Paris Letter #99 Art Lessons from Karl Lagerfeld
With the recent passing of Karl Lagerfeld, the creative head honcho behind Chanel, I found myself binge watching documentaries about him on YouTube. At first, I was going to list a bunch of poignant quotes like I did when our beloved Anthony Bourdain passed. But unlike Bourdain, Lagerfeld wasn't as eloquent in his delivery, and a lot of the things he said were rude.However, I can name ten people on my right hand that say rude things just like Lagerfeld, but unlike Lagerfeld, they sit around and do jack all day. Lagerfeld was one accomplished dude. So instead, I focused on what we could learn creatively from this guy, rather than quote him.1. His failures were guide posts. His mother told him he had no real talent for playing piano and suggested he take up drawing. It was quieter. Just watching him sketch has already made me a better sketcher. Thank goodness he wasn't much of a piano player.2. His bookshelf was horizontal.
At first I was horrified, but then saw the genius of it. It's easier to read the spines. Duh. And each shelf isn't high, so he doesn't have more than a small handful of books to lift to get a book from the bottom of a pile. Plus he uses a few books as little separators between piles. Why oh why have I not thought of this?3. He employed Time Condensing Tools. The books are a clue. They are the seeds of his output. With a collection like this, you know this guy spent a lot of time lounging in bed and flipping pages. That is a lot of inspiration from around the world delivered into your hands without having to travel to get it. And with 10 collections a year to create, he had to condense time. It makes an argument for splurging at the museum gift shop.4. His motivation was an inner motivation, not an outer motivation. He said some nasty things about weight and women. No doubt. When he himself gained, he said that his inspiration for wanting to take off a few pounds was fashion. He loved fashion and wanted to look a certain way in his favourite clothes. That's all. That's enough. He wasn't motivated to shed pounds because of the judgemental gaze of The Other (unlike so many of us, myself included). This made me feel better about the whole subject.5. Don't focus so much on the end of something. People, places and things fall out of fashion or they die or change. That's life... *shoulder shrug* Now that my cancer treatments are complete, I have been living in fear that it will return. Somehow Karl's big shoulder shrug about things we can't control helps me relax... a bit. I still feel like I'm being chased by death and must do everything all at once, but I suppose we are all chased by death. I just have medical documents as evidence.
“One day it will be over and I don't care. As my mother used to say, 'There is one God for everybody and all the religions are shops”. Karl Lagerfeld
The March Paris Letter of ol' Karl is in my shop. I've also started taking commissions. I have said no to this in the past, but recently, I've had a handful of invitations to make original art for people. And I suppose after 99 Paris Letters, I know what I'm doing. If you're interested in a one of a kind piece of art, let me know over in the shop.PS Paris Letters ebook is still cheap as chips this month. Around $2.51 USD. Now is a good time to indulge in a good bit of Paris.
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