My best friend and (soon to be!) best man, Steve Sangapore, is a prolific artist. His ability to churn out work with focus and intensity is jaw dropping, but his motivation has always fascinated me: he has a duty to create art and share it with the world.
We grew up together playing music. We have spent hours and hours creating art and talking about it. I have likely spent more time talking about art with Steve than I, myself, have tried making it.
As someone who self-identifies as having no natural artistic ability, all domains of artistic creation have been a slog:
I forced myself to learn to tap my foot to the beat to learn rhythm
I took years of music theory and ear training to play in key
Writing continues to be a war
For me, I can’t think about artistic creation without thinking about brutal hard work; the hours it takes to nail a song or to get a page of writing out.
However, when I think of “hard work,” I immediately think about my professional life: making products, sales, meetings, work travel. I am quick to apply my “hard work” energy towards that rather than art. It’s an instinct that has bothered me.
My professional work seems largely for other people. I identify closely with my professional mission: put great products in the hands of good people to make the world a better place. It’s about serving others and, in turn, making us–the world–better off.
But is this at odds with Steve’s mission? I am no longer sure.
Steve and I have lived through a lot. At each of these moments–losing a friend, dealing with trauma, family shenanigans–we consumed art to grieve, find meaning and recover. Artifacts that others made that helped us find meaning and peace.
When I drop “create art” (and my own baggage with it) from Steve’s mission and insert “do work,” the missions are the same. We have a duty to create and impact others.
There are important differences, however:
The things we do for money don’t need to be the things we do for the world or find passion in
Creating things for their own sake and not sharing them with the world has value
Creating things for yourself only, but still sharing them has a long and prolific place in art (Maynard James Keenan’s approach, for example)
Playing music is more fun than building slide decks
Ultimately, the mission of creating and impacting others is a good one, regardless of medium or audience. Art continues to inspire my appreciation for hard work.
Commentaires