Editor argues against talent, in favor of passion, dedication

By Connor de Bruler
debrulerc@mytjnow.com

There’s a lot society can learn from art. The problem is that mainstream society is trying to influence it too much. 

In my last column I suggested that creativity needs to be the highest priority of a society. 

Art is a business. That’s just how it is. But it’s a great business model that every field and discipline should strive to emulate. The artist enjoys what he or she does, and the consumer gets a very substantive enjoyment from the artists effort. 

It is my opinion that we do not have to be writers or painters to be artists. I firmly believe that every occupation, given that the right people are in it, can be a palette for an immense level of creativity. The teacher can create new ways of conveying ideas to students. A police officer can create unique tactics and programs for tracking criminals and keeping peace. Even a plumber can innovate. As I established in the last column, creativity can extend to all aspects of human life. 

If we treated everyone as an artist, as a grand creator, I believe that society would have a lot less disdain and frustration. 

It is extremely gratifying to the human spirit to have a voice. 

The problem is that today’s society is always trying to mystify the existence of the artist, which can be everyone’s existence. 

We glorify celebrities such as actors, because we envy their opportunities to be creative. He romanticizes the technique of the method actor and the brooding novelist. Even if their lives were quite awful in reality, we still hold them up on a high pedestal. Just think of Kurt Cobain, Vincent Van Gogh and the recently deceased Amy Winehouse.

This aspect of our societies romanticism tells me that we don’t care what kind of pain and problems we run into as long as we had the opportunity to be creative, which implies that no fate can ever be as painful as a life void of creativity. 

I think people yearn to be creative and even need to be creative. I also think that people don’t realize what great potential they have. 

There is a misconception about talent in the country. I hold it against many popular television shows like “America’s Got Talent” and “So You Think You Can Dance.” These are horrific examples of the shroud that is being pulled over people’s eyes when it comes to the notion of talent. Three or four snobby judges assess contestants of varying skill levels and tell them which people have talent and which do not. 

There is no such thing as talent. 

I think there is only passion and dedication. The artist, just the same as the dentist or the welder, have devoted time to a discipline that they enjoy and have become good. No one is born with a natural ability to do anything better than anyone else. There will always be various level of skill in any field, but no human being was born to be a mathematician or a musician. 

Talent is the lie that our society has bought into in order to justify why some people enjoy a life of creativity and others are less fortunate. 

We cannot afford to perpetuate this lie any longer. It is as Pablo Picasso said, “All children are born artists. The trouble is remaining one till adulthood.” 

If you’re interested in reading a more comprehensive account of these ideas please read “The Element” by Sir Ken Robinson.