J.M.W. Turner, Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus[The belief that creativity lies within us, no matter how society treats us] became powerfully grounded in Renaissance philosophy. It appeared in the writings of the philosopher Pico della Mirandola, who envisaged Homo faber to mean "man as his own maker." [...] His Oration on the Dignity of Man of 1486 was based on the conviction that, as the force of custom and tradition wanes, people have to "make experience" for themselves. Each person's life is a narrative in which the author does not know how the story will turn out. Pico's figure for Homo faber was Odysseus, voyaging through the world, not knowing where he would land. [...]
Art plays a particular role in this life voyage, at least for artists. The work of art becomes like a buoy at sea, marking out the journey. Unlike a sailor, though, the artist charts his own course by making these buoys for himself. This is how, for instance, Giorgio Vasari proceeds in The Lives of Artists (1568), one of the first books ever written to chart artistic careers. Vasari's "lives" concern artists who develop within, who brought forth works despite all impediments, artists whose creative urge is autonomous. Works of art are the evidence of an inner life sustained even in the face of humiliation and incomprehension. [...]
The scorned or misunderstood artist has a long trajectory in Western high culture, in all the arts.
Richard Sennett, The Craftsman (New Haven: Yale UP, 2008), p. 72.
Art plays a particular role in this life voyage, at least for artists. The work of art becomes like a buoy at sea, marking out the journey. Unlike a sailor, though, the artist charts his own course by making these buoys for himself. This is how, for instance, Giorgio Vasari proceeds in The Lives of Artists (1568), one of the first books ever written to chart artistic careers. Vasari's "lives" concern artists who develop within, who brought forth works despite all impediments, artists whose creative urge is autonomous. Works of art are the evidence of an inner life sustained even in the face of humiliation and incomprehension. [...]
The scorned or misunderstood artist has a long trajectory in Western high culture, in all the arts.
Richard Sennett, The Craftsman (New Haven: Yale UP, 2008), p. 72.
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