Art & Creativity

Yesterday, I was at a friend's house for his birthday party and sitting on one of the tables was a Salvador Dali book. I've never really liked Dali's art, it's a bit too surreal for me. But, since this party was weird, and I'm weird, I decided to page through the book.

While I still do not like Dali's art, I have to appreciate his creative freedom. The bizarre things in his art are essentially made up, things he pulled from his mind, and combined in a completely obscure manner.

I thought about how difficult it is sometimes to develop ideas for art, being an off-and-on artist myself. I realized that you can't sit around and try to think of something that is unique or weird or pretty or happy or sad or angry, you have to allow yourself to make anything into art. You have to let your mind wander and explore everything.

It's possible to limit yourself even when you don't want to. You can have an idea and destroy it in the same second. Whether you are afraid no one will like it, or you won't be able to do it, or it could turn out horribly, it could make someone change their opinion of you -- there are a million reasons we stop ourselves from complete creative freedom.

I talk about disliking loss of control. I also don't like for people to have the wrong impression about me, my character, my values. This will always stop me from having real creativity. I want to have the full creative freedom that Dali had because I want to create beautiful and meaningful things, but when I really stop to think about it I fear it. Have you ever wondered why some of the best writers and artists were freaks, psychologically effed-up, depressive, suicidal, shunned? They love(d) their work but the nature of it tortured them.

If I gave my mind free rein to explore all the horrible or wonderful things it sometimes produces as a means to creative freedom, I might be tortured too. I dream about bad stuff about 98% of the time I dream. I try not to dream, try not to think about my bad dreams too much, but what if I did? If you let go of your mind in regards to creativity, and everything you encounter influences your creativity, are you not letting go of your mind in regards to everything?

That is what I fear and respect in artists like Dali. And I fear it in myself too.

Station of Perpignan