Demons or Angels
"An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn't know why they choose him and he's usually too busy to wonder why." William Faulkner
I must say that I agree with Faulkner, about being driven, the lack of understanding about why me, and the too busy to question. I often wonder if Van Gogh, Faulkner and other artists lived in todays world of yoga, group therapy and anti-depressants (along with the treatment for other illnesses, of course, both natural and pharmaceutical), whether they would still feel chased by demons. Was it just more avant-garde, stylish, cool to refer to the muse as a demon rather than, perhaps as an angel, or even, gasp, the Holy Spirit?!
The world would be a sad place without the foundation, history, gifts and sacrifices of artists through the centuries, in spite of their personal levels of torment, poverty, angst and abuse. What a grand stage they prepared for us, to play, revel, experiment and create sans the need for demons.
disclaimer: the above was written in full awareness of the difference between fact and opinion.
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Hugs,
Marilyn