IDEAS AND ADVICE

THE GREAT BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH GIVES ADVICE

OR WHY WE SHOULD READ AND NOT LISTEN

BY JOEL MURNAN

LOOK AT THAT MAN READ

The genre of advising young artists is extremely old but its first modern appearance begins with Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. Since then successful artists have been dispensing useful wisdom to untutored youths for years and only for the small price of a paperback. This passing down of tips and tricks for a successful art career has become a publishing industry standard and most likely will be found in the hands of a new artist on graduation day. (Thanks Mom!) For young artists and their parents, there is a strong desire to know the formula (as if there could be one) of how to be a great artist. With a yearning for the secret comes a product to sell.

Do we actually think that within these how-to books lies a profound statement that will make us the next great artist? The image of Jackson Pollock smoking a cigarette and reading The New York Times bestseller, Steal Like an Artist is laughable. The genre is meant to make you think that there are answers to becoming a great artist. There may be only one true piece of worthy advice and that comes to us via the incredulous Shia LaBeouf who hulked out and yelled over and over again in front of a green screen, “DO IT!” Now, I’m sure many of us find taking advice from a mentally unstable, rat tail wielding, C-level Hollywood talent to be somewhat disarming, but he has a point and that point is reiterated by two more venerable artists from before his time: Sol LeWitt and Eva Hesse.

I need advice

Hesse wrote to LeWitt for guidance about her experience with artist’s block and self-doubt. He responded with a statement that comes in the form of two words, “JUST DO!” But why would LeWitt give such absurdly vague advice? Is this just another edgy minimalist ploy? There are a lot of questions surrounding LeWitt’s guidance to Hesse. “JUST DO!” sounds like another awful piece of advice for a young artist, but the advice turns out to be both quite simple and yet tremendously complicated.

I am absolutely amazed by LeWitt and Hesse’s conversation, and cringe when it is performed by Cumberbatch for an audience of adoring fans. Cumberbatch’s approach is actually in opposition to LeWitt’s ideas and undermines them. His method is close to the character Mac’s strange goals in the sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, “Laughs are cheap, man. I'm going for gasps. Gasps are where it's at” ("The Nightman Cometh"). Gasps are exactly what Benedict is going for, at least for that part of his audience that comprises suburban wives and Marvel boys. By changing the tone of the letter through exaggeration, he completely dismantles the nuances of LeWitt’s ideas.

I've got some advice

This written correspondence was meant for Hesse’s eyes only so it is understandable how this might happen, though I feel Cumberbatch is to blame. And if you read most of the fanboy comments you can see the problem. Here’s a typical bit from Tami Lapp:

I am totally convinced this man can do no wrong when it comes to performing. Movies, TV, theater, audio...even reading a letter...he is remarkably talented. Brilliant! Fantastic job on the accent, too. Not to mention he is extremely easy on this girl’s eyes!!!

Now I don’t hate the Batch! But what I do hate is the way his performance LeWitt’s advice. So, don’t take my word for it, just listen to this man intone and bellow as if he were gunning for an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor giving Advice to a Young Artist:

It’s in everyone's best interest that before we discuss what is good about Lewitt's advice to address what is bad about it. LeWitt is a conceptual artist and this advice should be treated in the same way. It's a concept. This is not step-by-step advice contrary to what the Youtube comments say, (“You have no idea how much this video encouraged me. Thank you so much. I must stop thinking and learn being dumb and just, do” (Cal Kestis)). LeWitt’s advice is not literal and it is a mistake to think so despite the absolute Cumbatchinan power with which he tries to sell it.

For a moment, if we can get past the voice, think about Lewitt’s process. His work is based on thinking and actualizing an idea. He sends extremely vague directions to a museum or gallery to recreate his wall drawing works because he’s acutely aware that each space is different and offers radically different expressions for his work to take on. That idea comes from thinking and frankly thinking a lot. When I say thinking a lot, I mean exactly that. Take a look at his series Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes. LeWitt runs through 122 different ways to construct a basic cube. I challenge you to draw as many as you can.

