The Sadness Element of Art
May is also fiesta season in many parts of the country. Fiesta celebrations are a time for merrymaking and pageantry, which bring out the artistic side of the population. Yes, art is very much part of Philippine celebrations.
It is quite ironic, therefore, that many people believe that sadness is an essential element of art. Ernest Hemingway is noted for his statement: “Writing is easy. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” It is construed to mean that the great Hemingway himself acknowledged that sadness is at the center of the art of writing.
Many mothers would tell a drama director, “Try my daughter; she cries very well.” Oftentimes the movie that people remember is the one that broke their heart. One’s favorite song is no doubt something that shakes him to his core.
Jeff Goins, at the website https://goinswriter. com, believes what good art is supposed to do is “to disturb people.” He cites instances when art brings an experience of something so profound that it calls attention to some issue they’d rather forget. Although, no, people may not always be able to understand how the art unsettles them.
But, true, people have the general idea that comfort should be a determining factor for what makes art “good.” Making people comfortable was never the intention of art,
Goins writes. “Art tells us what’s wrong with the world.”
Goins’ observation makes sense:
“Some of us are not content with the status quo. We know something in this world has gone wrong. We sense this deep in our bones, in our heart of hearts, and it bothers us.”
This discontent, he continues, leads to a distrust of clichés and, like, predictable plots in movies and theater plays, for example. “Those are not enough to describe the situation in which we find ourselves. We need something real, something that sparks our imagination and addresses unresolved conflicts… Part of the artist’s job is to make sense of a broken world. To try to fill the emptiness we all feel.”
When life feels too clean, too literal, the human soul thirsts for more. Goins thinks people want broken and beautiful, real and raw. Good art is messy.
And then Jeff Goins ends his piece on a high note. The parallelism he gives is almost sacrilegious – but very insightful: “Just as God formed creation from chaos and babies are born amidst blood, art emerges from the pain of a broken world. If it doesn’t break your heart or cause you to ache a little, then it’s not art.” Ah, so sadness is an essential art element indeed.
The fact that Van Gogh was a highly depressed and, later, suicidal artist convinces some people that sadness is innate in art. Does anyone know if Da Vinci had been clinically depressed when painting “The Mona Lisa”? The legendary artist might have taken numerous breaks to cry, because he couldn’t convince Mona to open her mouth.
There’s another view on the “sadness in art” issue, though. While some artists might paint a picture with the conscious intention of conveying sadness, they themselves might not be sad. At the same time, an artist that is plagued by sadness might not paint sad pictures.
One artist puts it simply: “You needn’t be a depressed platypus to create masterpieces. You only need a brush and hard work. Talent also helps.” The guy is clearly only referring to visual artists. But it could be true of other artists, as well.
The month of May, being in summer in the Philippines, is mainly associated with fun and gaiety. For school-age kids, it is an
opportune time for play,
because school is off.
The sunny days allow for them to stay long hours
outdoors.
We need something real, something that sparks our imagination and addresses UNRESOLVED CONflICTS… PART OF THE ARTIST’S JOB IS TO MAKE SENSE OF A
FEEL.” BROKEN WORLD. TO TRY TO fiLL THE EMPTINESS WE ALL