The Pleasure of Improvement

I don’t usually write about the drawings I post but since this is the third time I’ve posted the drawing above I’ve already let viewers in on the process and what I’m demanding of it. Over sixty hours of work later I think I can finally let it go. Each time I posted before, I could see, once it was on the screen, that there was more to do to make it look as heavy as I wanted. For a while I’ve had this quote from Leonardo da Vinci in my mind. “The depiction of volume is the supreme mark of skill.” It’s harder than it might seem, with extremely subtle variations in light and dark that the eye doesn’t normally pick up. With many years of this behind the scenes goal, I’ve discovered ongoing challenge, pleasure and opportunity to reflect on what the depiction of volume communicates. With increased illusion of volume, the sense of weight grows. The idea of weight as serious shows in the many metaphors that reflect that attitude. What is heavier requires more of us, a burden, a mood, a responsibility. Surrealist use of illusionistic volume to portray psychological reality added a necessary seriousness to the absurd and implausible. The stronger the sense of volume is the more it’s felt in the body, as a real presence, and engaging the body is always a goal in illusion. As I’ve said to my illusionism classes, one of the benefits of learning this skill is that it can always be pushed more. In my study of brain science one thing that stood out was the idea that the brain rewards learning. There are lots of routes back and forth from the frontal lobe (most evolved mental properties) and the nucleus accumbens (primary pleasure center). It’s a pleasure to get better at something. Building knowledge and skills are our human survival tools. The involvement of video games is spurred by the pleasure of improvement. It doesn’t really matter at what. To push beyond past limitations takes involvement and concentration and that’s what’s being encouraged by the brain’s rewards. We’re meant to increase our capabilities and whether it’s improvement in a game, on an instrument or at baking, brain chemistry is there to reward achievement. We don’t have a good word in English, for satisfaction in the process of getting better at something. Not pride, though that may be a side effect, but joy in the act of stretching ourselves, in our participation in our growth. The state of flow is our best concept to appreciate it as an end in itself. The pleasure of improvement is in the doing, losing oneself in the process. Work done well is its own brand of happiness.