I’m sure almost everyone has heard of a Ted Talk. But for those who haven’t, a Ted Talk is a short talk or presentation where an expert, artist, scientist, or someone proficient in a particular field shares their ideas, knowledge, or experience with an audience. These talks are short, inspirational, and educational, and often provide new perspectives or ideas on various topics such as technology, art, science, education, etc.
In this blog post, I will share with you a few TED talks that I found interesting and that may be useful to other artists. If you know of any other interesting TED talks, feel free to share them in the comments below.
1. Finding the Story Inside the Painting by Tracy Chevalier
In her Ted Talk, Tracy Chevalier speaks about analyzing paintings deeper and appreciating art. She notices that when visiting an art gallery, we often feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of paintings and tend to rush through them, only stopping at a few that grab our attention and focus.
Some of the paintings she mentioned are; Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer; Boy Building a House of Cards by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin; and a painting by an anonymous artist.
Advice: Instead of just skimming through all the artworks, find a few that genuinely interest you and draw your attention. Think about the story behind the painting, what interests you about it, and what the artist was thinking when creating it.
2. What Adults Can Learn from Kids by Adora Svitak
This episode reminds me of the famous quote by Pablo Picasso,
“Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”
Adora Svitak says the world needs to embrace ‘childish’ thinking. Such thinking prompts us toward relentless optimism. When have you heard a child say something is impossible? Children dream, are inspired, believe fervently in their dreams, are full of ideas, and don’t think about limitations. Adults seem to have forgotten this. We have a lot to learn from children. She suggests that the dreams and aspirations of children should be encouraged, and adults should be willing to learn from children, not just teach them.
Advice: Encourage your ‘childish’ thinking and your child ‘self,’ instead of keeping it hidden somewhere in your mind.
3. How a boy became an artist by Jarret Krosoczka
Jarret Krosoczka, a writer and illustrator, shares his life story of a young dreamer inclined to storytelling and drawing. He talks about the encouraging environment for creativity and imagination from his childhood, while society today does the opposite.
He points out the decreasing presence of art in educational programs, highlighting the consequences this has on the imagination and creative capacity of children, which could otherwise serve as a means of self-expression. He advocates for the philosophy of authenticity in artistic expression, encouraging individuals to create art in their unique style and to listen to their personal vision rather than others’ opinions. “Just do you.”
Advice: Find your passion, and when you do, don’t let it go. Identify what drives you the most and educate yourself on it to deepen your understanding and skills. Create a network of contacts with similar interests. Regularly set time aside to develop your passion, but remain flexible and open to change and learning from failure.
4. Embrace the shake by Phil Hansen
Phil Hansen, an artist affected by a tremor, advocates for embracing one’s personal artistic style aligned with your unique abilities, but not in line with conventional standards. His philosophy emphasizes the importance of individuality in art, questioning the preconceived idea of the ‘correct’ approach to art that mirrors others’ techniques.
Embracing this perspective transformed his approach to creation. By accepting and incorporating his tremors into his painting process, he turned a potential obstacle into a distinctive element of his work, proving that limitations do not have to hinder artistic achievements.
Advice: Don’t take your limitations as part of your identity; focus on what you can do, not on what you can’t. If you currently struggle with color mixing, focus on shades; if drawing is difficult, concentrate on the shapes you see when transferring work to paper. We must be limited to become limitless.
5. Do Schools Kill Creativity by Sir Ken Robinson
This Ted Talk addresses the issue of the little importance given to creativity in the educational system, and honestly, I agree. Ken Robinson discusses how creativity is as important as mathematics and literature and should receive equal attention and importance.
He believes that society currently educates people away from their creativity by focusing on avoiding mistakes and like they are bad, rather than trying new things and learning from their mistakes.
Advice: Be open to criticism but don’t let it take away your creativity or stop you from exploring. If we don’t make mistakes, we don’t learn anything new.
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Thank you for reading.
I hope you found this post helpful; please share it with people who you think will like it. And don’t forget to share your favorite Ted Talks.
Happy painting.
Jovana
