Monday, August 5, 2013

Of Effort and Grace


On Facebook, a friend of mine posted this brief video of a 14-year-old-guitarist:



Watching the young musician and reading the description that says she played it “effortlessly” set me to thinking about that word.  Since I was her age, I have admired people who made things that were really hard look easy.  My idea of grace has, ever since, been exactly that—making the effort invisible.

The actor Paul Newman once described in an interview an encounter he had with Spencer Tracy.  Newman was a young actor; the director of a movie allowed him to hang around the studio set in LA while Tracy was working.  One day, Tracy approached Newman and said, “They tell me you want to be an actor.”  Newman mumbled an affirmative answer.  Tracy grasped him by the shoulder and said, “Don’t ever let anyone catch you doing it.”

You couldn’t see Tracy doing it in this courtroom scene:



And when Newman got his turn, he followed Tracy’s advice.  Here is Newman in court:




THE prime example of making art look effortless is, of course, the dancing of Fred Astaire.  In his movies, his dances are shown with only one or two cuts.  Unlike more recent films where most dance sequences have more to do with editing, Astaire’s movies show him in performance.  To achieve this, Astaire did not just show up one day and wing it.  He typically rehearsed for three months before getting up in front of the camera.   He put day upon day of effort into perfecting dances that were going to be seen only on film, where they could be edited and re-edited.  But Astaire practiced them until he could dance them this effortlessly:


 
 To me, this is the very essence of grace.  (That's Eleanor Powell with him, by the way; no slouch she!)  Enormous work has gone in.  The performers have invested such heart, such determination, that the effort disappears, and all that the world sees is the unselfconscious art.

 
My motto: Work Conquers All

Annamaria – Monday, by the grace of Leighton  

9 comments:

  1. What a delightful post. Not only I, but all the people around the pool got to enjoy the film clips...whether or not they wanted to. I think they particularly enjoyed Spencer Tracy's Clarence Darrow performance even though I doubt they speak English well enough to appreciate the nuances. Vah Halen was a big hit too, especially among the nappers. I say that because so many of them were obviously moved...enough to leave the pool spouting the Lord's name at me. In Greek.

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    1. Thanks, Jeff. I had no idea how I would figure out what to get you for your birthday. Now I know. Earphones! In the meanwhile, I join the Greeks in sending you my blessings.

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    2. Oh, Jeff, you damned, rowdy, course Americans! Blasting Van Halen in such an idyllic setting. Shame. Shame, I say!

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  2. Great column, Annamaria, and great sentiment (motto), indeed!

    A request (or thought) to all of the columnists here: how about putting your name(s) at the TOP of the blog postings rather (or in addition to) the bottom? I find myself, most every day, first scrolling to the bottom of the post to see who it is that is 'speaking' to me, then scrolling back up to the top to read the post. I have a hard enough time remembering what day of the week it is, let alone which one of you writes on which day of the week (except for Jeff on Saturdays, which I've renamed from Saturday to Givehelltojeffday.

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    1. Thanks, Everett, both for your kind words to me and the regular heckling of Jeff, which brings out the best in him! I do the same as you: find out who the writer is first and then read the post. sometimes I can tell by the subject matter, especially if the topic is booze, sex, and lolling around in a swim suit.

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    2. It's one thing for Everett to turn on me...after all, he has a hard time telling up from down...but et tu? Shame on you, AA, for after all the BS&L we've been through together...err, rather separately...I'd have thought you above all others would appreciate the dedicated commitment involved.

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    3. Don't start with me, Brud. You are the one who is complaining (I read "bragging") about what is happening to you at the pool, while I got to spend my weekend in beautiful downtown New Brunswick. Everett and I are entitled to a few tiny satisfactions of revenge.

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  3. Love your post. It shows just what makes a memorable work!It takes hard work to create magic.

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    1. Thank you, lil. And I must say, it is very nice to have you and your genteel reaction, unlike the boys, with whom I am forced and stand up and duke it out.

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