Where Great Art Comes From
Hereâs another thing from the main site. Â Originally posted on Hey Design on November 12th
Yeah, this is too big a subject to tackle in a blog post. Yeah, it would stupid to even try.
Is it Pain? Pleasure? Passion?
A lot of people think it comes from pain. Other people say it comes from passion. Others say it comes from determination. All of them are thinking too small.
I believe it comes from emotion. Intense emotion. All-consuming, body-seizing, from-the-heart intense. The kind that drives you to share it with the world. But the specific type doesnât matter.
Joy works: Think of how much of historyâs greatest art has come from religious fervor, for example. Drugs are credited with a lot of creative works for the same reason, but Iâd argue theyâre an often dangerous shortcut to what you can achieve on your own with some effort. And I think weâd all agree that, in the long run, they take way more from artists who get hooked than they give. Determination works, too: The drive to make great art is itself enough to drive you to make great art.
Anger, giddiness, desire, boredom, pride, fear⌠Anything you feel strongly enough that you just have to express it. I think thatâs what gives your work that certain something we call âheart,â âsoul,â or âfeeling.â
But why do so many people believe great art comes only from pain? Â Maybe because itâs the most common type.
For example, there arenât many opportunities to experience overwhelming joy. A lot of us live according to comfortable, unstimulating routines. Your average person wonât experience many adrenaline rushes, provided they obey the law: Extreme sports are expensive, entertainmentâs lost a lot of its impact from oversaturation, and society at large is slowly turning away from religion.
But our partners still cheat on us, our friends still die, and we still lose jobs, get sick, and step on Legos. Painâs guaranteed in life, and for a lot of us, itâs the most intense emotion weâre likely to experience more than a few times. So when people create art, thereâs a good chance thatâs what theyâll draw on. And arguably, now that weâre lonelier than ever before, depression is even easier to come by than in the past.
But itâs not all bad, of course. Plenty of great art still comes from friendship, love, and parenthood: the causes of the greatest struggles and the greatest joys in most peoplesâ lives. And the last centuryâs also seen the rise of escapism as we become more comfortable turning to our imaginations to provide the emotions that real life canât.
Plus, without pain, the joys and triumphs wouldnât have meaning. Personally, my favorite books, movies, etc. are the ones with the most contrast, that cover the full spectrum of emotions instead of sticking to one end or the other.
âAll sunshine makes a desert.â âArabic Proverb
But Itâs Not All That ExcitingâŚ
There are two factors, though. As you know, art is also a craft. Consistently producing great work still takes years of grinding practice and a thorough knowledge of what youâre doing.
We all know stories about the band that never practiced, or the artist whoâd never picked up a paintbrush before, but created, if not a masterpiece, than something at least charming in its own way. But very often, youâll find they only did it once. If theyâve released much other work, chances are most of it is crap. They never learned their craft, just happened to trip over the right combination of sounds or colors that make something brilliant.
I believe that both are equally important, though. Technical ability without feeling results inâŚ
Most bad art isnât eye-searingly awful, just dull. The most common complaint about pop singers and Hollywood movies, for instance, is that theyâre technically perfect, but hackneyed and lifeless.
Thatâs because they have all the skill in the world, but nothing driving it. Theyâve turned their art forms into paint-by-numbers exercises, using formulas to squeeze the most money out of the audience, and that lack of emotion comes through in the flat performances.
Likewise, youâve heard the clichĂŠ that artists get worse as they age, especially successful ones. This isnât always true: some keep improving until the day they dieâbut a lot donât, and I think those ones have some things in common.
Skill-wise, theyâre still on top of their game. Decades of working on their craft full-time made them masters. But all the joy they got out of it, as well as success itself, is gone: Â Theyâve done everything and earned more money than theyâll ever need. But since theyâre no longer struggling, they donât feel particularly bad, either. And gone is the determination to make something incredibleâtheyâve already done it and resigned themselves to the fact that their best days are behind them.
In other words, theyâre desensitized to happiness, shielded from pain, and have no reason to be determined. As their world becomes more comfortable and predictable, their work matches it.
Get Out and Experience Things
So, how do you fight that? Contrary to what a lot of artists believe, locking yourself in the studio 24/7 can be counterproductive. For your work to have meaning, you have to go out and experience things.
If your lifeâs lacking joy, start saving up for a road trip. Get a dog. Play with a kid. Visit friends you havenât seen in a while. Have a night out. Â Just do something fun. Not so much that you become numb to it, but enough to break through the tedium.
If you find that youâre too detached from struggle, volunteer at a homeless shelter. Save some animals. Practice listening to other peoplesâ problems and empathizing with them. Put yourself back in touch with the part of life youâre missing, even if itâs unpleasant.
And remember, no matter who you are or at what stage in your life, you still have it in you to create brilliant, original works of art. Donât go quietly into the sunset. Thatâs taking the easy way out.