. The
first time that someone reactedto my not greater than less
than symbol was one of thosemoments. That one was about me
having the guts to declare,this is me. Take it or leave
(18:39):
it. A side note, we also don'thave to be an as we're laying
it out on the table. Imentioned that flexing this
muscle can be scary. So let'suse a dangerous analogy that's
a little scary, like tightropewalking. There's a documentary
called Man on Wire. It waslater remade into the Robert
(19:01):
Zeus . Joseph Gordon Levittfilmed the walk about a French
highwire artist who walked ahighwire between the World
Trade Center buildings. It'sthe first step. That's the
worst, right? Okay, the laststep is realistically the
worst, but let's remainoptimistic. The safest place is
on either side of the wire. Iactually think there are points
(19:23):
to make on both sides of thewire, but the one we're
interested in right thisinstant is the one before we
walk out. Philippe Petit, the25 year old performer is
standing at the edge of theWorld Trade Center, 1,300 feet
in the sky. Close your eyes andimagine yourself looking down.
(19:46):
You with me? Did your stomachjust drop? Do I need to bring
in some wind sounds? Oh , therethey are . To help us out.
Don't say I haven't ever doneanything for you. Okay, now
close your eyes. Woo . Okay,yeah, no, that's uh , I might
(20:08):
have some, just a little bit ofa fear of a hype. So what are
we doing? We are gonna doublecheck the , our shoes are
tight. We've double checked thewire. Go through the list in
your head. You grab the poleand you take the first step.
(20:31):
You don't immediately die. Soyou take another step and each
step you take out onto the wirefrom that point reinforces the
action you took before our windnoises start to go away. As we
start to think about the wireunderneath us and how it feels
(20:54):
under our feet, we canvisualize all the other times
we've done this successfullyand understand that even though
we're much higher, the skillsaren't inherently different.
But for us, instead of falling,we risk losing a friend
(21:14):
ruffling feathers or maybestarting a fire. But isn't that
the crux of being an artist?
It's about leaping out of thebox and making a splash and
crafting something that can'tbe forgotten. But here's the
twist. It really isn't allabout the adrenaline of
defiance or being offbeat justfor the heck of it . Thinking
(21:38):
about petite and his high wirewalking, it's about finding
your unique rhythm, your voiceamongst the den . For petite,
the familiar was his highwirewalking. There was nothing
particularly unique about it.
Well, unique for us becausewe're not highwire walkers. But
(21:59):
for him, that's what he did .
The shockingly new aspect tothis was that he turned it into
a heist and he broke into thebuildings and he strung a high
wire higher than anyone hadbefore. Think about it like
spicing up your go-to comfortdish with a whole bunch of
(22:19):
sriracha. It's familiar, butthe kick makes it into a
memory. But I mentioned that Ithink that there's things that
we could learn from both sidesof the high wire . The journey
is also a path toself-discovery. As we walk out
onto the tightrope, we start tounravel what matters to us and
(22:42):
what message we want to convey.
It's Joseph Campbell's Hero'sJourney. The more you walk the
line, the more sure footage youbecome, sure you're gonna
wobble and maybe even fall off,and that's all part of the
dance. But each time you findyour footing, you emerge a
little more vital and a littlemore audacious and a little
(23:04):
more bold. But when you get tothe other side and you're a
changed person, you can neverrecover that side of who you
were. You can't go back. Theremight be some loss there, but
it also creates new growthopportunities. I've been
excited to see a new musicsampling company out in the
world called Crow Hill .
(23:25):
Christian Henson, the founder,went through a tightrope walk
of his own last year. He, hewould suggest probably not so
artfully, wandered into thetrans debate as a parent
dealing with family struggles.
He had good intentions, but hegot caught up in the firestorm
and was forced to leave. Theprevious company he'd founded
(23:46):
watching a video last night, Isaw him talking about the fact
that he's recently discoveredthat he's ADHD, and he's a
little bit older than I am, butreally rings true. Before I was
diagnosed, I had definitelydone some stupid things and
shot my mouth off in ways that, uh, not that I don't anymore,
(24:07):
but am a little more aware ofbecause I understand how my
brain works a little better.
When all this happened, hissocial media went dead. His
YouTube channel went dead, andChristian went radio silent ,
(24:31):
then almost outta nowhere aftermonths.
Speaker 10 (24:37):
So the last six months been on gardening leaf
thing is, I hate gardening.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
An announcement of this new company. He's still
writing the new story and it'sjust gotten started and it's
exciting, but he can't crossthe highway or back to where he
was before he walked off theledge. So as we go out further
into the interplay of art andideology, we need to not shy
(25:11):
away from the importance of thetightrope. Let's embrace it
wholeheartedly. Let's createart that's not just observed or
heard, but deeply felt art thatdoesn't just exist, art that
pulsates with life. Remember,it's not only about making
(25:35):
something, it's about sparkinga reaction. So
Speaker 10 (25:38):
I'm starting something new and it's built
around people other thangardening. This is what
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Forging a memory, crafting an experience, yeah,
it's daunting, it'sunpredictable, but that's where
the eventize , and if you neverwalk outta the tightrope,
you'll never discover what it'sactually like.
