“Forget the world. Let’s make the world a better place.” I’m convinced this should be the approach of an artist.
Here’s the deal: A great artist wants to make the world a better place. Our love for beauty and truth make us want to make a lasting impact. And a lasting impact requires breaking the status quo and changing things up. The world is a messed up place…and it requires change if it’s going to get better.
But “the world” doesn’t want change. The world embraces the status quo. It resists change.
Do you see the problem here? The world needs your art. But the world doesn’t want your art. (Until of course it becomes the new status quo.)
So in order to push through this resistance, an artist almost needs a “screw the world” mentality. The world will always offer “helpful opinions” and criticisms. And it’s natural to accept them all and feel the pressure to comply. Of course it’s natural! We want to help the world!
We need to be passionately in love with people. But at the same time we need to hold a distain for the systems they operate in. We can never see ourselves as better than them. But we can’t embrace the world’s systems as our own. We can’t be pressured to comply with everyone’s “helpful opinions” and criticisms.
Screw the world? But love the world?
How do you maintain that balance? I’m pretty sure my balance is found in this statement: “Forget the world. Let’s make the world a better place.”
Great article!
Great article!