Vulnerability as Art Separation
Does the pain mean it's working?
Before getting into the continuation of my last essay, On Art & Separation, I realized that I had found a much more poetic way of saying it all along. E.E. Cummings, one of my favorite poets, wrote some advice for young poets back in 1955. The bit that I read is quite short—a minute read, tops—so I won’t say anything more on the subject except to quote what I believe to be most relevant to the subject of personas in art:
Almost anybody can learn to think or believe or know, but not a single human being can be taught to feel. Why? Because whenever you think or you believe or you know, you’re a lot of other people: but the moment you feel, you’re nobody-but-yourself.
Like my theory on personas, Cummings is touching on the notion of what the artistic pursuit requires, both in creation and reception: experience. Reducing it down to emotional feeling is perhaps not exactly what I argued for, but it certainly informs it. As humans, our daily experience of life is at its most unique, bound to our feelings. Imagine thought informed by how it sits in your heart, as opposed to its logical implications, which can theoretically be seen and thought by everyone. If your goal in writing poetry is to evoke feeling [truth], you must write it first. And to do that, you must know yourself; specifically, know how life sits within your own heart.
I am finishing a different piece that delves into my thoughts on the initial source of our inspiration, where it might reside, how it might work, etc. I think this quote in particular is a simpler way of getting at this question, perhaps a starting place for that exploration. I may return to this quote.
I do hope you read Cummings' tiny piece of poetic advice.
* * *
I ended the previous essay discussing the utility of separating the creator from the creation, how ideally, we should do both: separate and include the context or intention. This is the core of my argument. However, I believe that consumers put too much weight on the artistic intention, artist background, the inspirational story, and the like. We see this in many different forms of art, music, film, writing, visual art, and more. If a reader or viewer takes one of these things and discusses it in a way that goes counter to the creator’s intentions, we can now hear about it on social media platforms or the news, and possibly get blamed for bringing unconscious biases to our interpretations.
To my view, and according to all that I’ve previously discussed on the utility of artistic separation, this is what happens when we expect art to be a direct reflection of the artist (any notion of personas ignored). Even the artists are falling into this trap.
The truth is that as much as the artist may wish for the perfect audience, they have no control over it. And that's okay. If someone is loudly proclaiming the wrong conclusions about your book, for example, you have no control over that. You can rebut that person, sure, but ultimately, they’re just doing what you wanted them to: Experience what you created.
(Lines are crossed when free speech is hindered. Free speech is a tenet that I will always defend, as artistic expression is its highest form.)
I believe there is a universal belief regarding art: It is meant to expand beyond the creator. This is done by reaching the receiver, the audience, and touching them somehow. Nothing can be more important than this, for art cannot fully manifest until it is experienced.
If an artist keeps his creation secret, all that matters then is how the piece affects him and him alone. Once someone else sees it, all that matters is how the piece affects that person (and then the next, and the next…) So art cannot remain inside the intentions of the author, or even the era and culture it was born into. As time goes on, art touches different parts of the audience, as they bring their own context to it. It is a conversation, always.
As a writer, I find that once I publish a poem or story, I enter into a reality completely apart from my creation process. Giving it to a beta reader, editor, or publishing it in any form—that is an act of vulnerability. It should not be an act of catharsis. If it is, I fear the writer expects validation rather than honest reception.
I believe this can be seen in authors who take criticism poorly. Pouring one’s heart into a piece does not grant one the right to dismiss valid (or even invalid) reviews or critiques out of hand. The nature of art is to take a pulse. If it’s weak, you adapt. If it’s strong, expect to find a few who didn’t like it. The "few" in either scenario will inform the majority opinion. No matter the pulse, though, an author must accept what happens. My goal is to always take criticism with an open mind, as I rarely find myself to be correct about my own work. I may like it, I may read it and feel proud. Yet, I’m too close to it.
Can you see where I’m going with this?
If the artist is too close to their own work, it follows that the consumer should strive for distance, even separation. In the last essay, I said, “The closer art is to its creator, the shorter its leash, and the harder it is for an audience to fully understand and experience it.”
Consider visual art.
