At the beginning of chapter one in Rollo May's classic book The Courage to Create, May asks...
"Shall we, as we feel our foundations shaking, withdraw in anxiety and panic?"
Once again 50 years later we are feeling our world turn upside down. I remember after 9-11 so many artists were pondering what's the point of making art when the world is in such despair. Last month as I sat cutting paper up for my latest collage, I was asking myself the same question. I decided to get on a plane to the U.S. and march in a protest. As I marched with thousands of other baby boomers I thought we know how to do this. We have done this before. We are meant for these times.
The highlight of that protest was the presence of Joan Baez. She is 84 years old. Still marching and still sharing her gifts in song. What an inspiration.
Since coming home I have been searching for what artists and writers are saying about creating during difficult times. I have started a collection of their thoughts to inspire me when the world feels like too much. Hope they inspire you as well.
Toni Morrison: "This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. That is how civilizations heal."
Vincent Van Gogh: "Art is to console those who are broken by life."
A collective of artists: "When people in power try to remove our humanity and our dignity, art and music provide a raison d'être. The simple act of making music in difficult times becomes an act of defiance and self-determination."
Dorthea Tanning, painter: "Art has always been the raft onto which we climb to save our sanity."
Shane Koyczan: "If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces."
Willie Nelson: "I think most art comes out of poverty and hard times."
Are you finding it difficult to create during these dark times?