The Missing Link

Okay. We’ve been having fun so far but what about the facts?

I had a great Christmas and for whatever reason (maybe my mouth) commerce and creativity kept coming up.

I had the opportunity to sit next to a very nice man named Bob (his real name) on Sunday night at a party celebrating my brother and his fiancee’s engagement.

Bob was great—not only is he an experienced organizational/management consultant and coach but he also refused to give in or be dazzled by a single one of my arguments. Which kept me going of course. He very astutely brought up point after point to see if my musings about such a rosy future for both love and commerce held water. And in doing so we got too a great point that I don’t think I’ve gotten to here yet.

So off to the races.

After I had done all the dancing I could do—and made a claim that there’s no reason there aren’t 600 practicing van Goghs currently practicing—he calmly noticed that we have a higher percentage of people involved in creativity than perhaps any culture in the history of the world. Surely if there were some impending cultural revolution the paintings (or music, film, etc) would be out there.

Ah yes, I said. And commended him on his astute reasoning. This is a place my reasoning rarely gets—few people are either interested long enough or remain critically skeptical long enough to get around to it. It is also a bit of a delicate subject.

My background is in the counterculture so let me start this by saying that I think it has done as much for our society in 40 years as perhaps commerce has done in the previous 200. It has truly allowed us in many ways to be free.

However, it is of limited use and will soon be gone.

The reason that there aren’t 600 van Goghs currently practicing is that the vast majority or talented practicing artists are in some essential way, shape or form tied to the counter-culture. As such, they believe that a primary purpose of art is to reflect society—and specifically, to reflect that in society which is deemed unjust. They believe art is less important than politics.

Responding to this belief they produce art that is against what they understand as the mainstream economy and culture. In many ways they believe they are at war, which they may be.

I told Bob that however much the stereotypical mainstream businessperson may dislike stereotypical mainstream rap, their ethics are almost identical. They both believe in a rugged independence and ruthless competition.

But rap isn’t even really part of the counterculture (god bless American black culture for constantly providing us with a third way despite all the odds). The real counterculture would be more like so-called conscious rap—which spends much of its time talking about what is wrong with other, more mainstream, rappers. The problem with this is that the artists engaged in critique—be they punk rockers, conscious rappers, avant guard bourgeois shocking painters, or hippies—is that the primary focus of their love—of their being—is in protecting themselves from a perceived threat and trying to get others to change. Which isn’t very lovely.

So while this countercultural activity may look distinct from the mainstream, rational, perspective on the surface, it is actually very similar. It is primarily interested in critique and criticism instead of creation and vulnerability. It is no coincidence that the far left often dislikes religion and that many people see one of Kerry’s largest weaknesses in relationship to Bush as his inability to convey his faith.

So, when Bob said that we were dripping with artists, I agreed. But also pointed out that very very few, if any, were creating what they want. And that for the resistance of the market to purchase the high-quality, high_touch creative goods, services and content it truly wants; the creators of said items will have to drop their antagonistic pose and show the vulnerability and love that will make their products valuable.

My example (as often) was van Gogh—though he was often forced to choose between food and paint—or food and a model for the day—he never once (from what I can see) allowed that conflict to enter his work on a root level. He did paint potato eaters, but he did so lovingly—even though the painting is dark and somewhat quiet.

He never confused his material conditions on the planet with god’s will. He never blamed god—or even other people. He was grateful for the opportunity to see and live—and although he had serious problems toward the end of his life—he fought daily to believe and take complete responsibility for his life and creation. In doing so he made himself a king.

And this is the somewhat ominous situation we find ourselves in 100 years later. With the key to the kingdom reliant upon a leap of faith. With all the riches of both the spiritual and material world hidden in plain sight—for those who can find the courage and conviction—the faith—to go first. You will be our leaders into a new world.

Don’t remember that van Gogh shot himself. Remember that if he would have just chilled for 10 years his paintings would have started selling. Remember that Picasso made bank, as did Basquiat, Cobain, Bukowski and a whole lot of others.

Remember that our culture moves so fast now that the trick is not to wait but to be able to withstand the onslaught of love and confused, starved adoration. To go slow enough that you can be who and how you want once the borderline insane media comes knocking. There is no love that goes unrewarded. We simply must grow artists strong enough (and relaxed enough) to master our new power tools.

For the material and spiritual to meet in a loving quantum economy, artists must take the first step. A worldwide shipping empire is nothing to the next Walt Whitman—even from an economic point of view. If you study the economy closely enough I think you will find that most the coming growth is in creativity and love. The unknown.

You want to paint for a reason. But reason tells you you’re wasting time. That’s not true. And while you will have to feed yourself somehow, the true test is in believing harder—feeling more comfortable in more perilous conditions. Having faith—believing for no reason. Believing despite reason. Which is all we want anyway.

If I can hazard a guess I’d say that once you can feel the way you want, you’ll produce the products you want without much sweat.