Paintings, sculptures, buildings, or drawings…All of these are visual experiences that trickle down into our emotions, memories, beliefs. They are pieces of soul from the artist, yes, but this fact is secondary to what the viewer’s personal context brings to the experience.
An example of this not being embraced is with abstract art. Artists who push their intention onto their pieces just can’t allow their art to stand on its own. The reason for this? It can’t—and that’s not a bad thing, merely, a convention of the genre. Abstract art has got to be the most subjective form of art that I can think of. If an artist can’t accept someone’s interpretation of it because “that’s not what I intended,” I can’t in good faith consider them a true artist.
The artist has to be able to let go of their work.
This separation starts with the artist, as we have to push it away from us into the eyes of someone strange. Once there, it should not rubber band back. The separation must continue, if only for the initial experience of the piece.
I think about the distance at which we consume writing compared to art. While reading, I am inches, maybe a foot and a half, away from the story. That’s too close to stand to a stranger or even a spouse. Yet in an art museum, we stand feet, even yards, back. With architecture, sometimes we’re hundreds of yards back. That space is where the viewer feels. To have that space to a piece of writing, we need to consciously and mentally create it. An exercise.
As creators, as artists, as writers, we are only one half of truth: the proposer. Truth doesn't exist merely because it is true. It has to be accepted, too. We must prepare for our proposition to be rejected, criticized (constructively or not), considered indefinitely, and played with until it is accepted. Perhaps it will never be accepted…but we must do it, just as the truth demands to be completed.
***
Thank you so much for reading!
If I write a third installment, I know I will explore the notion of art as it travels through time, and how the separation takes on reality. It is not, at this point, the foundation for a long essay, or even one that holds new insights. Let me know if you’re interested, and I’ll see what more I can bring to it.
Any questions or suggestions are most welcome!
About the Creator
Mackenzie Davis
“When you are describing a shape, or sound, or tint, don’t state the matter plainly, but put it in a hint. And learn to look at all things with a sort of mental squint.” Lewis Carroll
Find me elsewhere.
Copyright Mackenzie Davis.
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Comments (15)
As I read this piece, I thought of a quote from a review that you might appreciate: What good is being an artist, creating all these beautiful things, if you can’t just throw down your defenses sometimes and share things on the common level of other people? Without that, it’s barren and ultimately pathetic. Ultimately, without some measure of that, it can never matter as art. ‘Cause art’s of the heart. That was Lester Bangs discussing Captain Beefheart and his inability to just bring his defenses down when needed. All artists have to share their work. To keep it hidden is to risk stagnation and to ultimately destroy what might be loved (a very hard thing to consider if you think the public is out to wreck you, but it is worth the risk). Thank you for this one. I have a lot on my mind tonight.
Imagine thought informed by how it sits in your heart, as opposed to its logical implications, which can theoretically be seen and thought by everyone. -wow and yes. This is an incredibly thought provoking, incredibly good piece. I wanted to highlight the shit out of so much. Fantastic. Also, used the same image on another piece elsewhere. Weirddd 👽
I have put this piece and its prequel on my mind's bookshelf to read when I have time to truly savor and process. I've scanned enough to glimpse that this is an intriguing, significant contribution to the art of authorship. I'm sure I will comment again later!
The artist has to be able to let go of their work. I totally agree with this! I'm very open to different interpretations of my writing because I believe it's subjective. But when it comes to criticism, I prefer constructive ones over blatant insult. Thank you so much for part 2 and congratulations on your Top Story!
