Reality Check Creative Pessimism - Why artists are never happy

[Rachel Caldecott]

This morning my son showed me this. I thought it might mean something to all of you too.

 

[Tim James]

I'm reminded of a scene from a film, I can't remember the film's title unfortunately, but in it two people were talking and one of them is asking the other "Why are you so dissatisfied with everything all the time? You are so awkward."
The other replies, "Because all progress is made by dissatisfied people. People who think everything is fine never want to change anything. Only people who think something is not right or could be better force changes to happen and progress to be made. I'm therefore helping progress."
Being awkward and dissatisfied is good.

 

[Amber]

Are they never happy though? I have to question stereotypes. My mother was an artist and was never happy. You could say I'm an artist and maybe I'm a tad moody. So, like a lot of stereotypes there might be something there.

I know happy artists. Sometimes they're artists who aren't very good. They don't have an ear for language or a sense of story. But the greatest artist I know is very rational, hell bent on creating something great and feelings of doubt don't play much into it. It must be what the end part of the video is talking about.

Interesting video. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Matnov]

What defines happiness though? I appreciate its a question as old as mankind itself but I struggle with this notion that writers/creative people have to be tortured souls.

I sometimes think that people play up to the stereotype. Guilty as charged by the way. I loved playing the dipso, undiscovered talent who had to suffer for his art and it took me until my mid 40's to discover what a load of old tosh that was. Along with writing almost nothing at all.

I actually LIKE writing. I get a buzz out of the entire process. That coming up with outlandish plots and interesting characters is the most fun I can have fully clothed. But I actually had to start writing, rather than pontificating about being a writer to appreciate that.

Give me a screen to write on, a choice of eclectic tunes on tap and a hot beverage of my choice and I am as as happy as a Pig in Merde. Throw in my little Dalmatian hideaway and I feel so brilliant I swear I could eat myself. And I can even forgo everything bar the chance to tap away if I have to. But making up shit for fun, that is how I get my kicks.

The rest of life has its ups and downs but invariably when something crap happens its a case of eventually realising mea culpa and then hauling my arse onwards. And if on the rare occasions, its not down to me then there ain't a lot I can do about it anyway.

Please don't think I am being flippant about conditions such as depression and so on because I am not, and I wish anybody who suffers from such things nothing other than positive vibes but I do think that some people use this creative itch malarkey as an excuse for being utter twats. Along with taking themselves FAR to seriously. Reading and writing should be fun, when all is said and done. Yes there are parts of it that can be tedious and where we have to push ourselves but ultimately it has to be about us gaining something joyous rather than wallowing in self-pity.

Are there genuine tortured genius out there? Absolutely. And I pity them because it never ends well, for either themselves or anybody around them. But I refuse to accept that people have no choice in that in almost 90% of cases.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

I'm with @Matnov. My husband can tell when I've spent the day writing--he says I'm fizzing at the end of the day. And, though I have my moments, I'm a pretty upbeat sort of person. Always look on the bright side, and all, you know.

Of course, I've never considered myself an artist. Maybe I don't have the right mindset for creative suffering.

 

[Amber]

What defines happiness though? I appreciate its a question as old as mankind itself but I struggle with this notion that writers/creative people have to be tortured souls.

Yeah. I could spend a lifetime talking about what happiness is if I was independently wealthy and had someone to bring me food, water, and plump my pillow while I contemplated the meaning of the universe. Hopefully at some point I'd notice I was spending my time talking about happiness instead of being happy.

I agree with you. There is something contrived about the notion that creative people are tortured. It often seems like posturing and since creative people often are dramatic, it's easy to believe they can simply stop being so ridiculous. I thought that about my mother more than once.

For what it's worth, psychologists and spiritual type of people have lots of theories about why creative people 'seem' this way. One of biggest appears to be a lack of validation from those who are close to them and in a broader sense, a lack of validation in the world. What's the first thing all writers gets asked? Yet, in order to get good we have to respect what we're doing. That's hard.

I sometimes think that people play up to the stereotype. Guilty as charged by the way. I loved playing the dipso, undiscovered talent who had to suffer for his art and it took me until my mid 40's to discover what a load of old tosh that was. Along with writing almost nothing at all.

I actually don't like artistic posturing myself. It annoys the hell out of me. Just write. I don't think you need to be in an outdoor cafe in Paris and be surrounded by beauty to write. You don't need to 'expose' yourself to experiences or anything like that.

But ... I'm playing devil's advocate here partly because it sounds to me as though you're being hard on yourself. So, I encourage you to look at what happened a different way. There were reasons why you waited. Did you really not write anything at all?

I actually LIKE writing. I get a buzz out of the entire process. That coming up with outlandish plots and interesting characters is the most fun I can have fully clothed. But I actually had to start writing, rather than pontificating about being a writer to appreciate that.

Yeah., It's pretty cool. I always like it when I'm doing it.

Please don't think I am being flippant about conditions such as depression and so on because I am not, and I wish anybody who suffers from such things nothing other than positive vibes but I do think that some people use this creative itch malarkey as an excuse for being utter twats. Along with taking themselves FAR to seriously. Reading and writing should be fun, when all is said and done. Yes there are parts of it that can be tedious and where we have to push ourselves but ultimately it has to be about us gaining something joyous rather than wallowing in self-pity.

Are there genuine tortured genius out there? Absolutely. And I pity them because it never ends well, for either themselves or anybody around them. But I refuse to accept that people have no choice in that in almost 90% of cases.

No. I didn't think you were being flippant about depression or anything like that.

 

[Paul Whybrow]