Let me begin this by asking you a question. Have you ever felt sad when you see something beautiful? Maybe it’s a painting, a song, a poem, or a sunset. Maybe you think of someone you love, or someone you lost. Maybe you wonder why life is so hard, and why we have to go through pain and sorrow.
You are not alone. Many great thinkers and artists have felt the same way. They have tried to express the connection between beauty and suffering in their works. For example, Oscar Wilde once said, “Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.” And Tarkovsky, a famous filmmaker, said that poetry begins when childhood ends. He meant that when we grow up and lose our innocence, we also gain the ability to create beauty.
But how can this be? How can suffering lead to beauty? Shouldn’t it be the opposite? Shouldn’t suffering make us give up and stop doing anything meaningful?
Well, no. Suffering can actually motivate us to do something meaningful. It can make us appreciate the beauty that exists in the world, even if it is fleeting and fragile. It can make us realize that we have a choice: we can either let suffering defeat us, or we can use it to create something new and valuable. We can turn our pain into art, our sorrow into wisdom, our despair into hope.
In other words, we can use suffering as a source of meaning. We can see the very impossibility of doing something as a reason and a condition to do it. We can say, “Because it is hard, I will try. Because it is unlikely, I will believe. Because it is impossible, I will do it.”
This is not easy, of course. It takes courage, faith, and creativity. It takes a lot of work and a lot of love. But it is worth it. Because in the end, we will create something beautiful. Something that will touch the hearts of others, and inspire them to do the same. Something that will make the world a better place, even if just a little bit.
So, next time you see something beautiful, don’t be sad. Be grateful. Be inspired. Be creative. And remember: there are tears at the very heart of things, but there is also beauty. And you can be part of it.
How can you use my own pain to create something beautiful?
That’s a very deep and personal question. There is no definitive answer, but I can share some possible ways that people have used their pain to create art.
One way is to use pain as a source of inspiration. You can write about your pain, express it through music, painting, or any other form of art. You can use your pain to tell a story, to connect with others, to heal yourself. You can use your pain to create something that reflects your emotions, your struggles, your hopes.
For example, Vincent van Gogh painted his emotional pain through his colorful paintings, such as Starry Night...
Another way is to use pain as a source of transformation. You can use your pain to change yourself, to grow, to learn. You can use your pain to challenge yourself, to overcome obstacles, to achieve your goals. You can use your pain to create something that shows your progress, your resilience, your strength.
Like, Elizabeth Jameson who used her MRI scans of her brain affected by multiple sclerosis as a basis for her colorful silk paintings and copper etchings, such as Brainstorm and The Brain as Art.
A third way is to use pain as a source of transcendence. You can use your pain to go beyond yourself, to explore new possibilities, to discover new meanings. You can use your pain to create something that transcends the ordinary, the mundane, the expected. You can use your pain to create something that reveals your vision, your creativity, your uniqueness.
For example, Annie Brewster used sound as a medium to capture the stories of people living with chronic illness and founded Health Story Collaborative, a non-profit organization that uses storytelling as a healing tool.
These are just some examples of how pain can be used to create beauty. Of course, pain is not the only or the necessary ingredient for art. There are many other sources of beauty, such as joy, love, curiosity, wonder, and more. But pain can be a powerful and profound catalyst for artistic expression, if you choose to use it that way.
"My art is grounded in reflections on being different from others. My sufferings are part of myself and my art. They are indistinguishable from me, and their destruction would destroy my art. I want to keep those sufferings."
~ Edvard Munch
If you are interested in learning more about how to use pain to create art, you can check out some of these resources:
How to Turn Pain into Art: A blog post that offers some tips and exercises on how to use pain as a creative fuel.
The Art of Pain: A book that explores how pain influences the lives and works of various artists, such as Frida Kahlo, Vincent van Gogh, and Sylvia Plath.
Pain and Art: A video that discusses how pain can be a source of beauty and meaning in art, with examples from literature, music, and film.
These are just some of examples of how artists use their pain to create art. You can learn more about them and their works by following the links in the references. I hope you find them inspiring and interesting. 😊
Wait, I've got some more for you!
There are many movies that explore the relationship between pain and art. Here is a curated list by me for you to check and discover more beautiful creations on the subject of suffering, beauty and meaning:
Loving Vincent (2017): An animated film that tells the story of Vincent van Gogh’s life and death through his own paintings1.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019): A romantic drama that follows the forbidden love between a painter and her female subject in 18th century France2.
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965): A historical epic that depicts the conflict between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II over the painting of the Sistine Chapel.
At Eternity’s Gate (2018): A biographical drama that portrays the final years of Vincent van Gogh’s life and his struggle with mental illness.
My Left Foot (1989): A biographical drama that chronicles the life of Christy Brown, an Irish writer and painter who had cerebral palsy and could only control his left foot.
These are just some of the movies that deal with pain and art. You can learn more about them and watch them by following the links in the references. I hope you enjoy them and find them inspiring. 😊
And are many documentaries that explore the relationship between pain and art...
The Art of Pain (2018): A documentary that examines how pain influences the lives and works of various artists, such as Frida Kahlo, Vincent van Gogh, and Sylvia Plath1.
The Creative Brain (2019): A documentary that features neuroscientist David Eagleman and several creative professionals, such as Grimes, Tim Robbins, and Nick Cave, as they explore the science and mystery of human creativity2.
Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010): A documentary that follows the eccentric French shopkeeper Thierry Guetta, who becomes obsessed with street art and tries to document the elusive Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on him.
Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012): A documentary that chronicles the preparation and performance of the Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović’s retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where she sat silently for 736 hours and invited visitors to sit opposite her.
My Kid Could Paint That (2007): A documentary that investigates the phenomenon of Marla Olmstead, a four-year-old girl who became a sensation in the art world for her abstract paintings, and the controversy that ensued over their authenticity.
These are just some of the documentaries that deal with pain and art. You can learn more about them and watch them by following the links in the references. I hope you enjoy them and find them inspiring. 😊
I hope this helps you find some ways to use your own pain to create something beautiful. Remember, you are not alone in your pain, and you can always find support and comfort from others who care about you. And you can always use your art to express yourself, to heal yourself, and to share yourself with the world. 🎨
References:
Featured Image Courtesy: La Douleur (Sorrow) (1868-1869) by Paul Cézanne; Paul Cézanne, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
1: 8 Famous Artists Who Turned Heartbreak into Art | Artsy 3: How Artists Turned Their Chronic Pain Into Works of Art - Mighty Well 2: Famous Artists Who Used Their Work As Therapy - Foundmyself
1: The Art of Pain (2018) - IMDb 2: The Creative Brain (2019) - IMDb 3: Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) - IMDb : [Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012) - IMDb] : [My Kid Could Paint That (2007) - IMDb]
1: Loving Vincent (2017) - IMDb 2: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) - IMDb 3: The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) - IMDb : [At Eternity’s Gate (2018) - IMDb] : [My Left Foot (1989) - IMDb]