Across the Block celebrates the horror and the clean web page alternative
All around the block is a rally for creatives everywhere, but especially for those who are paralyzed by the presence of a blank page. It is followed by David Zinn, who uses cracks in the concrete or unusual features of the immediate area as starting points for creating chalk marks.
In voice-over to the film, he ponders the “four sided prison” that is the blank page and offers words of encouragement to unleash ideas without waiting for them to be perfect.
"Every drawing is not what you wanted when you started," he says. “In a thousand ways, this disappointment makes you want to draw something else. So you could sit there and sweat and make an effort – "Oh, maybe I should wait until I have the best idea".
"In the middle of the pavement, you don't have time to wait for the best idea in the middle of the day because if you wait it will get dark or it will start to rain," he continues. "And you will go home and have created nothing. If you want to draw something today, you better start, because eventually it will be dark and it will be too late."
Director Jonnie Lewis said he did not set out to make a film specifically about creative blocks or the importance of following ideas, but that he had become an analogy for the process in general. Zinn may speak of his own artistic practice, but it's easy to see how his advice applies to other creative work as well.
And while advice about being creative and having ideas can often be frustratingly vague and unhelpful, Zinn's philosophy of just getting out there and doing it is refreshingly exciting. Lewis points out, “Much like the way David finds inspiration in the cracks, streaks and stains on the sidewalk, I personally find it much more fluid and inspiring to come out with a camera in hand and find footage than to sit at home and try Bring ideas. "
jonnielewisfilm.co.uk; zinnart.com