Discussion Suicidal Artists

[Forever Sleep]

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm an Artist but I am creative and I would certainly say I have an Artist's temperament. I'm obsessive, over-sensitive, melancholy and suicidal (obviously.)

My friend once even said they considered me a 'proper Artist' because I was suicidal. (Lol.) I think it is a common trait in creative people.

I suppose I'm making this thread because I believe I may even have an almost romanticised idea of suicide. (I know that is going to seem abhorrent to many people.)

I guess I'm wondering why really. I suppose it's the ultimate act of defiance and autonomy. Artist's can be quite rebellious I think and our whole lives are given over to expressing ourselves. We CAN be extremely selfish. I think I'm pretty selfish- although ironically- not when it comes to CTB. I've wanted to do it for 33 years but I'm hanging on for my Dad.

Anyway- for all you creative types out there- or- anyone really- don't mean to discriminate... Do you think you have a romantacised aspect of thinking towards suicide- and- why?

 

[ksp]

i feel discriminated against: i'm very creatively-challenged and i feel excluded from the conversation

on a more serious note, i'm not sure if artists romanticize their own suicides, but those who appreciate their art probably tend to see the artists life/death as romantic-sad-tragic (their art in general evokes many powerful emotions)

but overall, i think you nailed very clear characteristics: 'temperament, obsessive, sensitive, melancholy, defiance, autonomy', non-conformity, being misunderstood and alienated, which makes them feel lonely

you're not creating memorable art by following the crowd, or its leader and their rules (but despite the rules)
you're not creating powerful work if you're content with life and society, or if you've never been in love
your perception of life is extremely dark and unusual (most people just earn their living and don't think too much about their misery - artists are obsessed with it; they cannot escape it)

most of their views drive them to suicide - as opposed to thinking about suicide as a romantic notion
(i'm as creative and romantic as a locomotive, so i may be completely wrong)

 

[myownpetvirus]

No it's not romanticized at all for me though maybe it was for me back when I was a teenager using heroin and listening to Nirvana, or actually more so romanticizing death and overdosing. I have made music and played various instruments for my whole life and my favorite rockstars are the dead ones. But now I honestly see suicide as a tragedy but still the correct mathematical option for certain people with certain circumstances that have very very little chance of showing any kind of meaningful improvement. I mean a lot of artists and some of my favorite and most talented artists do kill themselves and I tend to think their art and music becomes more interesting and meaningful after they kill themselves but I am not famous enough to be partaking in a tragic rockstar death story. suicide is messy, misunderstood, tragic, and horrifying but like I have said before is absolutely a rational option in some situations.

 

[Forever Sleep]

i feel discriminated against: i'm very creatively-challenged and i feel excluded from the conversation

on a more serious note, i'm not sure if artists romanticize their own suicides, but those who appreciate their art probably tend to see the artists life/death as romantic-sad-tragic (their art in general evokes many powerful emotions)

but overall, i think you nailed very clear characteristics: 'temperament, obsessive, sensitive, melancholy, defiance, autonomy', non-conformity, being misunderstood and alienated, which makes them feel lonely

you're not creating memorable art by following the crowd, or its leader and their rules (but despite the rules)
you're not creating powerful work if you're content with life and society, or if you've never been in love
your perception of life is extremely dark and unusual (most people just earn their living and don't think too much about their misery - artists are obsessed with it; they cannot escape it)

most of their views drive them to suicide - as opposed to thinking about suicide as a romantic notion
(i'm as creative and romantic as a locomotive, so i may be completely wrong)

You know I'd never want to exclude you- I always love your posts and input. ❤

 

[Gustav Hartmann]

It reminds me of the German Romanticism and Goethes "The Sorrows of Young Werther". A good example is the poet Heinrich von Kleist who died by suicide together with a close female friend who was terminally ill.




But I guess you don´t mean the suicide of an artist but suicide as a work of art. The latter wold make the suicide victim become an artist anyway. I like this idea but don´t know how to relize it. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[Ligottian]

I have an artist's temperament but with zero artistic talent.

 

[punkarmadillo]

I'm an autistic artist, I don't romanticize suicide, I just welcome ceasing to exist. The idea of leaving one's indelible mark is a fascinating one, for me I don't believe my work would ever be good enough to matter. The constant pressure to excel and be successful in a world designed to make us fail is a very confusing space.

 

[Kobusu]

I definitely did at a point when I was younger (I've been a writer since I was 14), but I learned that in order to fully understand and recognize what i am doing should the time come where I attempt it again, I would not truly understand unless I stopped romanticizing it.

 

[Forever Sleep]

It reminds me of the German Romanticism and Goethes "The Sorrows of Young Werther". A good example is the poet Heinrich von Kleist who died by suicide together with a close female friend who was terminally ill.


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But I guess you don´t mean the suicide of an artist but suicide as a work of art. The latter wold make the suicide victim become an artist anyway. I like this idea but don´t know how to relize it. Do you have any suggestions?

Hmm, actually- I probably was refering more to the suicide of an Artist. Why are they so prone to it type thing. Maybe because we (I definitely have an Artist's temperament) sometimes romanticise it.

Still- I take your point. Romanticising something does kind of make it a work of Art. I hadn't really thought of that. I suppose (for me), all suicides are a statement. A protest against something. The ultimate act of autonomy in a way.

Still- no- I have no idea how to make it a work of Art. I think that could be more distressing for loved ones really if you did some installation or performance piece! I suppose it depends on whether you want your suicide to upset people. I think most people want to reduce upset as far as possible. I suppose if you had a cause though- maybe that would be different.

 

[Pluto]

Tragedy itself can be an inseparable component of art. It is often the dark sting of death that gives rich art its flavour and profundity. In European history, this theme is common to the great Shakespearean tragedies and the endless sculpture and music dedicated to Christianity (the very symbolism of which is a dead man on a cross).

As I mentioned recently in another thread, the English language has a richer vocabulary for describing negative events than positive ones. More genres of art are dedicated to dark topics, including musical styles like blues, or horror in cinema.

The true origin of the sense of excitation and fascination with tragedy is difficult to pinpoint. Does it arouse the fight-or-flight response? Or does it give an outlet for stimulating emotions life grief? Does it simply alleviate boredom? Are we simply indulging in the drama of being human?

The link to suicide could have many causes. Were it not for childhood dysfunction, perhaps Kurt Cobain would have ended up an accountant. Art is often providing an outlet for darkness that is already there, without offering any sort of lasting pathway out of it.