On Process
Hi there,
Welcome to the second edition of my newsletter! I’m honestly surprised I made it this far. All those tweets about writing now hold a whole new meaning to it (I pretty much struggled with editing, re-editing, writing and the whole thing).
Music
On a more serious note, I have been obsessively listening to alt-J since the last month, giving in to my awful habit of throwing back to old favourites for weeks at a go every year. I’m really re-enjoying their music though; almost all their songs (and videos) have very interesting plots. The Ripe & Ruin, for example, tells a pretty striking story in less than 80 seconds. My favourite line -
“It's worth knowing,
Like all good fruit, the balance of life is in
The ripe, and ruined.”
This short podcast recommended by a friend breaks down In Cold Blood. It’s a glimpse into alt-J’s creative process; you can hear them having so much fun while creating and improvising with their music.
Literature & Media
That’s my favourite thing about art - actually understanding the artist’s process; how did they come about making what they did? What were some of the improvisations which turned out well? What do they do in their free time when they aren’t creating? What do they consume to fuel their creative process? Where do they get most of their work done? I could go on. It’s amazing to see how an artist’s work is often a reflection of their surroundings. Here’s a delightful series that takes you on a short tour of the homes of selected artists. I love the bundle of books lying in different places in Tchaik Chassay and Melissa North's home. During the peak of the lockdown, we had our ‘to read’ books near the entrance of our house, the ‘currently reading’ lists at the centre and bedside tables and our ‘nasty piles’ lying on window sills. All scattered, just like our state of mind.
Process and patterns bring so much harmony to the chaos of creating, innovating. Mono.Kultur, a Berlin-based independent magazine, takes a reader as deep as they can go into the creative processes of one eminent artist per issue. Reading through thirty-odd pages of one profile brings out the power of asking the right questions and the gold mine of information that can come along with it. And this is why I believe that good interviewing or mediating is an art.
What do you most enjoy about art, if you do? I would love to know 🙂
I prize my copy of Mono.Kultur - in conversation with Ryan McGinley
During college, Apocalpyse Now was screened as a part of our course in film. It sounds rather fun to say off-hand but I remember finding it very hard to sit through it (judgments will be ignored!). We watched the making, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, right after. Ironically, I was glued to the screen through those ninety minutes of watching the making of a film I couldn’t even sit through the previous day.
Tech
It took me some time to realise that this innate curiosity around the process of creating seeps through my general interests and into my work, in tech. Building products, too, requires a combination of skill, empathy, intuition - and I am, like most other people in Product, perpetually looking out for resources and inspiration to keep the fire alive (yes, keep those recommendations coming!).
I finally found my most preferred note-saving app which I wrote about in my last newsletter. It’s Collect by WeTransfer, which is by far one of my most favourite products for its outstanding design and content. I love that you can save notes, links, and get people to collaborate via Slack with Collect.
History
As I sign off, here’s a commemoration of the Deccan Queen a.k.a my saviour from 2016-2017. The drudgery of the monthly Pune to Bombay travel was pretty much eased out by this train. And their veg cutlets at 7 AM were an absolute relish. I hope we’re not too far from DQ up and running again 🤞🏽
Until next time.