Speaker 11 (26:02):
Intersectionality and artistic expression.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Let's return to that intersectionality I mentioned
at the beginning of the episode. It's traditionally a
framework for understanding howaspects of a person's social
and political identitiescombine to create different
modes of discrimination andoppression. It emphasizes that
multiple sources of oppression,disadvantaged people, their
(26:27):
race, their class, their genderidentity, their sexual
orientation, their religion,and other identity markers.
Intersectionality recognizesthat the characteristics that
identify us don't existindependently. Each informs the
others, often creating acomplex convergence of
oppression. Ironically andweirdly, I kind of see it like
(26:49):
the biggest loser, but notabout losing weight. The more
intersections you have, themore oppressed you are and the
more value or importance ofyour message. I don't wanna
make light of it because therereally is oppression that
exists and self-reflection andunderstanding the things that
affect who we are can bevaluable tools for development
(27:12):
and growth. But there's anAlice in Wonderland aspect
where everything up is down andit makes it hard for me to
understand. Thinking about itfrom the personal development
standpoint, though, there aresome positives we could take
away from thinkingintersectionally. It helps us
develop empathy in a deeperunderstanding of the experience
(27:34):
of others, especially those whodo face multiple forms of
discrimination. It brings aricher, more nuanced
perspective to social issuesand personal experiences. It
highlights the complexity anddiversity of human life in
creative fields.
Intersectionality can enhanceartistic expression by
providing a framework forexploring and articulating
(27:56):
complex experiences andidentities. It promotes
inclusivity and representationby acknowledging giving voice
to diverse experiences andidentity, and that really is a
positive I, I don't want tocompletely get down on this,
but while researching for theepisode, I searched Thomas. So
in intersectionality, I wascurious because Sowell has
(28:19):
spent a lot of his careertrying to understand racial
disparities. He uses aneconomic and sociological lens
to do that study, but anessential tool in that tool set
is something called epistemichumility. Epistemic humility is
an intellectual virtue. Itacknowledges that we have
(28:39):
limitations to our knowledgeand understanding. It's about
admitting that we may not haveall the answers, and that our
perspectives are always subjectto change by the introduction
of new information. Epistemichumility forces me to admit
that I might write a differentepisode of this podcast a year
from now. What I understand andknow will differ from what I
(29:04):
understand and know now, the methat's then is not completely
the me that's now, that's not aweakness. It's actually a
strength, particularly as anartist. It allows me to humble
myself and confidently say thatI am trying my best and also
allows me to forgive myself fornot writing this version of the
(29:27):
episode at an earlier point inmy life. For Sol , it forces
him to acknowledge thatstructural discrimination can
contribute to disparitiesbetween groups, but also
understand the differencesalone. Don't conclusively prove
that discrimination. Headvocates, that we have to have
a multi-angle expiration ofinequality where discrimination
(29:51):
is just one of the causes. It'sa sign, hopefully, of maturity
and a deep understanding of thefact that the world is
inherently complex. So how dowe take all of these things and
apply it to our art? In art,intersectionality can be seen
(30:13):
not just in the confluence ofsocietal factors, but as a
reflection on our complexpersonal identities. It's about
recognizing the overlappingaspects of our lives, our
ideologies, our experiences,our cultural backgrounds, and
how they contribute to the waywe express ourselves
artistically. The approachencourages us to explore and
(30:35):
articulate the diverse facetsin our work. Our differences
enrich what we bring to theworld.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
The Venn diagram of creative self.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Imagine your identity as a personal Venn
diagram where differentspheres, your beliefs, your
heritage, your passionsintersect. This
intersectionality is where yourunique artist voice lies. Scott
Adams might call it skillstacking. For him, he was
talking about the idea that ifyou're a public speaker and an
(31:06):
accountant, that is a differentstack than if you are just an
accountant or just a publicspeaker. That intersectionality
of skill stacking creates a newthing. You might not be the
best accountant or the bestpublic speaker, but you might
be the best public speakingaccountant, and we do a
(31:27):
disservice to the people aroundus. When we ignore some aspect
of our Venn diagram, we createa slightly perverted view of
the world that we're presentingbecause it's inauthentic to who
we are. It's kind of likewalking out onto that high wire
, but instead, we've got extrawires on both sides running
(31:49):
through a shoulder plate thatwe're wearing. We couldn't fall
if we wanted to, and peopledon't know that we're not
bringing our whole self to thework. It's movie magic, but
it's inauthentic. But when weincorporate epistemic humility
into that Venn diagram , ourartistic practices acknowledge
(32:11):
that our unique interpretationsand perceptions influence our
work, and we can recognize thatour art reflects our filtered
understanding of the world.
