This week I attended the opening of an art show at a local museum that I recently joined. The show featured the art of four young women, all emerging artists. Because art show descriptions are often written in “artspeak”, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I wanted to see this museum as I would like to show there someday. It was an interesting show. The main room was devoted to one of the artists, and the other three artists each had a smaller area. We got to see two of the displays before the requisite speeches marking the opening and took in the other two after said speeches. What struck me was that all four young ladies had used their art to exorcise various demons that had kept them prisoners for a long time. And it was obvious from some of the speeches that unfortunately these demons weren’t quite done with them. While listening to the young women explain their processes, my old “impostor syndrome” demon was whispering in my ear…. “See, THESE are real artists, not you, you haven’t had to go through what they have, you’re way too normal, you’ve lived a coddled life and there’s no way you will ever produce meaningful art like these tortured souls have…. All you do is paint pretty pictures… no pain… no trauma … no angst … how BORING!!!" I have to say that some of the art that was presented was, to my eyes, terrible. As in not good. Although I found some of the paintings in the main room quite attractive and well done (but not enough to want to buy one), after hearing from the artist where they were from and how they came about, I was even more certain I wouldn’t want to own one. I am truly sorry that these women had to go through what they did, and although I am extremely happy that this young woman was able to use art to explore and dismiss many of her demons, I don’t really want to be reminded of her struggles every time I look at her art on my walls! Maybe that is wrong, but that’s just the way I am. I discussed this later with a few close friends who are also artists, wondering what they felt about this idea that true art can only come from angst. The reality is that everyone I talked to felt that they wanted to be surrounded by art that made them feel good, not depressed. If I want that, I can watch the news! I tried looking online for discussions of art and angst, but found little but the oft-repeated stories about “troubled artists”. Van Gogh comes to mind. Humans being what they are, troubled artists seem to get more press than happy ones! Perhaps I have not dug deep enough into my past to find my true traumas, or perhaps I am just more resilient than some and don’t consider the bumps along my life path as being worthy of the name “trauma”, or perhaps I truly have been blessed with an angst-free life. Of course, like most people, I have made poor choices, have lost loved ones, and had bad relationships, but I consider these part of a normal life, accept them and move on. Although they no doubt helped shape who I am, I will not dwell on them or let them define me. And except for times like this week when the “impostor syndrome demon” finds something to feed on and makes me wonder if I am wrong when the rest of the world is right, I am fine with who I am and what I have done so far. So unless I wake up one morning in a major “Aha moment”, I will continue to paint what I find beautiful, I will continue to explore and learn new techniques to try to quench my thirst for knowledge, and will continue to try to find ways to capture beauty on paper to bring joy to people’s lives and to promote my belief that original art is magical! Do let me know what you think in the comments. Can true art exist without angst? Would you, or do you, have art born from angst in your home? Thanks!
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AuthorMy name is Claire Bureau. Archives
March 2023
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