Work That Inspires Me...

There are moments in one's creative life when she is inspired by all the work she sees. And there are moments when nothing is sparking those much needed creative juices. I see A LOT of dance, so I have a tendency to rely on the dance performances I see to bring me this satisfaction and forward momentum. But when I can't find inspiration through dance, I have to find it outside my craft.

So how about finding inspiration from popular culture? Not necessarily the place you'd expect to find artistic inspiration but I've found two HBO productions that inspire and excite me. Let me explain why...

1. Foo Fighter's Sonic Highways Album

What I find Inspiring: 

The Creative Process: Here is a band immersed in popular culture without intending to be. The group's leader, Dave Grall, coming from 20 years of song writing proposed a NEW process for this album. They would travel to eight different recording studios in music communities that are steeped in history. The band allows themselves to be inspired by the people and stories they come in contact with. They then write and record a new song at the end of their week in this place. They did this at each of these 8 cities.  

Revealing the Creative Process: Not only did these artists follow this process, but they documented it with cameras. They reveal their process, while telling the story of each city's deep music history. There is an hour documentary on each of the 8 cities and at the end on each the song is revealed. I didn't always like the music, but I now have a connection to it that goes beyond aesthetics. I know the story behind each song.

2. Newsroom (HBO TV series)

What I find Inspring:

The Form: There is not much a writer/director/producer can do to vary the form of a television series. Audiences have specific expectations. But at least in its first year, Newsroom told their stories from unexpected orientations. In their second season, they tried a new format altogether that was meant to last the entire season.

The Content: This fictional news team aims to tell "the news" which doesn't necessarily make them the most popular news program. While the leading (fictional) programs focus on celebrity and foster dramatic hype, this news room refuses to sacrifice their integrity and struggle with this in the face of a changing culture. Most interesting to me is that these journalists maintain an idealistic view and choose to believe that their audience is intelligent and wants to be challenged.