Epistemic humility in art alsomeans valuing multiple
perspectives. It encourages usto engage with different
viewpoints. Even those wedisagree with, understanding
(32:32):
that they too hold a piece ofthe complex puzzle of human
experience. I don't loveintersectionality. It bothers
me that the only tool that ituses is oppression. The world
is more complicated than that,but I can also see that there
are positive things that I cantake from it. Learning to be
more open to other experiencesover time can foster a more
(32:55):
inclusive, artistic communitywhere diverse voices feel safer
to be themselves, andexperiences are heard and
appreciated for their uniquecontributions. Not that we need
more analogies, but in farmingthey'd refer to a lack of
diversity. As a monoculture,you can win big that way, but
(33:15):
you can also deplete your soilbecause you've created an
unnatural ecosystem. Ourcultural soil is depleted in
part because of the lack ofmixed viewpoints. Anyway, both
the philosophy of science andart. Epistemic humility reminds
us that our observations andcreations will be something
(33:37):
we're constantly filteringthrough our own knowledge.
Recognizing that helps usapproach our work with
curiosity and openness. Thisweek, I want you to engage in a
two-part reflection. First,think about how your art and
your beliefs intersect. Haveyou felt the pressure to
(33:57):
conform? Have you noticedexternal influences shaping
your work? Second, startobserving the gatekeeping
around you. Pay attention tothe elevated voices in those
silenced both in the artisticcommunity and the other
communities that you're a partof. I really hope you'll share
your observations andexperiences with us as we
(34:19):
prepare to dive deep into theimpact of gatekeeping. Next
episode, we're gonna be talkingabout gatekeeping in the arts.
We'll, we'll examine howcreative expression is
influenced and and sometimesconstrained by prevailing
ideologies and societal norms.
More importantly, how we mightall be able to better navigate
around it. Your artisticjourney is as unique as you
(34:43):
are, your individual beliefsand experiences in Rich it.
Thanks for sticking with me. Tothe end, I would love to hear
what you think. You can find meat Nosis knows on all the
various social platforms. Inbetween podcast episodes. I put
up other smaller monologues andthoughts on Instagram and
(35:03):
YouTube. There's a lot to diginto. If you haven't subscribed
yet, make sure you do, and ifyou're willing, leave a review.
It's super helpful. You canalso reach me by email at
nosis@nosisknows.com , andremember to check out the
store@nosisknows.com for theart that I'm trying to bring my
(35:23):
whole self to. Till next time,remember,
Speaker 3 (35:28):
This podcast is copyright 2023 Brian Beam
Creative. Check out no sisnoss.com for all of no systems
, clothing and accessories. Wepublish episodes biweekly, as
well as other content onInstagram and YouTube. We hope
that you'll look into all of itand see beneath the surface.
How often do you find yourself in a mental tug
of war with your artistic soulon one side and your
ideological brain on the other?
If you're nodding along, you'rein good company. Something that
I've struggled with and it'skind of like we're all
undercover agents in the ColdWar of Creativity and belief
systems.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
There was
Speaker 3 (00:24):
No system.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
There is
Speaker 4 (00:28):
No system,
Speaker 3 (00:31):
No system. Episode nine, artistic Allegiances,
exploring the tightrope walkbetween personal beliefs and
artistic expression. To knowmore about no system , visit
nosy knows.com .
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Welcome back to There Is No System. I'm Brian
Beam , uh, motion designer,artist, musician, and art
director based in Austin,Texas. I'm currently the art
director at Emergent OrderFoundation and I spent many
years before that building theart department of Rooster Teeth
. If you'd like to see whatwe're up to at no system ,
check out nosy nos.com ,N-O-S-Y-S-K-N-O-W-S, and quick
(01:13):
heads up. I'm starting tobrainstorm some concepts for uh
, no System Patreon. If youhave any wild or wonderful
ideas or even just some showfeedback, drop me a note at
nosis@nosynos.com. That'll alsobe in the show notes. Today
we're diving head first into aseries of episodes on maybe not
(01:34):
the Spiciest topic, but alittle spicy balancing creating
art and your personal beliefs.
In my life and in therollercoaster that's been my
career, I've found myself drawnto artists and thinkers and
friends who see the worlddifferently than I do. It's
weird, right? Their views couldbe as different from mine as
(01:56):
oil and water, but there'ssomething in their work or just
who they are that just clicksevery election cycle. Some
musicians are angry thatsomeone is playing their music
with an opposing viewpoint andall the time between elections.
It's not like plenty of artistshide their opinions and refrain
from sharing their beliefs.
Most of the time, their sharingtends to trend one way, mainly
(02:19):
towards the left. Those wholean to the right either don't
think of themselves as artistsor aren't people currently in
the vanguard. I spent a lot oftime thinking about it as
someone who would identify as aclassical liberal. One of the
guys that , uh, has helped mythinking before he went through
his evangelical transformationwas a man named Frankie Shafer
(02:43):
and he wrote about howChristians should be impacting
art. Not a perfect analogy totalk about Christians in art
and right-leaning people inart, but I still think both
communities have strayed awayfrom the art world and as
someone who believes in theidea that Andrew Breitbart
preached that politics isdownstream from culture. If
(03:04):
we're gonna change the world,we need to impact it in the way
that the world is most greatlyimpacted, and that's making
great art. My ultimate goal forno system has been to encourage
people who may not have seenthemselves as someone who can
create and change their worlds.
