Saturday, November 5, 2011

getting down to art


A couple of years ago, Elizabeth Gilbert gave a speech about creativity that I've always loved.

In his own way, Caveh Zahedi is saying a similar thing about artists and art.

"What we admire in these artists is their individuality, their uniqueness. But I believe that all art is 'channeled,' i.e. that it comes from God, however one defines that word. But the modern view of art is that it is the self-expression of a sui generis individual, a 'genius' who is somehow more brilliant and talented than the rest of us."

"The truth is that we are all manifestations of the genius of God. The artist is no different than anyone else except insofar as he is closer to the source of his Being. But today, the artist has acquired the status of a saint, and the culture of celebrity has become our new religion. Only instead of a panoply of saints, known for their virtue and good works, we have movie stars and rock stars as religious icons. These people are worshiped not because of their spirituality or wisdom, but rather because they enable us to project a more grandiose image of ourselves, namely that, like them, we too can be more important and powerful than we actually feel ourselves to be."

-Caveh Zahedi, independent film maker