I really love reading your insights-so articulate and thought provoking . You really make me think about it and process my own thoughts! Thank you so much for writing and sharing-and of course congratulations on top story! 🤍
That quote by EE Cummings was inspiring!! I have to have read it like 5 times over, as I almost feel blindsided by the eye opening meaning of it! I also love your thoughts and insights you shared with us in regards to the quote particularly the part about knowing yourself is the best tool to aide your writing! Just another reminder for myself how important self-awareness is! I love that you touched on the most common thing that happens with writers, “misinterpretations” and how it’s about the freedom of speech and expression. Even if it’s not how the author envisioned it, it’s the readers experience of the story and ultimately that is what we want… them to experience our writing! So elegantly said by you! I also love the notes on an author being too close to their own work and how it’s a good idea to accept whatever comes from the reception of your work! The idea of accepting criticism with an open mind is a philosophy I often preach and implement! I find it such a great opportunity to not only help myself grow but also build a report with other authors. It also lets me know who is honestly reading my work and who isn’t, which I think is such an invaluable thing to have! I absolutely love these segments you are doing and am so excited to explore art as it travels through time!! Great work Mackenzie and I love that you got Top Story for this!! 🎉 This is one of this pieces that I believe should be seen by the masses as it’s eye opening, insightful and (if received by the “right” audience) life changing!
Enjoyable read. When I get a minute to think on it and process it, I might be back with some thoughts of mine:) Meanwhile, you ended the esaay with such a sad statement. People need hope😊
Will definitely be checking this piece out but wanted to pop my "Congrats on Top Story" here, Mackenzie! Awesome work!
Congratulations on Top Story! 👏👨🎨👩🎨🧑🎨
I'll be back with more thoughts but this needs more eyes. You've laid the foundation for some profound (and much needed) discussion. As always, in awe of your writing, Mackenzie. Just can't get enough!
I sometimes say about the pieces I am most precious about, they are my babies. I love them, I'm proud of them. They are literally a part of me, and there is a lot of *me* in them. But I can't lock them up somewhere in a dark room, I have to let them be out in the world, stand on their own two commas. I made them; every bit of them is a bit of me... that can make criticism hard to take.
A powerful discussion in this essay. My background is in the visual arts. One professor said to me that if I could ever combine logic with my instincts my work would become consistently excellent. I think this relates to what you are saying about the difference between the input of learning from others and the internal essence of the artist. Sort of applied feeling. Another thing tha struck me about your essay was what happens when your work goes out. I was a handweaver at craft shows before the pandemic for a few years. I would always watch the customers come in and it was interesting to me that generally they would buy the first piece they were drawn to. My personal favorites almost never sold. I think writing is like that as well. Learning other versions of the truth by what resonates with readers. What they bring to the work changes it. Sort of like the blind men describing parts of an elephant and only understanding the one part they touched. Starting to ramble- anyway thanks.
Do you know the poem "words" by Sylvia Plath? This is an interesting topic. I am not convinced by the entreaty to imagine though how it sits in your heart, because I think we construct feeling using thought - the part that sits in our hearts is just the well worn grooves of that process to my mind. I think art is as much a process of construction as it is a process of expression - rarely do we express without simultaneous construction. And I think that when we put that art out there, we hope that it will be seen how we intended, but the reality is it meets us all differently, and that is perhaps the most beautiful thing. Perhaps the reception of art is a multi stage process, optimally. It would be nice to experience the art just as it is - we rarely do I guess, we always view it in a context, but to attempt to just feel what it makes us feel. But then knowing something of the artist adds so much more - even if its just the socio-political world they inhabit. But also, we cant separate the art from the artist because we, as construers ARE artists - we are part of the process of the construction of that art. Its a weird collaboration, I am coming to feel. An unintended collaboration. But if an artist intends to share work with anyone, they enter into a collaborative process with all with whom they share it, because perception is not a raw, uninformed process of reception.
Marvelous continuation of the discussion! Will be back to say more when I am home🐸
I do like the idea of wanting to find out how a piece of art affects someone else, what they get out of it. There are two things to which I keep returning. "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams. According to our eighth grade English composition teacher, he wrote it in part at least because he was tired of critics always looking for deeper meaning in his work. So he wrote this simple one sentence poem in a purely imagist fashion. That having been said, just because that may have been what intended hasn't kept readers from finding all kinds of deeper meanings for themselves in it. The other is a scene from "Tootsie" where Bill Murray's character is talking to someone at a party & says something along the lines of, "I don't want people coming up to me after seeing my play & saying, 'Hey, I really liked it.' I want someone who has just come in to get out of the pouring rain who says to me afterwards, 'I saw your play. What happened?'"