I want someone to feel likethey have agency, and for the
(03:24):
record that's not necessarilyabout ideology. I want to do
what I can to foster amarketplace of ideas. We're
stronger when talking about andnot hiding the things we
believe in, and when one sideor another has a monopoly on
feeling free to talk abouttheir world, that's not a
healthy situation. One of theways I've been thinking about
(03:46):
the way we approach thecrossover of art and ideology
is to look at it through theidea of intersectionality. You
know, the buzzword, which isusually about identities
clashing. I actually thinkthere's a way to twist and
recontextualize it. Picturethis, what if instead of
looking at intersectionalitythrough the guise of how people
are oppressing and beingprejudiced against us, it's
(04:10):
about the unique cocktail ofour creative flare and personal
ideologies. I think that, and Iguess it's a Venn diagram, is
interesting and maybe I want totwist the definition of
intersectionality because Ithink it's destructive on some
level. I know I'm a middleaged, almost middle, upper
(04:32):
class white man , and exceptfor the fact that I have ADHD ,
which makes me neurodiverse, Ihave much less right , unquote
, to speak than someone else. Iwant opportunities for everyone
to participate and create, butI think there's more to it than
that. It's like finding outyour favorite drink is a mix of
(04:54):
two things you never thoughtwould go together. I guess I'm
trying to use my privilege todo good things in the world,
but back to Venn diagrams for asecond. Whether you're rocking
out to punk will advocating forconservative values or you're a
classical liberal who can't getenough of modern art, it's all
part of your unique story. It'swhat sets you apart and what
(05:18):
gives your art a uniquezinging. I joked about it
before, but I find quite a bitof inspiration in Austrian
economics. It's very differentfrom the design world, but I
still find a lot of things thatresonate inside of emergent
order. The company where Ispend my days started because
my boss, John Pola , foundeconomic papers impenetrable.
(05:40):
They're really not written forpeople to absorb. Well, not all
people, they have a lot ofwisdom in them, but ideas are
conveyed through storytelling,and storytelling isn't
something most economists aregood at. John was using his
daily commute to betterunderstand the 2008 financial
crisis. As he dug into papersand podcasts, he contacted
(06:01):
economist Russ Roberts tocollaborate on a project
unpacking John Maynard Kane'sand Friedrich Hayek's fight
over differing ideologies.
There's a good chance that ifyou lean libertarian, you've
probably seen the rap battlethey put together or one of its
sequels. One of the things Iappreciate about John , and
frankly he doesn't listen tothis podcast, so he probably
won't hear this, is that he wasable to bring his intellectual
(06:24):
wonkiness alongside hiscreativity. I remember seeing
the video when it firstappeared and being really
inspired by the idea that otherpeople like me were trying to
combine these things. I didn'tknow who the filmmakers were,
but I knew that I wanted toknow them, and now I guess I
do. So if you've ever felt likeyour own crowd might give you
(06:46):
the side eye for your mix andmatch approach to art and
beliefs, and you don't feellike you're necessarily allowed
to be who you are, I hope youfind this episode to be your
jam. My goal is that it's agreen light for you to break
the mold. We don't have to bejust one thing or another.
(07:06):
We're a wild, fabulous mix ofeverything. So let's stir the
pot and see what bubbles up.
Welcome to part one. It's timeto get started.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Section one, the artistic dilemma and tribal
wiring, the pull towardsideological tribes.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
So what's with our human obsession with
ideological tribes? It's notjust a random quirk or a
byproduct of bad luck. No, it'sall wired into our brains.
Think about our ancientancestors. For the most part,
they have the same brains. Wedo, well, not the same brains,
but brains that werefundamentally the same. When
(07:44):
you're looking at timescalesdevelopment, the difference
between the first people and uswhen you're talking about
geological timelines is, isreally nothing. They had the
instinct that straying from thetribe wasn't just socially
awkward, but a fast track tobecoming prehistoric. Kitty
chow Getting exiled was theoriginal game over. Think about
(08:10):
when you moved into a newplace. Those first few days,
you're in new surroundings andyou're not completely settled.
When you go to bed, you're onedge and that's your lizard
brain feeling uncomfortable.
It's your lizard brain keepingyou safe. It's the same
instinct. We still play bythose ancient rules. Our tribal
(08:34):
instincts haven't just poofedinto oblivion. In fact, in this
hyperconnected world, theirtribal drives are turbocharged.
