The artist is an angry person. A walking
storm of protest heading your way. Since time immemorial the very nature
of creativity has been at war with moral and intellectual members of society
or as some have labelled them: “the executioners of difference.” The phobic
driven drones who willingly march to drums of destruction. Reason enough
to testify why artists are an angry lot. For they are usually the first
to suffer the wrath of mob rule or state committee. No matter their shape
or form the forces opposed to free expression are enemies of liberty. Liberty
being the only viable condition where true creativity can grow and flourish.
Anger is not the root of their censoring hostility, but a vile by-product
produced through acquisition of power to seize control of the Objective.
Curtailing liberty restricts creativity and reduces the competing power
that art represents to common person who is frequently the victims of censorship
and eventual dictatorship..
Anger in and of itself is not negative.
It is a swift disturbance of the emotional equilibrium. A common myth places
Anger at opposite pole of Joy. Joy like Anger is a pre-programmed function.
Its deployment determines one's reaction to it. Polarity does not change
Joy, Joy like Anger retains its pre-programmed function. Polarity changes
deployment, which diverts that emotional function to perform in an non-traditional
manner. Hence, Anger like Joy, can be utilized in a negative or positive
fashion depending upon the initiating polarity. The anger of evil is a
selfish fuel spent on an appetite for harmful activities. A negative phenomena
that must lash out at everything unable to serve its unhealthy addictions.
Its positive twin, righteous anger is a statement of purpose bent of righting
the injustices it perceives are ruinous to peaceful existence. Unlike evil
anger, righteous anger treads the spirit of law. Thus it embodies a discipline
absent in the evil twin. That discipline arms righteous anger with a navigating
control capable of steering it away from revenge and on to the path of
justice. Such a perverted irony is evil anger's unrelenting desire for
control and the realization that this type of anger is completely absent
of ethical restraint.
The artist is an angry person. Angry
because he understands that the voices inside his soul are no different
than that of the destroyers. The destroyers gain attention through guns
and warfare. He must find support in creating something new. This is the
hell of the artist. Destruction is easier than creation. No one truly appreciates
change. Not even the artist. History has two strikes against the artist
before he or she raises pen or paintbrush. No one should be surprised of
the percentages of artists slipping into self-destruction or why some artists
sided with dictatorial states. The first method admits eventual defeat.
The second, a vain attempt to even up history's score against artists.
Both disgusting attempts to subsidize art by betraying humanity. Let the
buyer beware: shortcuts do not exist in art. The rule is the same as in
Life: shortcuts lengthen your arm by shortening your leg.
The artist is chief nemesis to the terrorist
who pursues a lifelong philosophy of vengeance. But vigilance is the trusty
weapon of the artist. And vigilance must somehow be passed on to the populace
if publicly admired art is to be safeguarded. Yet again, the artist is
burdened with the heavier of responsibilities. For vigilance is a daily
chore drawn from the well of inner strength. Vengeance requires no clockwork
maintenance. Any lazy stick swinging fool may enlist its manifestations.
Anger lacking discipline eventually leads to unvarnished evil.
Discipline like Anger or Joy is itself
a neutral programme of behaviour. Polarity shifts it one direction or the
other. But Discipline is always on face value a productive trait. Regardless
of polarity, Discipline increases productivity. Discipline is merely refined
organization. Every evil empire ever spawned on this planet employed extreme
versions of discipline. Every recorded fallen empire, fell culprit to lack
of discipline in some vital area. Discipline above all is the key to enhance
whatever facet you may pivot on. Disciplined anger results in righteous
self-defense. Disciplined fear results in active courage. The artist who
lacks discipline has no right to any polarity of anger. He cannot grow.
His art slithers away. His inaction encourages enemies of liberty. His
inaction mocks God from whom all talent originates.
Righteous anger can be a passport to
creative plateaux forbidden to ever-present intoxicants located in the
state of Joy. Every artist should harness this energy as a way to release
the unhealthy build-up of modern day stress. This type of anger acts like
a safety value protecting your psyche against sudden laxity. Our minds
and souls when bombarded with the negative trials of life are similar to
heated test tubes. To return them to normal we must wait out the firestorm
patiently. Any quick splash of cool substance will result in immediate
irreparable fracture. Careful observance of the worlds these new plateaux
expose may not only assist in creating interesting art but may hold clues
to solve our pressing personal needs. Art has a natural way of becoming
a part-time therapy. A practical therapy if we do not seek to replace one
crutch with another. The lessons discovered could very well serve as sharper
guide point in the quest to build a better person and a better world.
