Light or Darkness? Which is more important to explore as an artist

 

I just watched Lady Gaga’s new music video Applause and it started me thinking. Like or hate Lady Gaga, one has to admit that she is one talented artist. She’s not afraid to push the limits and is loved and hated for that exact reason. I’m not really a fan of hers but I have to respect her talent. You are probably wondering then why am I bringing her in my blog? She has a tendency of bring out the darkness in the world and one of my students recently asked me – should an artist explore darkness or light?

For me, it is simple – the world is a difficult place. Things never go the way you want, things are hard, you’ll get your heart broken, you don’t have the job you want, dreams seem not to come true. So why would I want to focus on it. Then one might say – then aren’t you wearing rose colored glasses, a Pollyanna view? No, it’s about recognizing the hardships around you and knowing you’re not alone. Everyone goes through these things. Then find the beauty around you!!  After all they say, “You don’t notice the window open because you’re still looking at the closed door.” So my art is all about recognizing sadness, then sharing, and learning and most importantly recovering. Finding happiness in the simple things — will my art change? Yes, when my journey changes. Do I know what it will be? No clue!

So if you focus on the darkness around you – you won’t be able to find that open window. Things don’t get better, you don’t feel better – something I’ve noticed with Lady Gaga. There hasn’t been a journey with her music. Most artists, you can see a journey from song to song – album to album – tour to tour. There’s change, growth, maturity: a journey of their life. With Lady Gaga, she seems to be stuck on the fact that she is different from others; she’s going to celebrate it and doesn’t seem to find any peace.  I’m glad she wants to explore but how many times do we have to have that same story? I feel she needs to dive deeper and find her journey. It’s almost as if she is stuck on the top of the hill. She’s had all this success yet has found no happiness from life.

So as an artist what does it mean for us? Dive deep in yourself and allow your art to become part of your journey. Don’t feel that it has to be always the same. If it’s dark, explore it and then use your art to find peace –then the beauty will come.