On Intentions

 

Cy Twombly -- Blooming

Intention is a bit like the idea of having free will. If you feel that you have free will, then you can say your intentions are pure. But if your intention is to really want to make one thing, but you make other things just because everyone else does, and it doesn’t fully resonate with you, then I’d say intention matters. But very often I have intended to make something and something else happened, but that isn’t because of external forces. It’s simply because better ideas appeared and I went with those.

I’ve tried writing music with AI because it’s The New but I can’t stand doing it for more than 30 minutes. I can force myself to intentionally continue with it, but if free will is fully functioning, abandoning it for something more joyful and enriching would seem more intentional.

Intention also runs parallel to sincerity. To be sincere in creativity means you’re sure of your intentions and you know why you’re doing what you’re doing unless the idea is to be vaguer so as to make the work more engaging. (Cryptic lyrics are an example of this)

It doesn't matter what you do. You can change it, become an abstract expressionist, the next week you can turn into a pop artist or something else. Without feeling that you've given up something.--Andy Warhol

That’s simply intending to do something without second-guessing why it should be relevant. You’d feel more like you had free will.

4/26/2022