When I was doing my internship in Auroville, I remember attending a seminar  with my colleagues by this ‘expert’ who practised alternative building techniques. After the seminar ended, during the Q&A session, a student asked him a very basic question, to which he smiled and answered, “I don’t know”. Can you believe it? 

After an hour of speaking about supporting local artisans and the importance of vernacular building techniques, he didn’t have an answer. Back at the office, my boss- who was fuming-spoke about why alternative architecture is an exclusive space and people like these “experts” are the reasons why it is not in the mainstream. He was a person who gave away all his materials and resources for free to anyone who visited the office. I didn’t think of it much back then but it got me thinking about artists and their trade secrets. Here in this article, I’m using ‘art’ as blanket term. 

Just like most kids in India, I have followed and investigated Cricket for a long time and specifically, spin bowlers- Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan-  whom I consider artists because there is a sense of mystery to their technique in trying to outwit the batsmen. So if any sportsperson were to have secrets in their prime, it ought to be them. But if you just look them up on YouTube, you will find a dozen of old TV interviews and  masterclasses disclosing these secrets, including the recent one which I thought was fantastic.

This free sharing of knowledge is not just limited to just sportsmen or artists but also chefs who are infamously tight-lipped about their recipes- rightfully so. Aaron Franklin, whom I read about in one of Austin Kleon’s books where he speaks about the same topic, is the mastermind behind Franklin Barbecue- one of the most famous barbecue restaurants in America known for its long queues. President Obama once dined there, but he skipped the line. Franklin has a video series offering a walkthrough of his entire process for anyone whose interested.

You might wonder how all these people are so unguarded with their trade secrets. How are they freely handing out their route to success? Aren’t they worried about copycats? Aren’t they worried about people beating their game?

Now, that sort of insecurity is understandable when you are just starting out even though it is based out of a false notion that you’re gonna run dry. But when you find artists being secretive and closed off, one should be wary of them because more often than not, they look at the world as a zero-sum game and that everyone is immediate competition. Even if one tries to emulate a master’s recipe, anything worthwhile is going to take hours of practice and by the time they get there, they would have made it their own. Look at Brian De Palma where he makes his own Hitchcock films and most times, even better. So the question then, is are you willing to put in the hours?

The trade secrets, as one puts it, simply means one’s learning. The ones who thinks they have something to lose are the ones who think that they have attained mastery and feel like there is nothing more for them to learn. This lack of generosity comes from a scarcity mindset and needs to be called out.

Above all, I just don’t think they really really love their art enough to know that they were once a student themselves and they have an obligation to share because the practice itself is a gift that was bestowed- especially if one has been lucky enough to make a living out of something they love.  

Peace and grace,
Nikhil.