We're forming communitiesfaster than ever are at least
online ones, but instead ofdodging saber tooth tigers,
we're navigating an ideologicaljungle. Think about your brain
(08:54):
as a secret agent. It's alwayson the lookout. It's guarding
your social standing like thecrown jewels and shaming is one
aspect of that tribalism. It'skicking someone out of the
tribe like white blood cellsattacking a perceived virus,
but in order to understand it,we're gonna have to grab our
(09:15):
metaphorical binoculars and goon a safari into the heart of
the creative wilderness. Let'ssee how our tribal wiring plays
out in the artistic realm andat what it means for those of
us that want to be the creativerebels in our world.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
The eternal struggle, creativity versus
conformity.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
When it comes to creativity, it's all about
kicking down boundaries, notpolitely stepping over them.
It's where your internalmonologue is all punk rock
while you're also secretlyhumming. Taylor Swift's love
story, no judgment, we all havethat one song that's our not so
guilty pleasure high school. Iwent through a Tom Jones phase.
There's, it's nothing quitelike crooning out. It's not
(09:57):
unusual. It is not unusual toread podcast scripts and yeah,
let's, let's not get started.
You , you don't want to hear mesinging right now, but our
ancient fear of being the oddone out can clash with our
burning desire to create andbreak the mold. The key is that
(10:21):
it's not about picking sides,but finding that sweet spot
where, where rebellion stopscompletely conflicting against
acceptance. Have you ever feltthat stomach twist when you're
on the edge of defying thenorm? That's your primal brain
going into meltdown soundingalarms left and right. It's
practically screaming. Warning,don't wander off or you'll be
(10:42):
the main course for a sabertooth tiger. But here's the
twist. If we always play itsafe and always color inside
the lines , can we truly callwhat we're making art when we
don't go far enough? It's whatFather Bronx from the Make Art
Not Content Podcast might callcontent. It's disposable. It
doesn't change anything. If wewanna create soul stirring art,
(11:07):
we have to intentionally skateon thin ice, something that I'm
still learning to do somethingthat isn't natural. I grew up
in Minnesota and every yearthere'd be some idiot on either
side of the freeze or thaw whowould drive their truck out
into a lake to get a day of icefishing in. All too often that
(11:28):
truck would go through the ice
Speaker 5 (11:30):
Officials in South Central Minnesota are warning
about thin ice. The BrownCounty Sheriff shared these
pictures of a truck that wentthrough the ice on Lake Ska,
which is south of New Walm .
Both people did make it outsafely, and they're now working
to try to pull that truck outof the water.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
The heart of no system is our bold dive into
intellectual curiosity, butwhen we drive out under the
ice, there's always the chancethat we're gonna break through.
Speaker 6 (11:56):
On Saturday, Brock says the parking lot was full,
so drivers started parking onthe lake. He watched from afar
as six vehicles fell throughthe ice and had to be a real di
.
Speaker 7 (12:06):
I felt bad for 'em because I mean, it can happen
to anybody, and they, theydidn't know that they shouldn't
have been parking out there.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
We flaunt our geekiness like a medal of
honor, but I'll admit sometimesI've tried too hard to blend
in. Instead of creating workthat was authentically no
system, I created designs thatwere fine, but not something
someone else could have done. Iwant people to like me just as
(12:34):
much as anyone else, andsometimes that's led me to
doing the safest and leastexciting thing, means that my
truck isn't gonna fall throughthe ice and
Speaker 7 (12:45):
We all wish and wait for us to be able to drive out
there.
Speaker 8 (12:49):
Don't park near the shore, just don't park near the
shore
Speaker 1 (12:53):
But it also means that I didn't get to go out on
the ice at all. Honestly. It'sa wild ride and it's a hard
ride. We've clicked with partsof our tribe and when I meet
someone that gets it, gets whatno system is about. It feels
like a really great, big, giantelectrical buzz. But the
(13:18):
thousand true fans that KevinKelly talks about, I think
we're still 995 away from it. Ithink that's in part due to my
hesitations to own who I am.
It's put the brakes on ourgrowth. I look up to the likes
of Bob Dylan and Frida Kahloand David Bowie. They flip
(13:39):
norms and expectations on theirheads. I , I will never
completely understand theability to just run into the
storm. I'm sure they wereafraid, but the secret is that
as much as I crave to channelthe boldness that they all had,
the shadow of being too boldand the fear of its impact on
(14:01):
me and my family hangs over myhead, is pushing the envelope
too hard to gamble? Is it toobig? I'm always in a balancing
act, a tug of war betweendaring and caution, between
blazing new trails and the fearthat's always somewhere in the
(14:21):
back of my head of only everbeing a Willie Lohman. He's the
character from Norman Mailer'sPlay Death of a Salesman. If
you haven't seen the PBSadaptation with Dustin Hoffman,
it's worth seeing
Speaker 9 (14:34):
I and right I'm die , but than I'm Willie Loman .
Willie Loman never earned a lotof money. His name was never in
the paper. He's not the finestcharacter that ever lived.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
It's a fine line.
Actually, you know what? It'snot even a fine line. It's a
giant chasm, and I'm stilllearning how to evil canvel my
way back and forth. But everytime you bury your soul and
your work, it's like rollingthe dice. People gonna get it.
