Self-assurance is of ultimate importance to an artist’s life and work. Maybe if I had some, I would not have quit trying to be a cartoonist. But how—and by whom—criticism is dished out to an artist/designer is at the heart of a healthy view of one’s work. Art & Courage: A Guide to Sustaining a Creative Path, published by The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS), is based on the 1993 book Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Since its release, that book has become an underground classic helping artists across various disciplines persevere through uncertainty and self-doubt.
Below, James Sturm, co-founder of CCS and co-author of the new volume, discusses the need for this helpful guide to personal fortitude. A free copy is available from The Center for Cartoon Studies.
What was your goal in creating this guide to creative work?
We imagine our goals with Art & Courage were similar to Ted Orland and David Bayles’s with Art & Fear: to offer fellow or aspiring artists a few insights that might help them persevere. Creating art is often a mental game, and we hope this comic gives artists a reassuring pat on the back—a way to say “we understand,” along with a reminder that every artist encounters moments of fear or lack of motivation to push forward in their work.
You list such disciplines as photography, collage, writing, songwriting, etc. How does a reader really know which area to pursue?
Most likely through a process of elimination. It’s usually a bit of a journey for any artist to figure out what medium best suits them. Many also combine mediums, blending techniques in ways that blur distinctions. We’re hoping that the book speaks to all artists, whether they have one discipline or dabble in several.
How does it compare to the previous volume, Art & Fear?
Art & Courage distills the main themes of the original book, updated for challenges facing today’s artists, such as navigating social media—an influence that didn’t exist when Art & Fear was first published. The comic also has a stronger focus on mental health. Plus, our book is filled with visuals to bring these insights to life.
Where do fear and courage ultimately fit into the equation?
They seem like two sides of the same coin, and all artists use both. Sometimes an artist must courageously leap before they look, and other times fear could help them be appropriately cautious and sensitive.
If we all have some creativity in our DNA, as I believe we do, how does one get it out of the body and into the world?
For some, it’s a necessary part of life, as essential as eating. For most people it’s profoundly challenging. Having basic needs met (housing, proper medical care, living wage) is a good starting place to be in a position to create and share art. But even then, there’s all kinds of cultural stigmas that discourage people from making art. The specter of the “starving artist” warns that investing too much in creative pursuits can lead to ruin. Yet, when you manage to silence the negative voices—whether they’re real or imagined—it becomes far easier to summon the courage needed to bring your work to life.
You have a page on “What Makes Art Good Or Bad?” Is not all creativity created equal?
For artists, being preoccupied with whether one’s art is good or bad is profoundly unhelpful. How we assess work is constantly changing depending on shifting cultural trends or one’s current blood sugar levels. Plus there’s the fact that in order to make good art you have to make a lot of not-so-good art. Art isn’t like mathematics, where one answer is correct and accepted. One person’s masterpiece is another’s junk store donation. And that’s what makes art so special, so alluring, so exciting. There are so many different kinds of art that shock or feel unfamiliar, made by artists who see the world uniquely but maybe don’t have an audience who can appreciate their work—yet.
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