Monday, August 10, 2015

The Art of the Vague (and Another Smashwords Coupon)

What makes a work of art transcendent?
Part of what you want to do as an ARTISTE is find a way to connect to the largest number of people possible. To create a work that has such UNIVERSAL APPEAL that it touches on the feelings (that’s right – the best art is about feelings, not thinking or techniques) of a broad swath of diverse people.
In writing, we use similes and metaphors because we are trying to describe something so that everyone can understand it, so we compare it to something else that is more widely known. It’s especially useful in science fiction, when you’re trying to help your readers see something that doesn’t even exist (yet?), so you use familiar – REAL - concepts to get the point across.  
Being too specific doesn’t quite cut it. I happen to like the band U2, so I’ll use them as an example. They have some songs that are either very vague on details, or use metaphors to broaden their meaning. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” isn’t talking about one man’s struggle to find something – it’s about the universal search we all go through. When songs are written about a specific event (“Sunday Bloody Sunday”) they become harder to identify with.
Bear in mind, I’m talking about LYRICS, not the music. Music without words goes directly to the emotions – a song can have the most idiotic garbage for lyrics and still make you feel things. I have problems distinguishing the lyrics when I’m listening to a song, so at first I’m just listening to the qualities of the music itself – the vocals, the arrangement, the melody, the instruments. It’s not until I’ve listened to a song multiple times that I start catching onto what the lyrics are saying, and there are many times that I find myself repulsed by the specifics and refuse to listen again.
Vagueness can be powerful, and it isn’t just done in THE ARTS. Obama’s Hope and Change campaign was full of empty rhetoric that let others lay their own interpretation on top of it. It seemed so great when it was vague and non-specific; now that it’s become a living, breathing thing – not so much… And what else could explain how both negotiating sides on The Iran Nuclear Deal seemed to think they had won? Once they start talking about the specifics, they can’t agree on what those specifics are or mean, like they were listening to two totally different songs.
Is this why abstract art somehow works? I can’t think of anything more vague and non-specific than a smear of colors, and yet…
Just saying…
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My featured work this week is “The Re-Entanglement of Grant Decker” (Grant’s never been one to talk to himself, but maybe it's time. How else will he know if his life is coming apart or coming together?)- here’s the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/457080?ref=NoTimeToThink
Use coupon code HQ93G to save 50% off the list price at check out on Smashwords. The coupon is good through August 17th. Enjoy!
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William Mangieri’s writing (including his latest ePublication “Reflections”) can be found in many places, including:
To connect with him, go to
“William Mangieri’s Writing Page” on Facebook (and LIKE and FOLLOW), at: http://www.facebook.com/NoTimeToThink

Or on twitter: @WilliaMangieri

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