What's your motivation for your art?

[yourdeadgroom]

A question for those of you that are artistically minded, be it music, poetry, drawing etc.....

What is your motivation for doing it?

I've been thinking about this recently in relation to myself. My #1 reason for playing the guitar has always been to perform. As much as I dislike being around people, much less the focus of attention, stick a guitar in my hand & put me infront of a few hundred people and I could stay there forever- it's the most enjoyable thing I know (providing I've practised.....). Ever since I ditched the classical gig a few years back and focused on metal (I was sick of playing someone elses music, mainly), I have done zero in the way of performing (not being able to find a band has that effect). As a consequence, I don't play much anymore.

BUT
this has had one interesting development........

Now, I can start to write a song, or write most of it in rough form, but it is enough for me to have it in that form. I have no need to polish it up and get it out there for others to hear, it's enough for me to know my creation, to see the diamond in the rough. If I was performing, maybe it would be different, but at the moment I am satisfied with this, which is rather an alien concept to me.

so.........
do you do it to get the 'performance rush', the sharing of your ideas with others, or just the personal staisfaction of creating something. Or some other reason all together??

 

[lumen]

Both and more.

I do love to perform, and I really miss it. But even without an audience, I still get a rush when I can feel that my playing/singing is flowing out of me in a way that's smooth and effortless and almost magical. This brings me an amazing feeling of peace.

When I'm writing songs though, it's more of a sense of personal accomplishment. I've created something I love, that though it's of myself, it's also something all on its own.
(This applies to actual writing (as in reading/writing) as well, but nowhere near as strongly. Mostly because when I write stories/articles/essays, etc. I rarely write from pure inspiration - it's always because I have some sort of obligation to do so. I rarely get to indulge in the creation of art when it comes to literary and journalistic kinds of writing.)

 

[YaYo]

I write music for me. Ive written many many many songs over the years, spent ages on some of them, and most i have no intention of showing to anyone (except my friends).

I posted one of my songs on this forum a week or two ago (?), because after it was written i thought other people might like it. I was quite proud of my effort and needed some feedback and was considering heading in that direction (style of music, i mean). But the song was still written for me, to express myself to myself. For me to listen to and be proud of. Giving it to other people was only a secondary thing.

My motivtion and purpose for creating my musical art is to express myself. If in the process i write a collection of songs that other people will like and appreciate then i will release them (and this is my plan really, to eventually lok back and see i have an album's worth of good songs that i want to share with others). Id like to be able to live off music, that would be cool.. but its not my aim and the music itself is too important to me to alter my style for any money/fame type reason.

There are so many people in this world, and id rather write to my full potential and connect with a few on a deep level, rather than write easier/shitter songs and connect with 1000s on a far less personal level. If that makes sense.

I dont like to perform that much, i dont like to play my art in front of other people. Because they judge and comment and tell me if im good or not or whatever, and thats not what i want. It defeats the purpose. Id rather people listen to an mp3 of my sogns when im not around. And i guess my music isnt made for concerts anyway.

My band is a different story, the songs are primarily written by another guitarist. (or by me in his style..) So in that im more eager to release a CD and play concerts and have fun and such. Its still serious though, and theres still emotional value for me, its just not so personal (and theres money aims... ).


So yeh a bit of everything for me. Mainly in the personal satisfaction and expression areas, but also leaning towards the performing and sharing parts.

 

[Opth_001]

Wow… I guess I'm not the only one that just wants to write music for myself.

I play me guitar not imagining myself infront of an audience but just to perform for myself. And when I play a song being it one that my friend and I wrote or something by Metallica or who ever I'm always striving for the perfect performance. I've just started writing some poetry so I don't think any of them are any good yet, but they all have some meaning to me so I don't care if people don't understand them or not.

Well I got to go I'm suppost to be cleaning

 

[D Mullholand]

Ideas come, and I write them down. There's probably some personal significance. I don't believe there will be an "audience" for my music or readers for my lyrics (partially because they're in English). I've enjoyed performing, but only before small crowds (50-100) people.

I don't know what the real motivation is.

 

[Satori]

For me, the inspiration for art comes through the impermanance of all things, or in other words, death.

Satori

 

[Despot]

Music is my eternal life support...

 

[BillowOfZeal]

It's simple really. Creative outlet and the hope of not having a shitty job in the future.

 

[Blackspirit]

My motivation is that I feel something and have
to get it out.... When I write a song, a part of
me has been released )

I make some arty pictures out of things that I
put together, and I always do this on days that
I am in a very creative mood. Nothing special
has happend, I just feel something, and need to
get it out. Afterwards I enjoy watching my
inside being on the outside )

 

[E V I L]

For me it's a moral longing. Birthing something good is one of the few things human beings can do to feel good about existence, to prettify and sanitize it, celebrate and idealize it in all the ways we can, and then to package it and give it like a gift to others.

I'm welled up with extreme longings to create something that people can enjoy well after I'm dead. And it's not only about creating, it's more about "capturing" some view or perspective- something important- and giving it some semblance of permanence, a human intelligence that's been accomplished so it need not be accomplished blindly again...

 

[RETIREDTrapped]

What's your motivation for your art?

...Groupies of course!!