Are they gonna vibe with it orare we just gonna get blank
(15:06):
stares? Or even worse, thebacklash isn't that the essence
of impactful art? Impactful artstirs the pot. It evokes. It
provokes. I'll never have thesheer audacity of an edge, Lord
, but some days I wish I hadsome of their chutzpah. I won't
(15:28):
sugarcoat it. It's daunting.
You're serving a slice of yoursoul on a platter and you're
not sure if it's gonna besavored or it's gonna be spat
out, but I've also kind of cometo see those butterflies as a
good omen. If I'm feelingjittery about something I'm
about to unleash, there's agood chance. It's because it
(15:48):
matters. It's my gut nudgingme, Hey, this could be big for
what it's worth, and I hopethat means that it's something
I've got butterflies in mystomach while I'm writing this.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
The price of authentic expression,
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Each time you take a risk, however small and you
come out unscathed, it feels alittle less daunting the next
time. It's like flexing amuscle. The more you exercise
the beefier that muscle gets,you start small, you survive
and then you think, okay, wellmaybe I can crank it up a
(16:24):
little bit more the next time.
Recently at work, we had avideo essay on the emergent
order channel called America'sBarbarian Children. It was John
talking about how he feels andthe collegiate response to the
recent tragedy in Israel thatparents have a responsibility
to their children to raise themnot to celebrate violence or
(16:48):
condemn the injured assuppressors who got what they
deserved. The comment sectionon the video, both on the
emergent order channel, andlater when we re-released it on
our dad says , America Channelhas really heartened me. I
didn't know what would happen,but people have engaged with it
and overall had a primarilypositive discussion, even if
(17:11):
they disagreed, and that's thekind of exercise that I'm
talking about. I'm not sayingthat everything needs to be a
polemic, but we also shouldn'tshy away from larger
discussions. And the more weput out into the world, the
more we bring ourselves to whatwe put out into the world, the
(17:32):
more opportunities we have toexercise and practice. And
aside from the downsides, therereally is an upside. The risky
stuff is the stuff thatconnects. It's the stuff with a
better chance of hitting homelike striking gold. It goes
beyond just avoiding a flop.
It's about igniting a spark, athought, a feeling, a shift.
(17:58):
Your work starts to resonate ona deeper level. Putting your
cards out on the table mightexpose you to criticism and
even rejection, but it's alsothe pathway to the good stuff
like real connections andmoments of shared
understanding. Our goal reallyshould be for our art to make
(18:18):
someone pause, reflect, or, orfeel something profound, and
that's when I know that I'monto something special. The
first time that someone reactedto my not greater than less
than symbol was one of thosemoments. That one was about me
having the guts to declare,this is me. Take it or leave
(18:39):
it. A side note, we also don'thave to be an as we're laying
it out on the table. Imentioned that flexing this
muscle can be scary. So let'suse a dangerous analogy that's
a little scary, like tightropewalking. There's a documentary
called Man on Wire. It waslater remade into the Robert
(19:01):
Zeus . Joseph Gordon Levittfilmed the walk about a French
highwire artist who walked ahighwire between the World
Trade Center buildings. It'sthe first step. That's the
worst, right? Okay, the laststep is realistically the
worst, but let's remainoptimistic. The safest place is
on either side of the wire. Iactually think there are points
(19:23):
to make on both sides of thewire, but the one we're
interested in right thisinstant is the one before we
walk out. Philippe Petit, the25 year old performer is
standing at the edge of theWorld Trade Center, 1,300 feet
in the sky. Close your eyes andimagine yourself looking down.
(19:46):
You with me? Did your stomachjust drop? Do I need to bring
in some wind sounds? Oh , therethey are . To help us out.
Don't say I haven't ever doneanything for you. Okay, now
close your eyes. Woo . Okay,yeah, no, that's uh , I might
(20:08):
have some, just a little bit ofa fear of a hype. So what are
we doing? We are gonna doublecheck the , our shoes are
tight. We've double checked thewire. Go through the list in
your head. You grab the poleand you take the first step.
(20:31):
You don't immediately die. Soyou take another step and each
step you take out onto the wirefrom that point reinforces the
action you took before our windnoises start to go away. As we
start to think about the wireunderneath us and how it feels
(20:54):
under our feet, we canvisualize all the other times
we've done this successfullyand understand that even though
we're much higher, the skillsaren't inherently different.
But for us, instead of falling,we risk losing a friend
(21:14):
ruffling feathers or maybestarting a fire. But isn't that
the crux of being an artist?
It's about leaping out of thebox and making a splash and
crafting something that can'tbe forgotten. But here's the
twist. It really isn't allabout the adrenaline of
defiance or being offbeat justfor the heck of it . Thinking
(21:38):
about petite and his high wirewalking, it's about finding
your unique rhythm, your voiceamongst the den . For petite,
the familiar was his highwirewalking. There was nothing
particularly unique about it.
Well, unique for us becausewe're not highwire walkers. But
(21:59):
for him, that's what he did .
