Perception
Saturday, March 18, 1995 - 3:55pm
So what is the role of feedback and external affirmation for my creativity? I have talked about it before - I strongly rely on Colette to give me objective feedback after a period of intense creativity. Without it, I am blinded by my nearness to the work. Yet I know it goes beyond just one other opinion. When I finished my animation, I didn't feel entirely satisfied. I knew that I could do better, yet I was constrained by the number of hours that I could work on it. After all, it was a commercial piece, and the deadline and the time/cost cap overrides any impulse to make it 'perfect' (which is obviously unattainable anyway). Even without the commercial constraints, when do you reach a state of 'perfection?'
In the past, my perception of a piece invariably changed over time - sometimes for better, more often for worse. This is in part due to my improving skills, so I often feel that I can do better now than before. Part of it is the objectivity granted by time and distance. Part is my changing 'taste.' None of these variables are going to go away any time soon, so I suppose I will always have a changing opinion on my own work. So does that imply that no work will ever reach perfection in my mind? What does that leave but the opinion of others?
In the case of the animation, the clients turned out to be quite pleased with the work. Part of my uncertainty was from not fully knowing their expectations - what level of quality were they expecting? Did they have a realistic expectation for what could be achieved, especially within the imposed time and cost constraints? What is 'realistic?' Someone with greater skill, talent or perhaps pure efficiency/diligence could perhaps turn out a better product in the same amount of time. Then again, many others could not... it's all so relative...
[ Out of Balance ]
author: Gerry
Manacsa
copyright 1996