The Value of Creative - Part Two

Why do I paint? Is it to work in something I love, to sell a product, to make some cash, or to gain noteriety? Though these things sound amazing they're really not at my heart. I create to effect positive change and meet people's needs.

This comes down to a heart issue. What do people really need? Food, water, shelter - yes. But beyond that don't we all struggle with fear, heartache, loneliness, pain, and other emotional needs? And then there's the largely ignored spiritual need. That's where great creative can come in and transform hearts and minds. This is a bit of a rationale for my artistic career. It doesn't mean I'll stop giving to World Vision or reaching out practically to meet felt needs. I just hope that my art can meet someone in their hidden distress. These unrecognized needs are important and great art can meet them in a way that practical giving cannot.

I wonder if a lot of artists, especially illustrators, see their value being solely their talent for drawing and painting. This is central, yes, but it is not enough. How many clients can attest to enjoying a person's art but not the person? What about everything else that makes up a successful artistic career - good communication, integrity with finances, ability to work well with others, positive attitudes and more? Are these an integral part of my creativity? If they do not go hand in hand my talent will suffer... and ultimately, the hearts of those I seek to affect. Have you ever heard the phrase "she goes above and beyond"? What I hope to do in my creative career is not just create great art that effects positive change in society, but also meets needs in a felt way. This cannot be done halfheartedly but only with a spirit of lavish generosity!

I was sent a particularly moving forward in my e-mail recently about Hitler as a 'failed artist'. It showed much of his own art and spoke of his attempts to get into an art school in Vienna. Personally I think he could be viewed more, to use strong terminology, as a 'perverted artist'. His love for the arts was evident in his early years but when rejected and not developed in an art school or opera these talents were eventually misapplied. This misapplication resulted in horrendous measures of perverted creativity.

Peter Schjeldahl wrote an article called "Hitler as Artist" in 2002 that speaks of this more eloquently (The Williams show referred to featured Hitler's art at the Williams College Museum of Art, in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 2002):

"The Williams show rebuts the comfortable sentiment that Hitler was a "failed artist." In fact, once he found his métier, in Munich after the First World War, he was masterly, first as an orator and then as an all-around impresario of political theatre. He was also deluded. He had no vision of the future apart from ever grander opera." Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/08/19/020819craw_artworld#ixzz0gZAF6B5u

As an artist I can choose... will I use my talents to passionately affect this world for good and with beauty? Or, will I let these talents be perverted and used in a way that ignores the needs of the people around me, or chooses to meet them in a malevolent way? Creativity is powerful. I have stated before that great creative brings revolution. Now the choice is what kind.