Some Creative Wisdom?

[Masato]

Hey all

Interesting quote someone I admire posted on facebook today...

What do you think? Do you agree?


...My sense is that the West's need for healing is rooted in crises of personal identity and purpose. Whether they are raised in indigenous or modern cultures there are two things that people crave: the full realization of their innate gifts, and to have these gifts approved, acknowledged and confirmed. There are countless people in the West whose efforts are sadly wasted because they have no means of expressing their unique genius. In the psyches of such people there is an inner power and authority that fails to shine because the world around them is blind to it.

This implies that our own inner authority needs the fuel of external recognition to inspire us to fulfill our life's purpose, and until this happens we wait in paralysis for the redemptive social responses that rescue us from the dungeon of anonymity. Our own confirmation or acknowledgement is not enough. The need to be acknowledged by the society is so primal that if it does not happen in the village, town or neighborhood, people will go out searching for it.

[SRBrant]

I concur wholeheartedly.

[Luigi]

I think the West has lost its sense of communal identity as well. Many of us see ourselves as an artificial product of the modern world. When you think Western cuisine the first thing that comes to mind is a plastic wrapped bundle of hotdogs rolling down a conveyor belt. We view everyone with cultural authenticity but ourselves. If you are familiar with the comedian Russel Peters he did a really funny piece on this.

[Masato]

^ Great post Luigi. There was another documentary about 'Beauty' suggesting that the degree of art that is visible in everyday life (architecture etc) has a direct effect on the culture and mindset that grows out of it. In an environment where one is surrounded by images of the divine and carefully crafted structures etc we are likely to be more enlightened and consider these matters in our everyday lives. In an environment where architecture is simply cost-efficient and practical but with no sense of beauty, we also become this.

This is why I hate the architecture and design of hospitals. They don't get this at all (or maybe they do, lol)

[Masato]

Also, I wonder people's opinions on this:

Regarding the quote in the OP... what do you think of how similar this talk sounds to ideas of fame and ego?


Perhaps there is a natural intrinsic need for artistic recognition, but there is also a shallow, ego-driven desire for fame and attention. One is uplifting and nourishing to society, the other is destructive and subtractive to society

- How as artists can we know where that line is? How far can we allow ourselves to gain audience and appreciation before it slips into something unhealthy?

It would seem to me that the line would be quite fickle and easily misinterpreted. A healthy artist may begin to gain an audience, and their work begins to bloom then one day in a flash you find yourself entangled in an ego-trip and getting high off of attention.

[SRBrant]

Also, I wonder people's opinions on this:

Regarding the quote in the OP... what do you think of how similar this talk sounds to ideas of fame and ego?


Perhaps there is a natural intrinsic need for artistic recognition, but there is also a shallow, ego-driven desire for fame and attention. One is uplifting and nourishing to society, the other is destructive and subtractive to society

- How as artists can we know where that line is? How far can we allow ourselves to gain audience and appreciation before it slips into something unhealthy?

It would seem to me that the line would be quite fickle and easily misinterpreted. A healthy artist may begin to gain an audience, and their work begins to bloom then one day in a flash you find yourself entangled in an ego-trip and getting high off of attention.

Personally, I'd rather have my work get all the fame. I create it to have fun, make a bit of dosh and most importantly, improve this world of ours. Look at any celebrity in the tabloids and you'll see just how low the Sword of Damocles dangles over the lives of the rich and famous.