In order to become a master of the arts, one must succumb to it wholly and
completely. Where there is great love, there can be no half way. Once an art
has chosen you, you must follow where it takes you, dedicated to the
end. That's the price of great passion; utter devotion, and the sublimation of
the self in search of the attainment of mastery. Many a sensei has
often said that "in the pursuit of perfection, we attain excellence",
and so it goes for the artist in their search. We hone our senses to their human
heights, hoping to achieve greatness, and in doing so, we may attain immortality, or
what passes for it in our human world, limited as that is by our perceptions.
I submit to
you for your perusal two such examples of artistry and devotion in
cinema, "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" and "Frostbitten": one, the story of a
lifelong chef in his noble quest for mastery with his chosen
elements through the Art of Sushi, and the other a perfect show about the joys
of a well-done horror movie; there's camp, humor, fun, gore, suspense, and
irony. Sometimes, there isn't an obvious
harmony between the movies I select, but the cognitive dissonance of
what appears to be a random selection, that then stitches itself into a matched set before my very eyes, forming connections by what feels to be of its' own will, but is indeed of my making. Everyday magic is the ability of the best
human minds to stretch out to reach the edge of it's vast limits through the daily discipline
of practice. In doing so, the master vaults way past the average person in abilities, attaining powers of craft that allude the individual incapable of such acts of constancy. Look, and see.
