A few days ago, my flute teacher forwarded to me an elegant and moving speech that Karl Paulnac; Music Department head at Boston Conservatory, gave to incoming freshmen. Paulnack's defense of the existence of and spiritual necessity of music (art) struck my heart.
This essay is posted at Not Just Another Pretty Voice on Amanda's blog and should be required reading for all conflicted artists who find that their values, goals and achievements run counter to mainstream values.
I have often questioned my poetic mandate. After all, a person doesn't just wake up one morning and say, my life purpose is to absorb art/beauty and create with words/colors/music etc. Artists are this way because they are born this way and as Paulnack describes serve a spiritual/psychological necessity in humans.
An"altruism" gene has been identified with compassionate individuals who serve a biological survival function and no doubt an "artistic" gene serves its role also; the survival of the human spirit.
Along with the rise of the "creative class" which is a good thing there has also arisen (not so good) expectation that the creative urge be instantly marketed and packaged for consumer consumption. I don't know how many novels I have picked up and dismissed in recent years because their authors came with their own "marketing platform" and lacked the spiritual, intuitive psychological acumen of real artists. We need to separate the market place from the primal sea shore from which all great art comes.
An artist serves a higher master and it is easy to lose focus. In these troubling economic times there may be a turn inward from consumerism to more profound human values. Well, enough said on a Spring morning and now to turn my attention towards splashes of sunlight. Besides which Paulnak discusses all of this with perfect eloquence.
Even with the economic world collapsing, I intend to seek out something today so beautiful that it makes this day pause in my memory. And I have a new piece to practice on my flute.
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