Barbara at work on “The Storyteller”

* an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.

… several basic assumptions I have about the need for authenticity:

1. Because in the end there is no other kind of art.
2. I could have used the word ‘originality,” rather than authenticity, if the word’s root in “origin,” as in, “from the depth or source,” is recognized.  However, the word implies a certain newness, “never done before,” that authenticity does not, and art in general does not need, in order to be deeply personal.
3. Something that is authentic “rings true” for us.  It comes from an inner truth.  We draw from a source that is inner-directed rather than outer-directed, to use Maslow’s expression about self-actualization.
4. Creating work that is authentic has a sacredness about it.  It may be a way out – a small way perhaps, but at least a personal way – of a social dynamic that is all economics, consumerism, greed, and disregard for inner life.  The word “science” comes from a root meaning “to separate.”  Our cultural world view has been deeply influenced by that.  Anything that we come to authentically in our artistic expression demands a personal inner synthesis.  It is experience and insight won firsthand.  The more we assimilate our “experience” from the advertising/media/consumer/government perspective the less authentic it will be.
5. Most of what we express creatively is prelinguistic.  The deeper insights are obviously coming from somewhere.  They are not logically structured in the mind, but it may take logic to get them expressed.
6. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter to the world if you paint or dance or write.  The world can probably get by without your efforts.  But that is not the point.  The point is what the inner process of following your creative process will do, to you.  It is clearly abut process.  Love the work, love the process.  Our fascination will pull our attention forward.  That, also, will fascinate the viewer.   

 Ian Roberts in Creative Authenticity:  16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision

Comments are welcome!