Name: Nina Alexandra Bacrau's review of The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
Item: The Creative Act
Rating: 2.5
Author: Nina Alexandra Bacrau

Rick Rubin

Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable. Over the years, as he has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn’t, he has learned that being an artist isn’t about your specific output; it’s about your relationship to the world. Creativity has a place in everyone’s life, and everyone can make that place larger. In fact, there are few more important responsibilities. The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distils the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime’s work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments – and lifetimes – of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.

A Way of Being

The Creative Act

From the legendary music producer, a savant at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book, many years in the making, that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us. TARGET CONSUMER: Readers of THE ARTIST'S WAY and BIG MAGIC “I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.” —Rick Rubin Many famed music producers, however brilliant, become known for a particular sound which has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin, on the other hand, is most famous for something else: for creating a strong safe space where artists of wildly different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. To surprise themselves, and thus the world. Rubin’s true art is for helping people get out of their own way and commune with the powerful creative signal that is their birthright. Over the years, Rubin has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn’t, about what it takes to strike a deep nerve within ourselves. Perhaps above all, he has learned that being an artist isn’t about your specific output, it’s a relationship to the world. Creativity has a space in everyone’s life, and everyone has the opportunity to make that space stronger. Indeed, it may be our most important responsibility. More than five years in the making, The Creative Act is a series of meditations that illuminate the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It is a beautifully generous offering of the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime’s work spent in the service of exhilaration and transcendence, distilled into a timeless classic that puts those feelings within closer reach for all of us.

lelayna

By practicing to improve, you are fulfilling your ultimate purpose on this planet.

Grace McCarter

Be as specific as possible with your feedback. Zoom in to discuss the details of what you’re seeing and feeling. The more clinical the feedback, the better it will be received. 

Saying, “I think the colors in these two areas don’t interact well together” is more helpful than, “I don’t like the colors.” 

Hold back on offering a fix immediately; the recipient may be able to come up with a better solution on their own. 

It’s best to wait until a work is complete to discover what it is saying. Holding your work hostage to meaning is a limitation.

If you're at an impasse in an A/B test, consider the coin toss method. Decide which option will be heads and which will be tails, then flip the coin. When the coin is spinning in the air, you'll likely notice a quiet preference or wish for one of the two to come up. Which are you rooting for? This is the option to go with. It's the one the heart desires. The test is over before the coin ever lands.

Sachi

To create is to bring something into existence that wasn’t there before. It could be a conversation, the solution to a problem, a note to a friend, the rearrangement of furniture in a room, a new route home to avoid a trafic jam. 

From “Thoughts and habits not conducive to creative work” (Chapter: Habits)

– Thinking that anything outside of your control is in your way.

Amanda Rios

Our critical mind may kick in, taking note of what we agree with and what we don’t, or what we like and dislike.

Darkness and light are only meaningful in relationship with each other. Without one, the other wouldn’t exist.

Holding every rule as breakable is a healthy way to live as an artist.

you’ve already exponentially narrowed what’s possible,

it’s to amplify the differences, what doesn’t fit, the special characteristics unique to how you see the world.

An intention is more than a conscious purpose, it’s the congruence of that purpose.

The inspired-artist aspect of your self may be in conflict with the craftsperson aspect, disappointed that the craftsperson is unable to create the physical embodiment of the inspired artist’s vision. This is a common conflict for creators, since there is no direct conversion from abstract thought to the material world.

Distraction is a strategy in service of the work.

When we reach an impasse at any point in the creative process, it can be helpful to step away from the project to create space and allow a solution to appear.

doubting the quality of your work might, at times, help to improve it.

Ultimately, your desire to create must be greater than your fear of it.

Gratitude can also help. Realizing you are fortunate to be in a position that allows you to create, and in some cases get paid to do what you love, might tip the balance in favor of the work.

papancha, which translates as preponderance of thoughts. This speaks to the mind’s tendency to respond to our experiences with an avalanche of mental chatter.

The mission is to complete the project so you can move on to the next. That next one is a stepping-stone to the following work. And so it continues in productive rhythm for the entirety of your creative life.

The experience of our inner world is often completely overlooked.

The person who makes something today isn’t the same person who returns to the work tomorrow.

Shahin F

I wanted to stop reading it multiple times. I wish there would have been a more structured and well thought approach to the topic, but all in all, it was an easy read. 

Nina Alexandra Bacrau

Well-written, but it feels mostly like a more accessible reframing of the concepts of The Artists’s Way and not a presentation of new concepts around creativity. It’s probably more appealing to a younger audience than An Artist’s Way, with a similar overall message from a more musical and secular perspective. 

erin alise 

Kevin Wammer

Maybe one of the best books on creativity by one of the most creative people currently roaming this planet. Part inspiration, part guidebook, The Creative Act perfectly encompasses why we creative people, ultimately, have no other choice than to create. It is the only way we can feel whole.

Serge L

I think Rick Rubin, the person, is someone to be admired. The modern-day Buddha who is able to completely ignore what the world perceives him as and do things for himself. Some will assume that that's some "hippy-sh*t," but that's mostly people who think too much of what other's think of them. 

This book really isn't about creativity. This book is about being true to yourself and your passions. If you think Rick cares what people think of this book in the end, you clearly didn't read the book. You may have looked at the pages though. If you came here for a "manual on creativity" you will walk away sorely disappointed. If anything, this is more of a mission statement for Rick and Rick alone. Whatever you take away from it, is entirely up to you, just don't assume Rick cares.

Omar 

Rupi Kaur vibes… what is this guy talking about? So many better resources for creatives, event philosophically leaning ones.

The kind of book a pretentious but deeply simple and slightly stupid person who has never been exposed to good art and thinks he’ll be the next Van Gogh would enjoy.

Had a few nice nuggets of wisdom, but a lot of fluff around the points.

Sebastien Bailouni

From the legendary music producer, a master at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book many years in the making that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us.

Makes you rethink your creativity in every way you can’t imagine.

Julian Paul

A good read for when you are in a creative block. For me Rubin presents his ideas too broadly and lacks some kind of narrative to relate to.

Vera Heilig

Relaxing to read and good perspective on approaching various aspects of life as a artist/creative.

Anna Bostick

Mireia

Roisin O'Flaherty 

Really inspiring book on the creative process. I read it cover to cover but I think it would be better suited to a book you read when stuck in a creative rut. The chapters are short and snappy so you could get a chunk of inspiration when you need it.

i think i missed the part where this book was gonna be spiritual. i tried to get into it but i didn’t feel like i learned anything. meditative though 

Krystal

Daniel Gynn

Probably should have had his appendix out

It's beautiful in a slightly woo woo sense of the word. Some parts of what I've experienced in the creative act ring true, though I really have to open my third eye wide open to see it. But true none the less.

For me, this book mostly makes sense looking backwards and less so when trying to deduct tools for going forward.

Sebastian Stockmarr

It's beautiful in a slightly woo woo sense of the word. Some parts of what I've experienced in the creative act ring true, though I really have to open my third eye wide open to see it. But true none the less.

For me, this book mostly makes sense looking backwards and less so when trying to deduct tools for going forward.

Anyhow, enjoyable read.

A meditative journey with Rubin as he describes the creative act. Much like any spiritual practice, it was a bit awkward at first but as you spend more time and reflecting, your inner artist is ready to get up and create once more. 

Ali Angco

Obviously Rubin has good insight into the creative processes of hundreds of artists, however he presents his anecdotes and allegories too broadly. Lacks coherence and narrative element. 

Shahin F &
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

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