WHY YOU SHOULD BE ABSORBING ALL THE ART YOU CAN
By Patrick Tabari (instagram: @a_pat_tabari), SUNDAY FEBRUARY 16TH 2025
“Watch a million movies, read a million books, listen to all kinds of music, check out paintings and just, like, absorb stuff.” This was a piece of advice Nosferatru writer and director Robert Eggers gave to an aspiring young filmmaker on an episode of the Scriptnotes podcast with John August.
When I studied theater at a conservatory in Paris, my teachers imprinted on us essentially the same message. Before each holiday break, they would hand us a list of movies to see, museums to go to, short stories to read, and the like. If we returned from break having consumed none of it, we were sure to be called out in front of the class.
I think this advice, though somewhat obvious, is often overlooked by young filmmakers and artists because it lacks an immediate and observable result. But the fact is, all art is related, and the more you consume, from every medium, the more it informs your work and your creativity.
How Does This Work?
Maybe you’re a director and you come across a tricky scene in which you want to evoke a specific emotion. Suddenly, you remember a piece of art that affected in you the exact emotion you’re looking for.
This process occurs more often than you think. Like Guillermo Del Toro’s use of Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son in Pan’s Labyrinth. Or George Miller’s surreal desert creatures in Mad Max: Fury Road that found their inspiration in the work of Hieronymous Bosch.
The inspiration can be visual, as in the previous examples, but could also be thematic, emotional, or simply the name of a character whose arc resembles that of a character from a previous work. Sometimes you consciously recall a piece when working through a scene, other times you don’t notice the inspiration until much later. The process is mysterious but undeniable: ART INFORMS ART.
But don’t just go immerse yourself in all of this art and culture because you think it’s going to help your career. Do it because that’s what we love to do. Do it because you’re curious about the world and about human nature. Do it because it brings you joy. Do it because, well, it’s fun.
Organized Wandering
I often need a reminder to challenge myself when it comes to what I’m consuming. So, to that end, I have devised a couple different structures for consuming art.
1. Pick an artist - could be a director, writer, musician, actor - and work your way through
their entire body of work. Last year I watched all of Paul Newman’s filmography from
start to finish and I listened to all of Radiohead’s albums chronologically.
2. Read the classics. I know how daunting this prospect sounds, but these works of art set
the foundation from which everything you see today is derived. It’s important to know
where we’re all starting from.
3. Go to a museum, find a painting you like, and stare at it for, like, an hour. This is an
exercise I picked up from the art students in Paris. When you look at something
uninterrupted for that long, you have no choice but to develop thoughts and feelings
about it and exercise your critical brain.
4. Go see a f***ing play. Just do it. I promise you’ll enjoy it and it will open a whole other
medium for you to frolic in.
5. Consume what your favorite artists consume. I read a biography of Jack Nicholson in
college in which it was mentioned that he walked around with a copy of Albert Camus’s
The Myth of Sisyphus tucked in his pocket. I immediately bought the book, read it, and
subsequently polished off all of Camus’s work. Learn about your favorite artists, what
drove and inspired them, then go read, listen, and watch those things.
When it’s all said and done, the best method for immersing yourself in art is to just start doing it. Consume it, learn about it, think about it, and, because all art is connected, it will organically lead you to the next thing.
A Note On Snobbery:
As you embark on your absorption of art journey, these pieces will undoubtedly begin to work themselves into your everyday vocabulary and thought processes. You might be at a bar and compare your friend’s decision of alcohol to Anna Karenina, which will probably trigger a comment along the lines of, “Okay, pretentious.”
Being a snob, i.e. looking down on someone for the gaps in their cultural or artistic knowledge, sucks and should be avoided. A clear cut way to steer clear of this is to never be shocked or outraged at anyone for not having read, listened to, or seen anything. “Oh, you haven’t seen The Godfather? You should watch it, it’s fantastic!” Boom. Problem solved.
The bottom line is that this entire journey should be approached in a child-like state of exploration and curiosity.
Now get out there and friggin consume!
Mentioned Works:
Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya (1821-23) :
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saturn-painting-by-Goya
Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo Del Toro (2006):
https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/pans-labyrinth
Mad Max: Fury Road by George Miller (2015):
https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/mad-max-fury-road
The Last Judgement by Hieronymus Bosch (1482):
https://www.arthistoryproject.com/artists/hieronymus-bosch/the-last-judgement/
Nicholson: A Biography by Marc Eliot:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/211725/nicholson-by-marc-eliot/
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus (1942):
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Myth-of-Sisyphus
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