Nick Cave's Thoughts on Inspiration

[pink_silk_glove]

He's hurt a LOT of people and been responsible for a lot of tragedy and pain to other people along the way. You don't know him or what he's like as a person. Everyone he touches suffers....

Ok great, he's a complete fuckwad. I'd have no clue myself but I'll take your word for it since you're obviously an extremely reliable source.

But he is undoubtedly a world-renowned and highly-regarded artist with an extensive body of work in multiple genres and media. He is more than qualified to speak about art and creativity.

 

[mildlyaroused]

He's hurt a LOT of people and been responsible for a lot of tragedy and pain to other people along the way

Care to elaborate? He lost his father at 19, battled with addiction, lost two of his sons within years of one another, etc... no doubt there has been tragedy. But I can't see how he is personally responsible for causing hurt to a 'LOT' of people. You should check out some of his interviews; he's eccentric, but introspective and open about how he has changed and learned as a person.

 

[ElectricBlue]

He's hurt a LOT of people and been responsible for a lot of tragedy and pain to other people along the way

Losing a fifteen year old son falling down a cliff doesn't count for anything then?

And yes, I know he's not blameless for his other son, and addictive personalities clearly run in the gene pool. That doesn't negate what he has done.

(Memo to self, check out what Cave has been up to recently)

Check out "Carnage", with Warren Ellis. Also, "Idiot Prayer" - Alone at Alexandra Palace

 

[DrPope]

I'd prefer not to elaborate because I have respect for peoples privacy ....and one day the people directly affected ....they may wish to tell their story.I however have many personal experiences going back over 45 years and from what I know this man's behavior towards towards many people has been absolutely toxic and he has never acknowledged or apologized for the damage he has personally caused to many people both in Australia, The UK and in Germany. Recent personal tragedies in Nick and Suzi's private life are not an absolution for his past behaviors.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I'd prefer not to elaborate because I have respect for peoples privacy ...

To quote Al Pacino, "Oh, what a big man you are."

If you had respect you wouldn't have jumped in on this in the first place. My advice is that if you're going to fling caustic accusations and you aren't prepared to back them up, it's probably best to stay silent, but hey, you do you.

 

[mildlyaroused]

I'd prefer not to elaborate because I have respect for peoples privacy

Then you must see the redundancy of your comments. If terrible things have happened behind the scenes then that's obviously not good, but there's no point making accusations if you aren't prepared to then back them up. At least, there's no point making such accusations with the expectation of anyone taking the seriously.

Moreover, this was advice specifically about art. Even if Nick was the devil, he would still be an experienced artist; so his advice in that field is worth something.

 

[LilyWaters]

I don't know about his writing talent, but I can't say that I agree with his message. Inspiration and motivation are key ingredients for creating art. If anybody needs to force themselves to create something then it will show on the product.

This message reads like typical motivational bullshit to me, no offense.

I feel the opposite; art takes work. Sometimes you will be motivated and inspired, other times it will be a total grind. I love Nick Cave's work, and I love this statement.

Now, I don't make my living writing, but I know for sure that the writing I do when I am not feeling particularly motivated or inspired is better than writing nothing at all.

Jack London said something similar in 1905, in his essay titled "Getting into Print":

"Don’t loaf and invite inspiration; light out after it with a club, and if you don’t get it you will nonetheless get something that looks remarkably like it. Set yourself a “stint,” and see that you do that “stint” each day; you will have more words to your credit at the end of the year."

 

[madelinemasoch]

I'm listening to Nick Cave right now. It's a symbiotic relationship: art needs us to bring it to life, and we need art to keep ourselves alive. It's a deeper need to the true artist than food and water is. That's why we imbibe.