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Sara

- 3 years ago

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Why do so many brilliant and talented artists succumb to drugs and suicide?

Rainn explained the Baha'i perspective of artists during his interview with Oprah, that when people create art, they are praying. Artists mirror the work of God when they create, and they are such spiritual beings and endowed with such an enormous blessing of creativity and intelligence. But this led me to think...why do so many iconic artists die so tragically? Marilyn Monroe, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wolff, River Phoenix (pictured), Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, and more recently Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson. These are merely a list of those who've died because of drugs or suicide, but to add those who've struggled with addiction and depression, the list is enormous. I discussed this topic with my good friend...we're both writers...and we decided something. We both find other artists (men) incredibly attractive, because we think artists are very aware of themselves. They know who they are, and have already advanced so far spiritually through the creation of their work, that they don't care about impressing others and are more concerned with continuing to understand and develop their souls through their work. And because they are so self aware, and already have matured their souls, they find this world useless, because isn't the point of this life to prepare our spiritual beings for the next? And if artists have already done that...aren't they bored? I don't know if I'm making any sense. But anyone else have thoughts on this? haha

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It's not just artists that commit suicide. There are young adults in the budding time of their lives who end up down a wrong mental path that leads them to suicide. When the cherished spouse of an elderly person passes on, there are some who end up passing on not long after (some say they lost their will to live without their spouse--a kind of suicide). When a celebrity dies of suicide, their persona is raised to a higher level of public awareness. The combination of something so wonderful with something so tragic is somehow alluring. "So many brilliant and talented artists"? Look around you at how many are alive. Any suicide is one too many, independent of who the person is. And mind you, that some of the people you listed did not commit suicide, or there was reasonable doubt whether suicide was committed. Heath Ledger died from an accidental combination of drugs. Michael Jackson wasn't suicidal either. Nor was Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix, Janis, Joplin, or Jim Morrison for that matter. Drug overdose is often the case where the habitual user just doesn't realize how far they are pushing their health to the edge. They're oblivious to the dangers.

I think when a person takes risks that could end their life I think this is a choice. When people do drugs and/or alcohol, I think this is a way they are "checking out" of reality. And with all the info that young people get about drugs and alcohol they are choosing this...(that is until they became addicted...which BTW they know is a possibility. So, even with cigerattes, I think these people are committing a type of suicide... So, when twenty year olds die because of drugs I feel this was a choice.

I do not believe we are "preparing for the next" anything. We came here to do "something". Yes, there is something here. Deepak Chopra mentioned that MJ was a tortured soul. Many of these people were...Judy Garland was a person of interest to me for some reason....same story. I thought was maybe these individual were so "sensitive" to the human condition that they use drug/alcohol to cope with their "pain". Maybe living to be "40" is an option in life and the truth is not a "tragedy" like we tell the story. My dad died at 57...he was done. My father-in-law died at 46 ...he was done. Maybe these individuals mentioned above were done...they came here did what they came here to do and left on "schedule"...??

I am at my most creative when I'm depressed. or when Im ecstatic.

Wow, I can't believe your insight. Honestly, I think you found your answer. At least with the artists I hold dear, it really is that conflict with dealing with life when they have already seemed to figure out so much of it. They seem almost confused that they really found the answer and don't know what to do next. On a side note I would have to say that the depressed artist is the best artist. The emotions a manic has to deal with are so intense the work that is created is merely the manifestation of the fuel inside of them.

For many of the people listed the drugs were a form of escapism. The pain and suffering that they felt were fuel to create art, but this also caused them to want to forget those life-changing moments that defined their character. Hemmingway was constantly haunted by his memories of war and most likely had undiagnoesd PTSD. Jackson - although killed by manslaughter - used surgery to escape his fears of becoming his father, thus the skin change. Monroe was under constant pressure to be a sex symbol, something very hard to live up to, and felt that she needed the drugs to escape, as the effects became less potent she needed more to get away and it resulted in her overdose. A-list fame is a tremendous pressure that few know how to cope with, and coupled with personal issues it can lead to disasterous results. To truly understant the motives behind drug use and suicide you must understand their personal issues.

well, i assume it depends on how much they identify themselves with the recognition from rheir fans. a lot of them get involved with drugs etc to put up with the pressure, than they have to handle the guilt for that and for the increased chances to disappoint their fans and therefore threaten their own identity.and fear makes them reach again to drus, and again and again they just end up running in circles until they decide, some of them, to get out of it. but then again, that's just another speculation.

i think it is image, and alot of artists are bipolar, like ian curtis, thats what gives them their creativity, he commited suicide

OMG I LOVE RIVER PHOENIX sorry. When I was like 7, I was going to marry him. And then my sister was like you know he's dead right. I was a mess for like the next year. anyways They were all to damn good for the rest of us. Just kidding. It's really sad though because they all died before they reached their full potentials.

i just think that either they lose it. they lose their mind, their creativity and they self control... or... they feel like a tortured artist... who can't torture himself.

There's the old "collapsed under the weight of genius" line but as far as the mentioned examples from Hollywood... Mainstream entertainment is a very cut throat place. You have to be tough to survive the Hollywood life. As far as everyday people that you don't hear about, the poets, the painters, the candlestick makers... It can be hard for a person who's livelyhood is to embraces creativity to connect with people who's livelyhood is to have a white picket fence around their front yard (pardon the steriotype). Humans are by nature pack animals, we are social creatures and when the deepest most honest part of who we are as individuals doesn't fit it with our peers understanding of life then it can be devestating, and can lead to in extreame cases- a feeling of being outcasted, drug addiction, anti-social behaviours either voluntary or involuntary, depression, hopelessness, suicide... the list goes on. It's not just artists, pretty much any time someone feels that nobody understands and it goes on that way on a fundamental level for a prolonged period of time bad things can happen.

