K, we all know the purple one's trials and tribulations early on in life...thrown out at an early age, forced to shuffle from home to home, very little money etc. It got me to thinking, a LOT of my favorite artists suffered great pain which caused them to give birth to great art. Frida Kahlo, Basquiat, Michael Jackson, Oprah (okay, maybe not GREAT art...lol), Kurt Cobain, Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, Jackson Pollock, Reinaldo Arenas, Billie Holiday, . Yeah, my list may be weak with some of those names, but you get where I'm going with this.

Question: Would P's music have been as good without the adversity and pain in his childhood?

nobias said:

i think his the quality of his music has nothing to do w/ his childhood...it has 2 do with the different things that have gone on in his life..period.

Almost everybody has great pain at some time, and very few create great art.

I think people tend to relate to art born out of pain because it is comfort to have someone you respect relate to the feelings we all have.

Sometimes the more positive record is better:
Nevermind vs In Utero
Lovesexy vs The Black Album

I don't think The Mona Lisa was a product of great pain, or the Sistine Chapel.

Still, it's a good question, because there are so many examples of great miserable artists. But is it the misery that inspires them to strive for something better? Or is it just that people are more miserable when they're young and most musicians create their best music when they're young, a time when they're also unsettled, idealistic, daring, energetic, and often depressed?

What pain did Frida Kahlo go through? I'm not trying to be sarchastic I just wanna know.

I guess it's passion in the emotion. If you feel very strongly about the pain or a great feeling more will definetly come out of it right?

roddiekay said:

She was literally in pain (back pain, I think) because of a bad accident she was in.

perfect example = nothing compares 2u , no one could have written a song that good unless they experienced the pain !

glad u mentioned my fave artist van gogh ! but you forgot another great artist , joni mitchell her whole album blue is shear pain !! but beautiful at the same time

No.

roddiekay said:

Physical pain from an accident, I think it was her back as well as her legs. And I think I heard that she also got polio? I'm not sure on that one...

Emotional pain, her husband would constantly cheat on her, also when she became big in the U.S her husband grew jealous - reason for the painting of the two Frieda's (one in her traditional costume connected to one of her in American clothing via her heart and she is cutting the vein as if she is going to cut away her Mexican half)

She also tried desperately to have babies but because of her accident when she was a child, she couldn't (either through miscarriage, stillborn, etc)

there's lots... LOTS more but right now I can't think of anything

No. Or else all great songs in the world would be sad songs. Love and hapiness, God, rage, among tons of things drive the inspiration to high degrees IMO.

I think great art is 'born' out of great thoughts and feelings, not necessarily good or bad ones; joy and happiness or pain and sorrow.

It's a relatively new idea, only going back 200 years or so that great art has to spring from some kind of tragedy. Throughout history great art has been the result of study, practice and the need for money.

roddiekay said:

As a young girl (if I remember correctly) Frida was hit by a bus or truck and broke quite a few bones, and it basically destroyed her reproductive system. She had operation after operation, miscarriage after miscarriage and her art reflects her trials and tribulations. Then there was her husband, Diego, who cheated on her constantly.

As a music writer, i always find it's extreme feelings, whether of sadness or joy, that inspire me to really stretch as a writer. Those intense emotions can make you visit places u otherwise might not. That's not to say that music writing stops if there are no extreme feelings...but I have a feeling the best can tap into those emotions...or rather use their art as therapy to process.


.

^ yep agreed
those extreme emotions partnered with 'the zone'

for me its usually when im not asleep yet not quite awake

I would have to say great art is born out of pain-- sometimes indirectly. You have to feel extreme emotions and or be very sensitive to what's going on around you in order to express them. . It's the experience of great pain, whether physical or emotional, that allows one to express deep sorrow and therefore true joy. You can't have an appreciation of one without the other.

I think somebody was onto something though when they said that this happens more as a young adult when you're full of energy, idealistic, and everything's new. Speaking from experience, I don't feel the need to grab my sketch pad every time I have a bad day anymore. Plus, there's that feeling that I've pretty much said all that needs to be said at this point. (now I just have to paint it )

Insatiable proves that sometimes art is born out of great pussy.

sitruk7 said:

I think Prince needs to be kicked in the nuts.

Novabreaker said:

ditto.

No. But it often cuases me great pain (eg, jughead, wedding feast, etc.)

I think art that reveals pain often is of more interest to some of us, becuase we seek that deeper connection. For example, A good Adam Sandler movie may be terrific, but it won't move people like Shindler's List.
Ergo, people often think that darker material reveals true genius.

I think artists can draw from a multitude of emotions, saying that great art only draws from pain would be very limited.