The shockingly new aspect tothis was that he turned it into
a heist and he broke into thebuildings and he strung a high
wire higher than anyone hadbefore. Think about it like
spicing up your go-to comfortdish with a whole bunch of
(22:19):
sriracha. It's familiar, butthe kick makes it into a
memory. But I mentioned that Ithink that there's things that
we could learn from both sidesof the high wire . The journey
is also a path toself-discovery. As we walk out
onto the tightrope, we start tounravel what matters to us and
(22:42):
what message we want to convey.
It's Joseph Campbell's Hero'sJourney. The more you walk the
line, the more sure footage youbecome, sure you're gonna
wobble and maybe even fall off,and that's all part of the
dance. But each time you findyour footing, you emerge a
little more vital and a littlemore audacious and a little
(23:04):
more bold. But when you get tothe other side and you're a
changed person, you can neverrecover that side of who you
were. You can't go back. Theremight be some loss there, but
it also creates new growthopportunities. I've been
excited to see a new musicsampling company out in the
world called Crow Hill .
(23:25):
Christian Henson, the founder,went through a tightrope walk
of his own last year. He, hewould suggest probably not so
artfully, wandered into thetrans debate as a parent
dealing with family struggles.
He had good intentions, but hegot caught up in the firestorm
and was forced to leave. Theprevious company he'd founded
(23:46):
watching a video last night, Isaw him talking about the fact
that he's recently discoveredthat he's ADHD, and he's a
little bit older than I am, butreally rings true. Before I was
diagnosed, I had definitelydone some stupid things and
shot my mouth off in ways that, uh, not that I don't anymore,
(24:07):
but am a little more aware ofbecause I understand how my
brain works a little better.
When all this happened, hissocial media went dead. His
YouTube channel went dead, andChristian went radio silent ,
(24:31):
then almost outta nowhere aftermonths.
Speaker 10 (24:37):
So the last six months been on gardening leaf
thing is, I hate gardening.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
An announcement of this new company. He's still
writing the new story and it'sjust gotten started and it's
exciting, but he can't crossthe highway or back to where he
was before he walked off theledge. So as we go out further
into the interplay of art andideology, we need to not shy
(25:11):
away from the importance of thetightrope. Let's embrace it
wholeheartedly. Let's createart that's not just observed or
heard, but deeply felt art thatdoesn't just exist, art that
pulsates with life. Remember,it's not only about making
(25:35):
something, it's about sparkinga reaction. So
Speaker 10 (25:38):
I'm starting something new and it's built
around people other thangardening. This is what
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Forging a memory, crafting an experience, yeah,
it's daunting, it'sunpredictable, but that's where
the eventize , and if you neverwalk outta the tightrope,
you'll never discover what it'sactually like.
Speaker 11 (26:02):
Intersectionality and artistic expression.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Let's return to that intersectionality I mentioned
at the beginning of the episode. It's traditionally a
framework for understanding howaspects of a person's social
and political identitiescombine to create different
modes of discrimination andoppression. It emphasizes that
multiple sources of oppression,disadvantaged people, their
(26:27):
race, their class, their genderidentity, their sexual
orientation, their religion,and other identity markers.
Intersectionality recognizesthat the characteristics that
identify us don't existindependently. Each informs the
others, often creating acomplex convergence of
oppression. Ironically andweirdly, I kind of see it like
(26:49):
the biggest loser, but notabout losing weight. The more
intersections you have, themore oppressed you are and the
more value or importance ofyour message. I don't wanna
make light of it because therereally is oppression that
exists and self-reflection andunderstanding the things that
affect who we are can bevaluable tools for development
(27:12):
and growth. But there's anAlice in Wonderland aspect
where everything up is down andit makes it hard for me to
understand. Thinking about itfrom the personal development
standpoint, though, there aresome positives we could take
away from thinkingintersectionally. It helps us
develop empathy in a deeperunderstanding of the experience
(27:34):
of others, especially those whodo face multiple forms of
discrimination. It brings aricher, more nuanced
perspective to social issuesand personal experiences. It
highlights the complexity anddiversity of human life in
creative fields.
