Author posts
Confessions of an Outlaw: Valuable Mistakes
As a high-wire artist, Philippe Petit doesn't have much room for mistakes. Still, he finds that mistakes are our best teachers and advises friends and students to treat them as such.
February 03, 2015
Confessions of an Outlaw: Intuition and Improvisation
Intuition and improvisation are not opposites. They are cousins. One must take an intellectual approach to an adventurous exploration of the unknown.
February 03, 2015
Confessions of an Outlaw: The Art of Balance
High-wire artist Philippe Petit wasn't just born with superior balance; it's something he's developed all his life and something he applies to all his life.
February 03, 2015
Confessions of an Outlaw: Discipline and Play
A marriage of discipline and play seems contradictory, but Philippe Petit thrives on being an extreme and contradictory artist.
February 03, 2015
Confessions of an Outlaw: Finding Focus
Philippe Petit calls himself something of a Luddite. We live in a world in which we are slaves to our gadgets. His brand of art calls for a level of focus not possible when tethered to a device.
February 03, 2015
Confessions of an Outlaw: The Alchemy of Sleep
High-wire artist Philippe Petit explains how to practice creativity while sleeping.
February 03, 2015
Confessions of an Outlaw: Chaos and Order
High-wire artist Philippe Petit describes his process of compressing chaos in order to build a model for creative output.
February 03, 2015
Confessions of an Outlaw: The Self You Bring
How to you inspire people? How do you touch an audience? High-wire artist Philippe Petit explains the secret is to not try at all. Instead, be yourself.
February 03, 2015
Confessions of an Outlaw: A Creativity Workshop, with Philippe Petit
High-wire artist Philippe Petit, who four decades ago performed illegally between the World Trade Center towers, explains how his personal brand of outlaw creativity can be harnessed to inspire and solve problems.
February 03, 2015
Philippe Petit
Philippe Petit has performed on the high wire more than eighty times around the world. He is famous for his 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Petit is also a magician, street juggler, visual artist, builder, lecturer, and writer. He is the author and illustrator of several books, including To Reach the Clouds, the basis of the 2009 Academy Award–winning documentary Man on Wire.
Petit's latest book is titled Creativity: The Perfect Crimes. His World Trade Center act is the subject of the 2015 biographical film The Walk directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
