Is an Artist Born or Made?

 

Poetic Vision: The Aspect that Unites Every Artist

written by Vittoria Mariggiò

The Muses - Tintoretto (1578)

Is an artist born or made?

The question of a lifetime has been discussed over and over, without really coming to a conclusion. This mystery has always created chaos within society, but it could be unraveled by simply analyzing a characteristic that every artist shares. Poetic Vision (or Artistic Vision) is a term that describes a specific way to perceive the world, and it is an aspect that is unique to artists (writers, poets, painters, composers, choreographers, film directors…). Obviously, every person has their own vision of the world, which gives them a reason to act the way that they do. It is innate to have a certain perception of the world, and everyone's is different (that is why, in my opinion, peace could never exists in our world). But what separates this factor from the standard phenomenon, is the purpose of it. Poetic Vision is an animal being, living and breathing; it is the drive that permits the artist to create, it pushes the artist to constantly and restlessly produce, all with the sole purpose of bringing itself to life. The artist’s work springs from their vision, but at the same time, the product and the vision are the same. It is an never-ending, infinite-like circle that is difficult to understand if not directly felt, for it is a sensation. When Homer said: "Tell me, O Muse, of the man of many devices, who wandered full many ways after he had sacked the sacred citadel of Troy." (Odyssey, Book 1, Line 1), he was invoking a muse, asking for inspiration, because, whether it's called "the work of a muse" or "the product of a vision", that’s what this phenomenon is: a flash of instant inspiration. For an artist, it is not the creativity, but rather the vision. Creativity is nothing without the vision, that is why one might have many ideas but no concrete image of them. And the vision comes, it is unexpected and unpredictable, but it comes in a rush, ready to fade after a few moments, and it is an artist’s job to capture it and make the most of it. Poems and paintings and films and books and dances and music are only a glimpse of the artist’s mind, which is filled with boundless possibilities that cloud their mind and clog their pores. Trust me when I say, there is always more we want to say. There is always more to what we share, because behind every wonderful and masterful and meaningful piece of art, there is a vision that is violently pulsing in an artist’s soul, begging to come out.

Citations: 

Homer. The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1