Artist angst is a myth (partly).
I think Cheesey is meeting a bit of unecessary stick. The first time I heard the references was to Munch. Many people have since written about Van Gogh (in retrospect) quoting from the lives of other artists’, but his paintings don’t really convey a ‘tortured soul’ to me. Or, at least not in the way Munch’s Scream does.
Everyone, artist, or not feels down at times. It is the creative expression of an artistic mind that releases this in a way we can all relate to. The fact that we can all relate to it pretty much says it all - we all know how it feels. It’s nothing unique to artistic people.
The ‘tortured soul’ quotes often found in pieces about Van Gogh only really relate to what we know about his life - not what we see in his expressive paintings. Some of his paintings are beautifully tranquil. Same goes for Ami Winehouse. Even ‘Rehab’ was actually a rather content and jolly tune in many ways. She knew what she didn’t want at least.
Why do artists have to be seen as being ‘troubled’? Maybe the term came about as a result of technological developments. Artists were becomming redundant very quickly. If you can feed your creative habit through a commercial job, then the compromise is not a problem. Hunger, being homeless, being disregarded and denied the freedom to experiment might be seen as trouble from the outside. It doesn't have to be that way!
Van Gogh was certainly troubled. He was an alcohol addict. Was it the acohol addiction that brought about a need to be… whatever? Do alcoholic scientists suffer similar self-doubt, dillusions and need for atentión? Why do people become alcoholics?
I think the Biggest danger is that anyone who considers themselves an artist, whether financially sound, or not is offered the ‘tortured soul’ excuse for letting a habit run out of control. More cynically, there are often cases where others will profit for encouraging the habit to spiral out of control.
Worth mentioning the value of art therapy as a release also. A release as an alternative to numbing, escaping via booze and drugs possibly.
Just because people are expressing angst through any medium doesn't mean they’re anymore fucked-up than anyone else. Ami Winehouse may have died much earlier with out her musical success. Who the fuck knows? ‘Everyday’ early age suicides and overdoses don’t make the news. Perhaps she wouldn’t have either if circumstances were different and life didn’t go the way it did.
