Inspiration For Creative Writers From Artists

Honesty and truthfulness – these are the outstanding virtues of a great artist. And as a creative writer I have in recent times found inspiration from two contemporary artists, Grayson Perry and Tracy Emin.
Both artists hold personal challenges for me; and the irony is that in the past – perhaps in my twenties – I would have disapproved of their work (or some of it) and even found it offensive. Therefore these two artists have a direct relevance to me, because they evoke strong reactions. Yet now their honesty compels me. And several elements of the autobiographical accounts of their social background have strong similarities to my own.
Both artists make use of phrases from our culture which they transform into art – neon signs, tapestries, lithographs, glazed vases; from a vase of Grayson Perry blaze the words “career advancement.” These words are so evocative. They carry within them all sorts of presumptions, pretensions, falsehoods, eagerness to impress, compulsion to present a false picture of oneself to the world. And Tracey Emin describing her abortion experience on film is electrifying – simply because she is so honest.
In Grayson Perry’s book Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl, we find these words, an observation made by Wendy Jones who transcribed the tapes of his account: “During the interviews Grayson appeared almost physically malleable. It seemed that sometimes he would look like a First World War pilot, then a mediaeval minstrel, then a housewife suffering from ennui, then an elegant hurdler. He was always morphing – I hadn’t come across that before and I doubt I shall see it often again.”
This capacity to morph strikes a chord in my own experience and is described in my own novel Mystical Circles where it is eventually understood as part of the shapeshifting gifts of a shaman. Wendy Jones’ description was fascinating to me as I have known of those who morph in this fashion and have witnessed it myself and worked it into my own fiction.
Grayson Perry suggests that we “sit lightly to our beliefs”, and “let go of a compulsion to seek meaning – we will enjoy life in this world much more.” His art bears this out; everything is referred back to his childhood teddy Alan Measles, everything set against that barometer of his childlike perceptions, even to the extent of expressing his tranvestism by dressing as a little girl.
The irony and humour and poignancy of my reaction to these two artists is compelling when I consider my own background and personal history and creative journey. Both Perry and Emin have vitally important things to say to me, strong challenges to make to me. I cannot ignore these challenges as a creative writer. A writer must above all “come clean with himself.”