allow our darker critical powers unfettered play upon the
seedling artists in our midst.
Trust that still, small voice that says, “This might work
and I’ll try it.”
DIANE MARIECHILDWithout specific tools and sufficient ego strengths, many
gifted artists languish for years in the wake of such blows.
Shamed at their supposed lack of talent, shamed by their
“grandiose” dreams, the young artists may channel their
gifts into commercial endeavors and then forget their
dreams of doing more groundbreaking (and risky) work.
They may work as editors instead of writers, film editors
instead of film directors, commercial artists instead of fine
artists, and get stuck within shouting distance of their
dreams. Often audacity, not authentic talent, confers fame
on an artist. The lack of audacity—pinched out by critical
abuse or malnourished through neglect—may cripple many
artists far superior to those we publicly acclaim. In order to
recover our sense of hope and the courage to create, we
must acknowledge and mourn the scars that are blocking us.
This process may seem both painstaking and petty, but it is
a necessary rite of passage. Just as a teenager must gain
autonomy from an overbearing parent, so too an artist must
gain autonomy from malignant artistic mentors.