The Curse of Artistry

The curse of being an artist is inescapable. You may be able to ride incognito for a while. You may be able to disguise your own true feelings for a short time. Even in that situation you are asking for trouble, because the suppression of one’s own feelings is a major cause of depression. You have to probe your own soul to find out what is ticking. Sometimes that is hard. Sometimes it is harder. Probably it never is easy, that is if there is anything really there. Even if you understand yourself we live in a plural world, and it doesn’t make it easy for one to become actualized. Just the opposite the human race is filled with greed, jealousy, contempt, and hatred. Why would anyone want to revel in the actualization of another, except that in the process they might receive similar benefits? That is what an artist does. In the attempt of seeking self-actualization, they help others who have experienced similar things. It used to be movies provided that service to the American people. Cinema was a platform held in high esteem which attempted to be artistic. Movies were reserved for a higher function than just providing light diversion. That is what makes them sustain over time. Art transcends and stands the test of time, because it deals with real, live, substantial, and timeless human problems that will always be. Wisdom about recognizing and solving these problems is useful, and that is what makes the connection with the human race. Art really is not about casual physical pleasure. It is not about mindless escapism. Art faces the real issues of existence as human beings, and the more we recognize the difficulties facing us as the human race the more successful we will be at creating a world that will serve us. As a whole we have lost sight of those challenges. Only recently in the news are the real issues of survival becoming known again. Flood. Fire. Famine. Disease. Infrastructure. Health Care. No matter how great the threat of an invisible and menacing sect is, it will never surmount the needs of the human race. We now are failing at balancing the two. Spend our time chasing Al Qaeda or spend our time nurturing and taking care of ourselves? After we have spent all our time and resources capturing or destroying our enemy, what will be left? Let’s not create a black hole of which we will not be able to climb out.