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I saw this in a friend's blog today, and I just ... artists and writers and actors, dancers, jewelers, crafters, shipbuilders, I could go on, are not creatures touched by the divine hand of god. We are people just like anyone else.
How can you say, 'every artist I've ever known is fucked up in some way' and think, oh people need TO SUFFER FOR THEIR ART, that's BULLSHIT.
Artists are those people who were lucky enough to discover that thing that engaged them and they keep at it, the majority of artist are hobbyists, some strive to make their living, and as in all things, luck and talent can get you to stratospheric heights. Some people are lucky to be encouraged in their endeavors.
I think particularly of all the people in my family who have talent at drawing, my little sister, who can draw, but she always compared herself to me and said, oh, well You Get To Be The Artist in the family, (as if you only get a quota of one)
I guess what I'm saying is, everyone is an artist at something, there is something everyone can do better than most, a perfect parallel park can be a thing of beauty. But, whatever you do, you have to be willing to devote hours of time to it, to get good at anything, an artist may have some innate abilities, but it's not a god given gift, its WORK.
An artist is also compelled, painting that yellow chair for the 234 time, and people might not get it, but that's not the point, you do it because you need to, it can be your own therapy. And speaking of therapy, if a medication, or treatment makes you less stressed, and allows you to cope - and make better work - that can't be a bad thing, you can't cure the artistic impulse, thank god.
*post edit*
I keep getting this response that artists are 'wired differently' that something makes them different from the 'general population' whatever that is, and that is patently not true.
Do you tell the quilter that she has to 'be crazy and fucked up' to create? No, but then that's also a social/cultural hierarchy of what makes craft and what makes art.
I was told in youth I had the hands of a pianist, I can sight read music, I have a good ear, I would like to have studied piano, but in the end, it did not compel me as much as writing and drawing. How many of us would be musicians, artists, writers, but we didn't want to put in the time and application of our talents? You have to want to spend hours learning and perfecting a craft, thats as much or more of being an artist than your hard wiring.
How can you say, 'every artist I've ever known is fucked up in some way' and think, oh people need TO SUFFER FOR THEIR ART, that's BULLSHIT.
Artists are those people who were lucky enough to discover that thing that engaged them and they keep at it, the majority of artist are hobbyists, some strive to make their living, and as in all things, luck and talent can get you to stratospheric heights. Some people are lucky to be encouraged in their endeavors.
I think particularly of all the people in my family who have talent at drawing, my little sister, who can draw, but she always compared herself to me and said, oh, well You Get To Be The Artist in the family, (as if you only get a quota of one)
I guess what I'm saying is, everyone is an artist at something, there is something everyone can do better than most, a perfect parallel park can be a thing of beauty. But, whatever you do, you have to be willing to devote hours of time to it, to get good at anything, an artist may have some innate abilities, but it's not a god given gift, its WORK.
An artist is also compelled, painting that yellow chair for the 234 time, and people might not get it, but that's not the point, you do it because you need to, it can be your own therapy. And speaking of therapy, if a medication, or treatment makes you less stressed, and allows you to cope - and make better work - that can't be a bad thing, you can't cure the artistic impulse, thank god.
*post edit*
I keep getting this response that artists are 'wired differently' that something makes them different from the 'general population' whatever that is, and that is patently not true.
Do you tell the quilter that she has to 'be crazy and fucked up' to create? No, but then that's also a social/cultural hierarchy of what makes craft and what makes art.
I was told in youth I had the hands of a pianist, I can sight read music, I have a good ear, I would like to have studied piano, but in the end, it did not compel me as much as writing and drawing. How many of us would be musicians, artists, writers, but we didn't want to put in the time and application of our talents? You have to want to spend hours learning and perfecting a craft, thats as much or more of being an artist than your hard wiring.
