Every now and then, all us artists need a pep talk. Okay, some of us need one almost daily, but I digress. I thought I’d share two videos I found recently from two people I greatly respect and admire. Each of them really hit home in a particular way, and they both have messages I think we all need to hear every once in a while.
The first is from Neil Gaiman, author of books like American Gods, Coraline and The Graveyard book, as well as the acclaimed Sandman comic series. Neil is easily my favorite author at the moment, not to mention I could hear his British accent all day long, no matter what he was talking about.
This video is from his commencement speech to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia to the class of 2012. At nineteen minutes, it’s long, but I urge you to watch it all. It’s just that good.
Did I tell you? If this didn’t make you want to jump out of your seat and go make some art RIGHT NOW, then maybe you should check for a pulse. Seriously, you might need checked out.
The second video is from filmmaker Kevin Smith. This is from one of his latest Q&A specials called “Burn in Hell”, in which he spends a lot of time talking about the film “Red State” and dealing with the backlash from religious extremists.
However, there’s a great bit where he talks about the death of his father and how it made him reevaluate what it means to be an artist and put things in its proper perspective.
Fair warning, as we’re talking about Kevin Smith here, this video contains naughty language. Even if that’s not your cup of tea, I still urge you to give it a view. It kinda choked me up the first time I saw it.
So there you go. Your daily dose of inspiration. I have a feeling these will be in my regular rotation the next time I need a pep talk.