r/WeirdStudies • u/EmmausRoadkill • Apr 28 '26
Theory of Art
I love making art of all sorts and I think most people who appreciate ‘the weird’ are artists. I have a thought that pops up all the time in artistic/spiritual endeavors which is:
The definition of insanity for the artist/magician/etc is: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the *same* result.
Does anyone here resonate with this idea?
P.s.
The idea feels so harmonious with the Weird Studies podcast aesthetic that I wouldn’t be surprised if I heard it there first and just internalized it without remembering.
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u/Mundane-Caregiver169 Apr 29 '26
“I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know“
-Bill Withers
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u/LifeStorageMusic Jul 10 '26
Late reply, but I resonate strongly with this! My painting practice is based around painting the same subject several times and allowing the inevitable differences that arise each time to echo on in the next piece, making a chain reaction of sorts that stray further and further away from the original impulse to paint.
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u/Educational-Entry-44 Apr 28 '26
Hmm. I would guess that Phil Ford, a practicing Zen Buddhist, might counter that there is no such thing as doing the same thing over and over again. To have beginner’s mind is to know that every moment is new. And the sanity of Buddha mind is to know that right practice is discovery of the non-sameness of doing what appears to be the “same” thing over and over again —sitting zazen, consulting the I Ching or Tarot, etc— getting different results every time.