Intersectionality can enhanceartistic expression by
providing a framework forexploring and articulating
(27:56):
complex experiences andidentities. It promotes
inclusivity and representationby acknowledging giving voice
to diverse experiences andidentity, and that really is a
positive I, I don't want tocompletely get down on this,
but while researching for theepisode, I searched Thomas. So
in intersectionality, I wascurious because Sowell has
(28:19):
spent a lot of his careertrying to understand racial
disparities. He uses aneconomic and sociological lens
to do that study, but anessential tool in that tool set
is something called epistemichumility. Epistemic humility is
an intellectual virtue. Itacknowledges that we have
(28:39):
limitations to our knowledgeand understanding. It's about
admitting that we may not haveall the answers, and that our
perspectives are always subjectto change by the introduction
of new information. Epistemichumility forces me to admit
that I might write a differentepisode of this podcast a year
from now. What I understand andknow will differ from what I
(29:04):
understand and know now, the methat's then is not completely
the me that's now, that's not aweakness. It's actually a
strength, particularly as anartist. It allows me to humble
myself and confidently say thatI am trying my best and also
allows me to forgive myself fornot writing this version of the
(29:27):
episode at an earlier point inmy life. For Sol , it forces
him to acknowledge thatstructural discrimination can
contribute to disparitiesbetween groups, but also
understand the differencesalone. Don't conclusively prove
that discrimination. Headvocates, that we have to have
a multi-angle expiration ofinequality where discrimination
(29:51):
is just one of the causes. It'sa sign, hopefully, of maturity
and a deep understanding of thefact that the world is
inherently complex. So how dowe take all of these things and
apply it to our art? In art,intersectionality can be seen
(30:13):
not just in the confluence ofsocietal factors, but as a
reflection on our complexpersonal identities. It's about
recognizing the overlappingaspects of our lives, our
ideologies, our experiences,our cultural backgrounds, and
how they contribute to the waywe express ourselves
artistically. The approachencourages us to explore and
(30:35):
articulate the diverse facetsin our work. Our differences
enrich what we bring to theworld.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
The Venn diagram of creative self.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Imagine your identity as a personal Venn
diagram where differentspheres, your beliefs, your
heritage, your passionsintersect. This
intersectionality is where yourunique artist voice lies. Scott
Adams might call it skillstacking. For him, he was
talking about the idea that ifyou're a public speaker and an
(31:06):
accountant, that is a differentstack than if you are just an
accountant or just a publicspeaker. That intersectionality
of skill stacking creates a newthing. You might not be the
best accountant or the bestpublic speaker, but you might
be the best public speakingaccountant, and we do a
(31:27):
disservice to the people aroundus. When we ignore some aspect
of our Venn diagram, we createa slightly perverted view of
the world that we're presentingbecause it's inauthentic to who
we are. It's kind of likewalking out onto that high wire
, but instead, we've got extrawires on both sides running
(31:49):
through a shoulder plate thatwe're wearing. We couldn't fall
if we wanted to, and peopledon't know that we're not
bringing our whole self to thework. It's movie magic, but
it's inauthentic. But when weincorporate epistemic humility
into that Venn diagram , ourartistic practices acknowledge
(32:11):
that our unique interpretationsand perceptions influence our
work, and we can recognize thatour art reflects our filtered
understanding of the world.
Epistemic humility in art alsomeans valuing multiple
perspectives. It encourages usto engage with different
viewpoints. Even those wedisagree with, understanding
(32:32):
that they too hold a piece ofthe complex puzzle of human
experience. I don't loveintersectionality. It bothers
me that the only tool that ituses is oppression. The world
is more complicated than that,but I can also see that there
are positive things that I cantake from it. Learning to be
more open to other experiencesover time can foster a more
(32:55):
inclusive, artistic communitywhere diverse voices feel safer
to be themselves, andexperiences are heard and
appreciated for their uniquecontributions. Not that we need
more analogies, but in farmingthey'd refer to a lack of
diversity. As a monoculture,you can win big that way, but
(33:15):
you can also deplete your soilbecause you've created an
unnatural ecosystem. Ourcultural soil is depleted in
part because of the lack ofmixed viewpoints. Anyway, both
the philosophy of science andart. Epistemic humility reminds
us that our observations andcreations will be something
(33:37):
we're constantly filteringthrough our own knowledge.
Recognizing that helps usapproach our work with
curiosity and openness. Thisweek, I want you to engage in a
two-part reflection. First,think about how your art and
your beliefs intersect. Haveyou felt the pressure to
(33:57):
conform? Have you noticedexternal influences shaping
your work? Second, startobserving the gatekeeping
around you. Pay attention tothe elevated voices in those
silenced both in the artisticcommunity and the other
communities that you're a partof. I really hope you'll share
your observations andexperiences with us as we
(34:19):
prepare to dive deep into theimpact of gatekeeping. Next
episode, we're gonna be talkingabout gatekeeping in the arts.
We'll, we'll examine howcreative expression is
influenced and and sometimesconstrained by prevailing
ideologies and societal norms.
More importantly, how we mightall be able to better navigate
around it. Your artisticjourney is as unique as you
(34:43):
are, your individual beliefsand experiences in Rich it.
Thanks for sticking with me. Tothe end, I would love to hear
what you think. You can find meat Nosis knows on all the
various social platforms. Inbetween podcast episodes. I put
up other smaller monologues andthoughts on Instagram and
(35:03):
YouTube. There's a lot to diginto. If you haven't subscribed
yet, make sure you do, and ifyou're willing, leave a review.
It's super helpful. You canalso reach me by email at
nosis@nosisknows.com , andremember to check out the
store@nosisknows.com for theart that I'm trying to bring my
(35:23):
whole self to. Till next time,remember,
Speaker 3 (35:28):
This podcast is copyright 2023 Brian Beam
Creative. Check out no sisnoss.com for all of no systems
, clothing and accessories. Wepublish episodes biweekly, as
well as other content onInstagram and YouTube. We hope
that you'll look into all of itand see beneath the surface.
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