Artists, Alternative Personas and Living In Character...

[Dan Goodwin]

I wrote in another discussion:

I think it's one of the privileges of the artist to create alternative personas and characters through their work.

What experiences of this do you have in your work? What fictional characters have you created that have been alternative versions of yourself? Do you take on a different personality when you create, or when you perform, to be able to tap into a deeper creativity?

Is exploring a different artistic personality a way of avoiding your true self, or simply a way of connecting with other parts of yourself that are unexplored?

Leave your comments and experiences below:

[Nick]

I think it would be wrong to generalize as we are all quite different. The motivations to be creative are probably as varied as the rest of our personalities.
Some create for the love of creating, others for the love of adulation, others to survive. To some it is a hobby, to others a way of life. I am sure there are those who are locked into being artists who would prefer to have a 9-5 job with a salary but due to their makeup aren't able to follow that road. The body of art or music may tell of the influences but may not follow the rest very closely.

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

I think how a person "is" changes all the time. After all, our physical bodies renew themselves constantly ... so do our attitudes and ways of being emotionally and intellectually. "Who we are" is constantly affected by our relationships and experiences in life. I think at any given time the art work, music, writing, building, whatever, would be a swipe at expressing whatever feeling or concept was important to the artist at that time.

[Dan Goodwin]

I think you're right Barb. I know when I return to pieces I've written years previously, I'm partly reminded of how I felt at the time, but I'm also able to be detached enough to interpret the words as a reader.

It's similar with music. I'll return to songs and records (of other people) that I'm drawn to again for some reason and they'll have a fresh relevance to the stuff that's going on in my life right now.

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Oh yes, that happens with me, too. I went through a period a few years ago where I could leave the "Classic" Rock station on 24/7, and hear new meanings in the words every time ... people thought I was nuts, and that's okay ... ha ha! It was really hard for me to pick a "favorite" anything, because everything was just great in my mind! Since then I've begun listening to more current stuff, thank goodness :)

[Carol Clark]

I don't take on a different persona when I write, the writing allows me to tap into the "deeper stuff" inside you mentioned, that I've often deemed "wrong" or "immoral".

For example, I recently finished a short story, and not that I've been through a divorce myself, but I have experienced intense anger and rage. My protagonist went after her ex-husband who severely mistreated her, and she killed him. Pretty much in cold blood. OK, she did it with a baseball bat. My writing instructor told me she was proud that I "went there", allowed myself to write about a fantasy that I would obviously never carry out, but it is in my mind as just thoughts.

Writing allows me to say and do the things (darker things) I would never do in reality. And that is truly freeing...

I like this discussion, enjoying reading the responses...
Carol

[Laurie Rutan]

Ahhhh this surprises me, this dark side I have .... and how come I can feel this way when I've never really been there? Carol, you should be proud that you allowed yourself to go there...I guess I worry I'll get stuck there or my "dark" side will take over like another personality or persona. Makes me wonder how I feel about my self.
I enjoy this discussion too.....
Laurie

[Carol Clark]

Hi Laurie,

You'd be surprised - you won't get stuck there - you'll get out the dark stuff, then when you go out on a beautiful day, the flowers will be brighter and smell sweeter.

Seriously, I denied that side for so long, and although I've needed the help of a Dr. because the feelings were so intense, but the more I "let out", the freer and more whole I feel. It's awesome, like being reborn...

Thanks for responding, Laurie.
Carol :-)

[Dan Goodwin]

I think if we make too much of darker thoughts and try to stop them, they just grow in power and influence.

We can't stop them, like we can't stop thinking, or having ideas, it's just what our minds do in creating new stuff. Glad you were able to come to terms Carol and let it all just flow.

[Carol Clark]

Dan - You hit the nail right on the head with, I think if we make too much of darker thoughts and try to stop them, they just grow in power and influence. That's just what my Dr. has been saying all this time.

It is great to be on the other side of most of it...!!! Hallejuah!
It's awesome when the flow works now...!!

Carol

[Dan Goodwin]

It's the same with anything, what you focus on grows. So if you only ever see the negative in your life, that's what seems to swarm and overwhelm. If you focus on the positive, that grows...

[Nick]

..witness the proliferation of earphones!! :-)

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

These "bad" feelings do exist in all of us. It can be hard to accept having them at first, especially if you've spent your whole life trying not to feel them. If people can not accept the "bad" feelings in themselves, and try to be "good" all the time, they usually project the bad feelings onto others. Then they can feel justified in not accepting, or even hating others. So it is that many religions have been corrupted ... and so it is that wars begin.

I use quotes because I do not feel there is really any truth to "bad" and "good" feelings, they are all feelings we have in our hearts, and I'm striving not to judge them either way ...