HOW TO BE INTERESTING
There are a tiny handful of people I would take the subway to Times Square for, and David Sedaris is one of them. I recently spent a curious evening watching as he exposed his peculiar way of experiencing the world to hundreds of people, all while going through multiple wardrobe changes - huge felt pants that stood on their own! a designer-made men’s suit fit for a clown!
He is interesting, I thought to myself.
I have not felt interesting lately.
I noticed this lackluster feeling a couple of months ago and have allowed it to heighten my attention around what is interesting to me. What makes someone or something or somewhere interesting?
In my quest for uncovering the mystery of re-captivating my curious nature, I stumbled upon Ruxandra Duru, an artist with peculiar practices. As I dug deep into her work and interviews, I discovered a statement that hit just right:
‘Imperfection, irregularity, and expressivity makes… anything more human.’
Lately my own work has been feeling expressionless to me, not human enough - stagnant and boring. So I’ve been making space for myself to uncover the why - and there are so many whys - the internet, not giving enough attention to my art practice as an art practice, the commodifying of my work with lingering pressure to pay my rent on the first of every month, a lack of focus and time.
I don’t have any answers yet - you’re witnessing my limbo! - but I am making space for myself to listen, to release the pressure, to follow my curiosities.
The point isn’t knowing where you are going (none of us do and that sounds boring, anyway) - it’s following what interests you, staying open and curious, finding thrill in the chase of curiosity.
This week I’m sharing two personal lists that inspire my practices, plus the secret to writers block from David Sedaris himself.
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