(Originally posted on February 12, 2013.)
There seems to be a sense that a true artist is drunk, drugged, or nucking futs. It’s almost as if there is a grand tradition of self-destructive and mentally abusive behavior within artists. Edgar Allan Poe is a great example. He was an amazing author, but he is depicted as mentally unstable and drunk. Whether this is true or an exaggeration is beside the point here. The point is that it feels like this has become the ‘norm’ in many people’s minds.
I’ve been like this in that I make jokes that I’d be a successful author if I drank more or if I was institutionalized, but this usually said in jest or to get startled expressions. I have no intention of entering the bottle or signing up to get put into a straitjacket. I’d still be writing, but I wouldn’t be the same. Sure, I have bouts with depression that can be crippling at times, but that doesn’t mean an artist has to be tortured. I know many artists who are the epitome of sane and they’re still successful. Sadly, I also know a lot of people who see me as an artist and take it upon themselves to ‘protect’ me from the trade. They see my writing as a hobby that shouldn’t be taken seriously or a path that will only lead to pain and self-destruction. I don’t believe I’ve ever done anything to earn this mentality, but they still watch me for signs of a alcoholism or mental instability. True, I’m in therapy alongside my wife right now and I was in therapy for feeling like I was about to snap and kill someone in high school. Yet, the fact that I’ve always been aware of my mindset and limits should be a signal that I’m fully capable of controlling my inner demons, vampires, orcs, and whatever other critters are lurking in my head.
I’ve wondered if the mentality steams from the way an artist thinks. Personally, I don’t think the way non-artists think and that causes an odd barrier. I can’t get excited about math and computers, but I will go on like a man possessed about writing. I look at situations and try to stare down the road for possible problems instead of handling the here and now. My side of a debate tends to be more than the simple ‘I’m for it/I’m against it’ mentality that many people have. I talk about things that are beyond the physical world, artistic vision, and other things that someone who isn’t artistic considers odd. Yet, I don’t really think this is enough to brand me as a candidate for any number of mental illnesses and an inevitable self-destruction.
So, where does the idea that an artist is tortured and unhinged come from?
Legends of Windemere 