We were lucky to catch up with Jordan Urgin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jordan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Pursuing an artistic path often means being outcasted, which I believe can offer a chance to see things, if not objectively, at least from a different angle.
However, how can someone expect to share his reflexions on something that was never experienced? Simply existing on the edge of a society doesn’t grant the right to criticize it.
Having a regular job that supports artistic endeavors, or at least to had this previous experience, seems to be one of the most genuine ways to be a grounded artist nowadays. It might not be the most comfortable or sustainable option in the long run, but it provides the right insight and authenticity.

Jordan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As a teen, I was fascinated by the stop-motion short films from Aardman Studios. I thought there could be nothing more conscientious and respectful of an audience than people spending days of their lives shooting one by one 24 frames to create one second of film. And then I saw “La Dolce Vita,” and my mind was set: this is what I had to do. And the impression I had before was just an expression of my need to experience dedication.
Since then, all my choices in life have been made to feed this necessity, pretty much at all costs. No matter the detours life might force me to take, there will always be a film to create along the way.

In my mid-twenties, my life started taking an unexpected turn in this regard, and my artistic journey became a complete daydream. Drastic choices had to be made to rekindle my dedication.
Starting life again from scratch might be an adventurous and frightening decision, but I must say I have never felt my artistic goals align so gracefully with my life before. And I couldn’t urge anyone more to experience this relief of embracing their pontential, at least once in their lifetime.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

No matter how harsh we can be with ourselves, we tend to confuse this uncomplacent attitude with the natural harshness of existence. If life feels too harsh, it means we are not thriving in the right environment and a change should be made.
In the right place, discipline will bear fruit.

I have wasted too many years struggling against myself and my environment instead of honing my tools and means of expression. It’s never too late to understand this, since living is not a race but a journey.
However, it’s always difficult not to reproach yourself for wasting the most precious and rare thing we have: time.

There is not a single minute to waste when it comes to creating, no matter the circumstances or the expected outcome, as long as your guts, honesty, and humility (or lack thereof) are given to your task.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

“The Awakening of Intelligence” collects various impressionss, thoughts and public talks on all possible topics the thinker and philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti had in the later years of his life. I don’t think there has been, for me, such a profound before-and-after impact on how to approach any possible challenge life can present:

“Regeneration is only possible in the present, not in the future, not tomorrow. The man who relies on time to achieve happiness, or to realise truth or God, is only fooling himself; he is living in ignorance, and therefore in a state of conflict. The man who sees that time is not a means of resolving our difficulties, this man, being freed from error, naturally intends to understand; consequently, his mind is spontaneously silent, without constraint or discipline, he is no longer looking for answers or solutions, he neither resists nor evades, and is then able to perceive what is true. And it is the truth that liberates, not the effort we make to free ourselves.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.prelude-film.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlesthename/

Image Credits

Maxence Urgin
Adam Eskilson