“Creative: The Art of Being” - Rick Rubin's book of magic

08/23/2023

Recommended reading for creative minds, creators, and those involved in creative processes.

If there were still a role to be cast in “The Lord of the Rings” for a good, wise, and kind wizard, he would be at the top of the list with his white flowing beard, natural appearance, and gruff manner: Rick Rubin, demigod of music production, discoverer and creator of completely new and previously unheard worlds of sound and emotion in popular music. Revered by musicians, critics and fans alike, he has been showered with Grammys and other awards. He is the mastermind behind such incredible works as American Recordings (a work that can move stones to tears), Stadium Arcadium, Californication and many, many more.

Now he reveals his secrets, opening and publishing his book of magic: the mysterious rules, ingredients, and rituals he uses to help himself and other artists create pop masterpieces.

First things first: this book is an absolute must-read.

For all creative individuals, creators of works, supervisors, and organizers of creative processes—in short, for everyone who shapes communication.

The world and the existence of creative people

What's it about? In his book, Rick Rubin describes how artists and creative people see, experience, and perceive the world. How they move within it, what difficulties and hurdles they face in their creative processes, and what struggles they endure. He separates the concept of art from the pure result, the mere product of the process. Instead, he refers to the whole of life and existence as such. Among other things, he is interested in how to promote this process and support artists in their being. We find this extremely exciting.

The ATELIER: a protected space for free development, by Lippold/Probst/Sack/Schweikl

BEING: Understanding the journey of life as art, with The Fritz

"The object isn´t to make art, it´s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable"!

The quintessence is right there on the first page, and it's not his own words, but those of Robert Henri, an American painter and teacher.

How do I achieve a state, create a situation in which art becomes inevitable, in which only something special can emerge as a result?

This requires a deep understanding of the artist themselves and of artistic life as a whole, which he dissects here. Shaping the situation, the space, the process in such a way that the artist has almost no choice but to create art. Everything here is then art and nothing is no longer art.

The playful human being and divine magic in creation

Standing on the shoulders of giants: The concept of the totality of art, life, creative act, and creation, as well as of humans as artistic creatures, is ancient. Examples:

Homo Ludens—the idea of the playful human who must retain their childlike nature in order to continue creating and shaping, thereby enabling cultural progress >>> Rubin takes up this idea in his view of the artist.
In economics: Schumpeter's creative pioneer entrepreneur - destroying the old (which Rubin does not demand) and creating the new (which he naturally emphasizes).
In ancient philosophy: In the distinction between “art,” in which the divine is revealed, and mere “craft,” which only reproduces (leaving all disputes on this aside for now)

The KLAUSE: under monastic conditions far removed from time and space, at the International Comics Seminar

As an agency – creating protected spaces for creative minds

What this book inspires us as an agency and all creative people:

How do we design a space, a situation, a place where creative work is possible in such a way that high-quality creative and artistic results are not only possible but virtually inevitable?
How do we shape our lives, our exchanges, our joint work, and our further development as individuals and as a team with this guiding principle in mind?
How can we strike a balance between economic demands and the diametrically opposed model of homo economicus?

Rick Rubin articulates ideas that have driven us since DRIVE was founded and that are important to us as creative principles. This applies to us in all areas, from design and development to management and administration.

The AGENCY. Creative Safe Zone to ensure the life of creation

About the reception: The buying tip

The book itself, in bound form, is a joy to behold. The English original is great fun to read.

Rick Rubin: “The Creative Act: A Way of Being”, 2023, published by Canongate Books Ltd., ISBN-10: 1838858636, available here in hardcover.
Also good in the audio version, narrated by the master himself: available here as audio
And if you want to see him in action, here's a really special opportunity: Rick Rubin in conversation with Paul McCartney on Disney+: “McCartney 3,2,1”