Andrew Moses
Andrew Moses (age 14) is a home-schooled, Tae Kwon Do black belt, with a composer fellowship at the LA Philharmonic. In the 90 second video below, Andrew and other students describe their experience with the arts in a colorful, rich, and beautiful description of the impact of arts education. Below, the director of the film interviews Andrew about his experience shooting this video.
Editor’s note: This blog is part of a miniseries about Americans for the Arts new suite of tools for Arts Education Advocates, Encourage Creativity videos.
What was it like being a part of this project?
Being part of this project for Americans for the Arts was truly a privilege and joy. I’m honored to have been a part of this project, and the hope of knowing that my art might inspire others is humbling.
In practical terms, the project was quite exciting. The crew booked several locations for filming, most notably the stage of Walt Disney Concert Hall. Their aim was to capture an ordinary day (or week) of my artistic life. Thus, they filmed me composing in the various areas I typically find stimulating to my creativity. These places range from my room to the LA Metro Train, and from the backstage area of Walt Disney Concert Hall to the top of a building downtown. The crew also captured some of my clarinet performance life, which includes rehearsals with my collaborative pianist, performances on stage, and practicing on my own.
In addition, everyone involved in this project was incredibly inviting and on top of schedule, which made the whole process rather straightforward and exciting. In short, I’m humbled to have been a part of this project, and I’m excited to see what comes of it!
What was your favorite thing about it?
This is a difficult question. Theoretically, my favorite part was certainly the joy and hope of knowing this project might inspire others in their artistry and creativity. That’s part of the joy of creativity and its resulting product – its potential to stir and motivate others. In terms of what took place during filming, though, recording solo at Walt Disney Concert Hall for the filming was particularly exhilarating, as one might imagine.
What did you learn by participating?
Through participating in this project I’ve grown more aware of how general arts education and advocacy have impacted my life. This project has moved me to recollect my musical beginnings, which were provided in large by my elementary school’s extra-circular band program. In retrospect, I’m so thankful for that simple program and the means it provided. Those who strive towards promoting the importance of art in cultures that would typically ignore recognizing its value truly inspire me. I’m thankful to have had people early on in my life like this, and I hope this project might stir people to take action in this regard.
What do you hope to see as a result of people watching these videos?
Through watching these videos, I hope people and organizations will be inspired by the powerful potential of art and creativity. I hope these videos will awaken people and organizations to wander further into the arts scene; hopefully through doing so they will be moved and ignited with passion for the crucial role creativity plays in society. I hope these videos will inspire young people to try radical new things and explore their extreme creative potential. I also hope that this project will inspire people to take action towards seeking opportunities that expand their knowledge and experience in artistic fields and the areas the arts provide for serving others.
What advice would you give future generations about art and creativity?
Art and creativity are sole to our human nature. I would urge future generations to continue to feel their creativity viscerally and imaginatively, feeling their art so organically that it pulls at their gut. I believe that these subconscious emotional convictions are almost always the result of healthy artistic responses to one’s culture and social network. Thus, the fruit of art that comes from deep convictions combined with the technical proficiency to produce its realization is often art that accomplishes its raw purpose in society. In further detail, I would urge future generations to continue to remember the importance of natural, unforced, deep inner conviction in their art. Technique, then, in a broad sense is simply the means of tangibly conceiving these emotional convictions so they can be shared.
So I would encourage future generations to also work hard in growing their knowledge and skill in the pragmatic areas of art as well. Growing technique is important so that more real artistic passion can come through in the final realism of the art (as long as the emotional pull remains the axiom of foremost importance). I would encourage future generations to see their artistic process from this perspective.
In that light, something of much importance is the ability to be meta-creative. By meta-creativity I mean the ability to creatively manage, organize, administrate, and oversee his/her own general creativity. Though this is a far-fetched concept, I truly feel that meta-creativity is crucial to the healthy development and growth of pragmatic creativity. In the simplest form, having good meta-creative skills might mean thinking outside of the box to find a place, time, or condition that’s more artistically productive. This may seem overly elementary, but I think a conscious effort in this field is important.
In addition, I would encourage future generations to continue to explore new areas and extremes in art, whatever that may mean. I would exhort future generations of artists to see themselves honestly as mere re-creators, simply as people of expression who share their work and convictions with others. I believe that’s the core responsibility of the artist.