I challenge you

LeWitt’s first piece of advice to Hesse is “Learn to say ‘Fuck You’ to the world once in a while” While that is a blunt and possibly silly statement, sometimes it’s just the thing artists need to hear. As humans, we face a ridiculous amount of adversity. As artists even more. You’ll experience bad pay, no pay, lies, corruption, underappreciation, and frustration all while working two other jobs just to stay alive. Did I forget to mention the student debt? And to what end? Just so you can create something special? I ask myself everyday “where did the Medici family go?” (I’m looking at you, Jeff Bezos.) To produce art, you’re going to have to deal with these frustrations and to do that you will need motivation. But here’s the thing, that motivation is not always there: that’s Hesse’s problem.

The good news is that these frustrations can propel you forward. If you take LeWitt’s advice shout “Fuck You” to all of your problems and frustrations (and ex’s) to make work in spite of the unjust world we live in. Frustration can be a freeing experience. This is the opposite of what Cumberbatch’s reading suggests. The man is an Actor, not an artist, and his performance suggests that he is used to getting paid and paid a lot. His first million eliminated the stress. LeWitt and Hesse never had that luxury. His understanding of acting destroys what actually is said and felt. A fundamental difference between performance and fine art is that performance is a performance, it’s one-dimensional and designed for effect.

LeWitt’s next piece of advice comes in the form of a flood of emotions and deserves to be dwelled on, “Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, grasping, confusing, itchin, scratching, mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling, numbling, rumbling, gambling, tumbling, scumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching, moaning, groaning, honing, boning, horse-shitting, hair-splitting, nit-picking, piss-trickling, nose sticking, ass-gouging, eyeball-poking, finger-pointing, alleyway-sneaking, long waiting, small stepping, evil-eyeing, back-scratching, searching, perching, besmirching, grinding, grinding, grinding away at yourself. Stop it and JUST DO!” Cumberbatch really takes over this line as his big moment and by doing so crushes LeWitt’s concerns. Cumberbatch performs this list with an intensity usually reserved for Hamlet’s last lines as he dies. This is advice about how to live, not how to get a standing ovation.

I want an Oscar!!!!!

What LeWitt means is that he knows all too well what Hesse is feeling. Self-doubt challenges every artist, especially the great ones. Questions like: Will I ever have a new idea? Will I ever be recognized? Does anyone actually care? Only your mother, bucko. These are questions Cumberbatch clearly never thinks about. The answers to them are scary but it is not up to us to answer them. In fact, when artists try to, we run into all the feelings LeWitt lists above. Frankly, the best artists erase these questions from their sketchbooks and [just draw] something instead. fear takes [you] away from your work. To push past the insecurities we must stop thinking, stop chipping away at ourselves and focus on one action or as LeWitt puts it, “JUST DO!” If this was read internally instead of performed aloud it would slow the Cumberbatchian effect and allow us to understand the real nature of LeWitt’s advice.

LeWitt goes on to examine Hesse’s work (can you imagine Cumberbatch examining anything? He notes her sense of the nonsensical and his appreciation for it. As he focuses her weird humor he lands on a profound statement, “You belong in the most secret part of you. Don’t worry about cool, make your own uncool. Make your own, your own world. If you fear, make it work for you – draw & paint your fear and anxiety.” As young artists, we are often caught up in moments of making work that we see as cool and trendy. We want immediate attention, in the way that Cumberbatch does. That isn’t what art is about. The best art is the kind that is made for oneself.

Happy at last

If an artist focuses on style it will only be a token of the period. Art should be made without any notions of aspirational payoff. Do not think about the success you want but rather the pleasure of creation. That’s advice worthy of being read by Cumberbatch.

©Joel MurNan and the CCA Arts Review