Fallowness

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Contextual Citation

"Lying fallow (…) consists of a peculiar mixture of passivity and activity, directed towards the outside world, while at the same time being directionless, aimless, and embraced with abandon; it is characterised by openness, availability, alertness and attention which renounces the impulse to control or change things (…) It is an active/passive attitude that concentrates on emptiness and decomposition, enabling it to be open to the fullness of the moment, the here and now (…) Lying fallow is a fertile ground for inspiration and creativity. Just when you are no longer fixed on the result, when your will is temporarily switched off and your consciousness left free to roam, then inspiration can arise from deep within, as a gift and an aptitude, and the ideas can begin to stream." 

— Ton Lemaire [1]


Discussion

by Maja Kuzmanovic and Nik Gaffney:

"Fallow land plays an important role in agriculture. Land that is farmed intensively requires regular crop rotation and periods without cultivation to maintain or replenish its fertility. Natural farmers and permaculture gardeners create interdependent plant guilds which self-regulate following seasonal rhythms of growth and stagnation. What if we, as individuals and organisations, designed our working routines to include such fallow periods? If we followed cycles of fertility, growth and renewal? Imagine explicitly creating space for open exploration without having a specific goal. How would it feel to spend time observing and responding to our environment, being able to follow unexpected inspiration and gather insights from any direction?

Within such fallow periods we might replenish our energy, broaden our awareness, learn new skills and cultivate more fertile ground for further meaningful experiences. But lying fallow is not an end in itself; it is an essential phase in a longer creative cycle. Over the course of this cycle, the fallow ground provides a valuable source of ideas and energy when it comes to the active periods of experimentation and production. How long such a cycle lasts depends on the people involved and their circumstances. It can span days, months or years. It might include a combination of shorter cycles of expansion and contraction, of inwardly or outwardly focused activities. The cycles might be internally driven by available resources, or directly linked to seasonal changes, the rotation of the Earth, hours of daylight and darkness. The important difference to established ways of working is that the fallow periods are included as part of the work: and respected and compensated as such. They are acknowledged and embraced rather than shunned as a weakness or waste. A prominent example is the design studio Sagmeister and Walsh, well known for closing their studio for a year every seven years to go on sabbatical. “Everything that we designed in the seven years following the first sabbatical had its roots in thinking done during that sabbatical.


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From another perspective, lying fallow is an essential component of energy use and conservation. According to the principles of permaculture, a resilient system divides its energy into three: one third for itself, one third for the smaller elements that depend on it, and one third for the larger context in which it exists. Translating this energy model to the creative cycle, a fallow period replenishes energy, inspiration and motivation for an artist, studio or organisation; the experimental or production phase provides resources for all those involved in the work; while the presentation and exchange of works, skills and knowledge feeds the creative sector and a wider public. Imagine an arts centre where everyone divides their work energy into three. One part of their energy they allocate to working with the artists, designing artistic programmes and ensuring the organisation runs smoothly. The second third is devoted to connecting with other organisations and audiences, policy makers, philanthropists or wider social movements. The third part is dedicated to following individual pursuits, such as writing, learning new software, cultivating the centre’s rooftop garden, or anything else that stimulates personal development. A dynamic balance needs to be maintained in this energy distribution, with the system moving from one state to another depending on both internal and external demands.


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Transitions and lying fallow require shifts of speed and perspective, consciously exploring an extended sense of the here and now. This directly challenges the perception of urgency that many of us face on a daily basis, and is therefore often met with skepticism. The most common objections relate to financial viability, lack of quantifiable outcomes, and incompatibility with existing plans or schedules. The concern that is easiest to address (yet may still take time) is the difficulty of planning for sabbaticals or periods of nothing since there is too much going on, or there are opportunities that might be missed. Scheduling down-time and monotasking can help help with both long and short term idleness. Neuroscientists and psychologists suggest that monotasking (or sustained focus on a single activity) is not only beneficial for an individual’s wellbeing, but can also increase focus, effectiveness and creativity. Monotasking can enable shorter, more concentrated periods of work, and opens up space for lying fallow. When planning a day, week, month or year, add slack or idle time in the agenda as you would an activity and ensure it’s sufficient. Longer periods (e.g. a one-year sabbatical) may require more planning. Plan roughly the same duration in advance (i.e. one year ahead for a one-year sabbatical) and let any of your clients, venues, collaborators or staff know how the plan affects them. Don’t take on new work that encroaches into the period; don’t commit to work during the period. The suggestion that lying fallow amounts to woolly research with no real results emerges from the short-termism plaguing not just the creative sector but society as a whole. Lying fallow can only be realistically assessed as part of a longer process, where its effects become evident through an improved quality of work, better decision-making, or heightened energy levels. The process of exploration can (and should) be recorded and shared: this documentation can be considered a tangible result, as would the seeds of any ideas that emerge during such periods. For example, one of FoAM’s transients, the biotechnologist Michka Mélo, meticulously documented the process of his transiency online, publishing how-to articles, references, personal reflections, future scenarios and anecdotes. While he did not begin with a clear goal or list of outcomes in mind, his open exploration created a valuable resource for others exploring similar questions, and clarified his own thinking about his transition. The concern that downtime is a costly extravagance that can’t pay for itself has also been shown to ben incorrect when studied over the long term. Research from business, academia, design and other fields has shown that periods of idleness and open exploration improves the quality of work, increases productivity and thus also financial gain. Sagmeister noted in an interview that their studio can charge higher prices because the quality of their work improved after a sabbatical. During the 1970s, scientists Art Fry and Spencer Silver developed the widely-used Post-it notes during their 15 percent time at 3M, where employees are paid to “chase rainbows and hatch their own ideas”. More recently, companies such as Pixar, Google, Twitter and Facebook claim to have incorporated time for tinkering and contemplative practices as an essential part of their way of working. If such financially driven entities can appreciate the economic benefits of these practices, we can put to rest monetary objections to such activities in the cultural sector.” (https://medium.com/aperiodic-mesmerism/thriving-in-uncertainty-d74b75020b05)