Exposing yourself to people is never easy (emotionally not physically, the latter is surprisingly so and, depending on the circumstance, may get you arrested…) but someone wise told me that to truly excel in your craft you have to take a big old metaphorical knife, slice open your chest and spill your heart, guts and everything else in-between out. Not my liver though, I'll be requiring that for all the wine I'll need after posting this…
I used to think that "your art matters" was just a cheesy line that Lucas used to tell Peyton in nearly every single episode of One Tree Hill but now I realise that the teenage boy, who quite literally narrated his way through life like a middle aged agony aunt, may have had a point.
I used to think that "your art matters" was just a cheesy line that Lucas used to tell Peyton in nearly every single episode of One Tree Hill but now I realise that the teenage boy, who quite literally narrated his way through life like a middle aged agony aunt, may have had a point.
When an actor convinces you that their heart has broken on stage, it is an echo of when it has truly been broken before. Or when a vocalist sends shivers to your core it is not necessarily through technique but because you can feel their ache in every note. All art expresses the inner workings of the artists mind. To say that it doesn't matter means that person doesn't matter. YOUR art matters because YOU matter.
If I had a penny for every time I have discarded a draft of a song/script/article because I didn't think it was good enough or I was too scared to put myself out there in fear of what people would think about me, my piggy bank wouldn't be sitting so forlornly on my windowsill begging to be fed. But writing and singing liberates me, and I shouldn't have to sacrifice my joy so as not to offend someone who probably doesn't care anyway or (shock, horror!) may even enjoy it.
My writing is a lot like my character. Jovial, sarcastic and lighthearted often belying what's really going on in my silly anxiety-ridden head. The thought of sharing what I've written about subjects that really mean something to me with the world brings me out in a cold sweat. And similarly when I sing I feel completely vulnerable. But why should I be embarrassed about how I feel? Most people, unless made of stone, will have felt extremes of elation, despair and everything else in-between. We only truly engage with art when we feel an affinity with it.
Three things I have come to learn are:
1. The majority of people don't care as much as you think. Whether that's good or bad they really don't. Generally most people are too consumed in their own lives to give more than a passing glance to yours. So sod it!
2. Your art should be for you. Are you happy with it? That's all that counts. If someone else enjoys it great, but equally don't let somebody's inability to see your value decrease your worth. And if they hate it enough to pass judgement at least you inspired a reaction.
3. If no one had the courage to bother there would be no art and that would make for a pretty bleak world.
1. The majority of people don't care as much as you think. Whether that's good or bad they really don't. Generally most people are too consumed in their own lives to give more than a passing glance to yours. So sod it!
2. Your art should be for you. Are you happy with it? That's all that counts. If someone else enjoys it great, but equally don't let somebody's inability to see your value decrease your worth. And if they hate it enough to pass judgement at least you inspired a reaction.
3. If no one had the courage to bother there would be no art and that would make for a pretty bleak world.
The beautiful thing about art is that it is completely subjective. The legendary Beethoven said: "To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable" and I couldn't agree more. For me when it comes to passion vs perfection, passion always prevails.