My husband and I are both artists. We cover both ends of the spectrum on this question. I see life as full of possibilities and use my art to capture the beauty that I see. This life and world do not bore me in the slightest because I see life itself as an expression of Divine art. We are each an artistic creation of the Divine (whatever the Divine means to you... God, the Universe, etc.) My husband has stated in the past that he feels bored at times. Many years ago, before we even met, he went through a phase of thinking he would die young like many of his favorite musicians. I can't and won't speak any further about his viewpoint on this issue out of respect for his privacy. My belief is that everyone lives their life in their own way. Some burn out, some fade away and other shine as brightly as they can until it's their time to leave. I do believe that artists of all kinds tend to be slightly tortured souls. We feel deeply, see things differently, and life effects us intensely. Some of us take on that challenge while others lose themselves in the turmoil. They use their pain to create art and this, in essence, sucks them dry. This is just my perspective. I don't think anyone really knows why. We can only speculate.

I don't know.

For starters I don't believe that artists are any better than plumbers or busdrivers. That art is prayer ? I could at a push go with that maybe but I'd have to ponder it more. Is something not turned into a prayer by conscious intent on our part? I can perform Shakespeare but I might be more concerned about how good I sound and what gestures go better with this line or how fat my belly might look from this angle indeed than seeing it as a prayer. I have been around many many artists in my time and have seen more than my share of self obsessed people. Then there's the fact that art has become such a big brutal industry and the competition aspect overwhelming and degrading....so no I can't really get all mushy about artists being so in tune with life and it's meaning that reaching sufficiently high boredom levels with the rest of the human race affords them the right to decide that it's time to top themselves. That is nonsense. That some art is a prayer..well that's between the artist and God. That art can inspire us...depends on us. Art is one way of expressing our creativity but breast feeding is surely more important...Anything can be raised to an art...a smile sent out to a junkie on the sidewalk will do more for the junkie than Michelangelo's David.

i believe that humans were created in the image of God, the ultimate creator, therefore we all have the ability to create inside of us, and in so doing you are tapping into your the "God-ness" inside of you...but most people don't tap into it, it's just easier to be routine and average and not be vulnerable as artists usually are. i think people who create for a living are just more prone to being emotional...they tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves as every song you write/every stroke you paint/etc has a piece of you in it, therefore you end up living on an emotional rollercoaster of sorts...leading to that vulnerability. and unfortunately drugs help you calm/supress those emotions and for a while you feel like you are in control and then when you come back to real life, they hit you again and you need more drugs to get back in "control" and so the addiction starts.

I've always created my best work when I've hated being alive. I could explain why, probably, but it's such an abstract and ineffable concept that I'm afraid I'll muddle it up with a bunch of long-winded gibberish. At the very least, I'd like to posit that, at it's most fundamental level, art is the expression or result of pain. I believe that the most talented artists merely have that much more experience with pain, and are that much better at expressing it.

I've learned a prayerless people are driven to drugs and alcohol and a other forms of useless activity as they think they have no antidote for life, and no effective means of aquiring the joy for which they yearn. That is not limited to the so-called brilliant and talented. There are many works of art in this world that you'd swear the dude was on drugs when he came up that, so I'm not impressed with the "praying" Our whole life is a prayer, even the pipe fitter or the carpenter or the farmer when the work is performed in the spirit of service. I grew up listening to the songs of Cat Stevens, when he converted to Islam, we didn't hear much from Him, He had his lawyers try to get his songs removed from the airwaves because he felt his songs were evil, then during an interview with Diane Sawyer, he was asked whether or not he would have to obey a Jihad order from a Mullah and kill Salman Rushdie. He responded he would. So much for the Peace Train.

That theory kind of makes sense to me. However, what I'm curious about is whether or not the percentage of artists who commit suicide is any higher than any other profession. Or do we simply pay more attention to artists who commit suicide because they're in the limelight much more often? Actually, I once heard that on average a dentist is more likely to commit suicide than any other professional (I might consider it to if I had to spend the rest of my life looking and poking around other peoples' mouths for the rest of my life).

fame can make people go crazy too

Being an artist can be lonely, and so few people can actually connect with you in a meaningful way. It can also be a struggle to find meaning in life, which is incredibly important to an artist but can often keep you awake at night for a long time. And then I always finding myself saying "What is the point of making art?" and then something that you've dedicated yourself to is meaningless and at that point you're basically screwed. And then there are the people that never get recognized for their work or the people that do get recognized but feel that they haven't connected with people in a meaningful way. I guess I'm not making much sense either. Damn the English language.

@Sara My nook.

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Sara

Why do so many brilliant and talented artists succumb to drugs and suicide?

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Hummingbird

BlackHeartGeneral

I am at my most creative when I'm depressed. or when Im ecstatic.

dr_eww

musefan47

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Kartashka

i think it is image, and alot of artists are bipolar, like ian curtis, thats what gives them their creativity, he commited suicide

hannyleigh

margaretslankard

i just think that either they lose it. they lose their mind, their creativity and they self control... or... they feel like a tortured artist... who can't torture himself.

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I don't know.

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wanderingWolf

fame can make people go crazy too

wanderingWolf

Why do so many brilliant and talented artists succumb to drugs and suicide?

I am at my most creative when I'm depressed. or when Im ecstatic.

i think it is image, and alot of artists are bipolar, like ian curtis, thats what gives them their creativity, he commited suicide

i just think that either they lose it. they lose their mind, their creativity and they self control... or... they feel like a tortured artist... who can't torture himself.

I don't know.

fame can make people go crazy too

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