Strategic Serendipity
Seized luck creates magic
Seizing an unexpected opportunity, especially in the arts, is one surefire way to inspire awe. It leads people to ask “How did you do that though?” Because naturally, to them, there’s no clear answer to the mystery other than the one they don’t count on: pure luck.
The other end of this spectrum is the grinding of pure strategy. Being open and committed to both ends seems to be key.
But in observing both ends of this spectrum, I come to the conclusion that the purest form of humanity’s artistic magic comes from creating something that feels like it could only have happened through random luck, when in actuality, it was achieved through pure creative strategy. Of course, this is also the basis of magic. No surprise there. Because that’s the other thing that people don’t often count on - how creative their fellow human can actually be.
I think of the wind rushing over the tall grass in the opening to Tarkovsky’s 1975 film, The Mirror. This was a moment I watched and thought, ‘Wow, what are the chances of capturing the most unpredictable element of nature in such a perfectly timed and directed way?’ Only to later discover that Tarkovsky flew a helicopter just above the frame to create these gusts of wind in the exact way he wanted them.
I strive for a fragment of this reaction with everything I create. In many ways, I believe this is the abstract chase that keeps me, and many others, addicted to creating art. And if you haven’t yet tried to chase it too, in any way, in anything, art or elsewhere, I recommend doing so.
Notice what shifts.
The Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975)
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky was a sculptor of time.