David Foster Wallace: On Being Entirely Yourself

"What the really great artists do is they're entirely themselves. They've got their own vision, their own way of fracturing reality, and then if it's authentic and true, you will feel it in your nerve endings." - David Foster Wallace
+++
Iconoclast Writing offers online creative writing workshops for writers who wish to engage with community, expand their creative consciousness, and receive feedback on their work.

+++
#davidfosterwallace​ #artists​ #writing​

[iconoclastwriting]

I love the conversation this video has started. Thank you all for the comments and engagement! Axl Rose would be proud.

[a.r.c]

You can tell how self-conscious and critical he was of himself by the way he answers the question but also interrupts himself in between. It’s as if he’s listening to himself talk and critizing the words that come out of his mouth simultaneously.

[lalailm]

you could tell this man was hell bent on authenticity and yet never felt like he could be as authentic as he wished (even though he was, without a doubt). i know because I identify with a lot of things he has said regarding this topic. LIke him, Im obsessed with it, and yet chasing authenticity seems like the best way to "scare it away" from your life, bc you never feel like you have finally gotten there. But you see it so clearly in other people, and you admire it and you even find yourself gravitanting around people who seem to be fully themselves and unconsciously trying to emulate them.
It's the curse of living too much in your head.
"Thats what authenticity is suppposed to look like". But in reality, most of these people are not even that self aware. They dont walk around constantly picking apart their actions and evaluating how authentic they are. They just embrace the whole. Even the mistakes and the "not so authentic" parts of themselves. Bc its not about reaching that perfect, final and "unactualizable" version. And its not about using others' authenticity as parameters to measure your own. It's about simply being

[gordomctavish]

This is a remarkable moment in TV history, for many reasons, but none as notable as the fact that for two minutes and twenty five seconds, Charlie Rose did _not_ interject himself into the middle of a remarkable moment.

[gloaming]

Not just be true to yourself but do what you're truly passionate about. Even if you're not being original (and who really is) real passion is infectious, people can feel it in your work and will enjoy it.

[paulcasino]

I love being alive! And I won’t stop saying that no matter how much the voices tell me not to.

[vertyisprobablydead]

This has inspired me to not hold back with how depressing my songs are. Just let it out. All of it.

[gravlaxbob]

Blue Velvet is the first Lynch movie that truly hit me in the face (a few times), although I had seen Eraserhead before. I agree. First time I see Wallace speaks, and so well.

[sloaiza]

well said. the true artist is true to himself. hard to find in the mainstream.

[philmccavity]

This is how I do interviews, (for jobs, in Germany)..I'm beginning to understand why noone will hire me.

[StubenhockerElite]

I feel like this with the paintings of Frank Frazetta. They pull you into a World that is 100% made out of his soul and i think this phenomenon is what truly describes Art, invite people into the artists soul.

Of course there are a Million ways to do it. Some people find the Tools to do so in traditional or modern ways, and others have to go through uncharted territory to communicate their true self to others. Sadly to many people only See the Art object and mistake it for Art in its entirety

[pocketsquared]

The following claim is _not_ meant to say anything about Wallace's writing, but man, just in general, he was probably the most media-literate human being I've become aware of. Given the time period into which he was born, he might've been a one-off. He lived during a time of seriously rapid media development, both technologically and conceptually. It'd be hard to imagine a more artistically-ripe future—especially considering how stifling our modern media can be! Or is that just my own lack of perception to see my time period as such?

[dangolfishin]

Being himself and Axel Rose at the same time

[RebirthBeyond]

Wow, I didn't expect this to involve one of my favourite films. Blue Velvet was one of the most novel experiences in my lifetime. Haven't had a movie warp my mind since.

[djsandy]

You have a unique perspective and that is your greatest asset as an artist.

[RBlnd]

David Lynch seems to be an artist who is more in tune with dreams than almost any other. He somehow captures that perfect dream logic, that perfect sense that dreams make, even though it's nonsense. I know he's very into transcendental meditation; certainly also on the spectrum. I see a lot of myself in him and I strive to learn more about me and my psyche and figure out how I can be my most authentic self and share that with the world.

[andyturnbullguitarteacher]

Lynch snapped him out of his head and he snapped me out of mine. Just finished ‘a supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again’ which was published in 1990. Growing up then and looking back on it now through his words, he was hyper aware of what was going on at the time. Which is what the best writers do. A truly authentic, unique and great writer. I’m pretty sure he was wearing the bandana before axl but I could be wrong.

[Nick-Salv]

Nothing and no one is truly ever “itself” or truly unique. We are all just prisms refracting our genetics, experiences, emotions, et al… into forming our own “reality” … I get his point about appreciating artists for their unique ways of seeing the world, and we should, but let’s not kid ourselves to think everything we do isn’t in some way shaped by the world, shaped by others. We’re all just bouncing off each other into oblivion and so on.

[sednasix]

When I entered this video, I did not expect him talk about the profound effect Blue Velvet had on him. My favorite Lynch film hands down.

[SirArghPirate]

Yeah, this scene from Blue Velvet stuck with me for so many years. I remember seeing the movie when I was quite young, forgetting about the rest of the movie, except for this single scene. It wasn't very frightening, rather creepy and bizarre.