I always appreciate it when art violates my principles and still works.
A theory I've incubating for many years concerning emotional states on artmaking is that the best art comes from darker places: sadness, anger, regret, etc, are the most high octane of fuel. Obviously, a person who constantly holes themselves up in darkness may discover it has consequences for a happy life. In the big picture art could be for immortality, but happiness is for the mortal now, which is compelling. One should only undertake such things carefully. Still, taking control of our pain and using it to produce art can often be very empowering.
I was talking to a well a known artist and writer of children's books and she told me about an adult novel she was writing, a novel that was based on her own difficult childhood. Before she was going to begin her rewrites she traveled to India to stay at an ashram. When she returned to Los Angeles after a month, she no longer had the desire to finish the novel. The hunger and the angst were gone.
When angels drive out the snakes and there's nothing to talk about? It's worth pondering.
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