Are artists doomed to be fuck-ups?

I've had this topic sitting around for a while...this notion of raising the bar for our potential as humans and then creating art from this space.

It seems to challenge what most of us actually want from art.

A while back I rented and watched Metallica's Some Kind of Monster which is a documentary of the band as they struggle through demons, etc. Most notably we get to watch lead singer, James Hetfield battle his alcoholism. I grew up with Metallica and appreciated Hetfield's candor and rigor through his process. This guy flew up the spiral and it was inspiring to watch.

But then they had to write an album from this place. And well, let's just say it's not my favorite Metallica album. Could it be that these guys are getting older, having kids and buying expensive toys while trying to capture the angst of youth? Or maybe it's that their development has taken some of the spark out of their creation? Maybe this new balance has seemingly robbed them of their edge.

But I have to admit I haven't really connected to Metallica's music in years. Hell, this is probably all projection because I've lost my own desire to make hard rock.

So tonight I watched David Deida speak about Art & Therapy (and sex, of course) and he makes this point that the best art usually comes from a great imbalance...from the greatest of the fuck-ups. And he's right. Otherwise John Tesh might end up being the voice of our endless questions, our finger pointing to God. That's fucked up.

And so...what is Integral Art? I've heard this question asked so many times and usually it made me want to puke. Why? Because it was usually asked from a headspace that thought it could conveniently define and file away something that was too big for the drawer.

Perhaps it was because my favorite art professor (and one of the most powerful personalities I've ever encountered), Ed Love refused to define art by saying, "If you can't define some shit, then don't use the word. As far as I know Art is some guy from Wisconsin who sells soap." He was way more into Being and I could buy into that. I still do.

But here I am, part of this wonderful movement to bring the best and brightest and latest and greatest to the table for artists to use. All of the practices, the awarenesses, the therapies, the wisdom, the tools to help us get out of the way for God to shine through and I can't help but think...

I like watching artists fall down.

Do I really want them to get back up?

posted by tripp on March 24, 2005 10:55 PM | in Blogs