What is a masterpiece?
And how do you make one? And why does it matter?
Hold, in your mind, a masterpiece. An incredible work of art, music, poetry, dance which connects with you on a level so deep that you almost can’t express it. Think about how that made you feel.
Think about your favorite musical artist, you have a few favorite songs from their albums that you know by heart and you sing along. Years after the album, you see them live and the song has changed. Maybe the way they play it, the emphasis, possibly even some of the words. The musician has changed it, they’ve learned something about the music and the meaning, how to play it, how to perform it. The music changes, but you still love it, it still rings true, possibly with even more meaning.
Let’s put that on pause and speak to the visual masterpieces. You probably know who Picasso is. You might even picture in your mind an image of him or one of his paintings. Chances are that it’s one of 5 very famous paintings. These are considered masterpieces. They are influential in the story of western art. They are priceless.
But what if I told you that Picasso made around 50,000 artworks in his lifetime. It’s an astounding number, but what does it say about the creators view of what a masterpiece is or means? I’ll give you a hint, it’s very similar to an album for a musician.
Stop.
Before I lose you into thinking that this is irrelevant. You need to know that this idea is at the very core of the creative process. If you misunderstand the nature of a masterpiece, you will misunderstand the nature of creativity and it will stifle your ability to create. It will actually kill your ability to create a masterpiece in your pursuits.
Why do you misunderstand what a masterpiece really is?
Chances are that you’ve been taught in a way that allows you to draw the wrong conclusions about how these things are made, and what they mean to the creators.
Art education focuses on the masterpieces, on the seminal works of art through the ages. This provides a false picture of the development of art and the process of creation. I’ve long suffered under the false idea of what a masterpiece is and means. I believed that a masterpiece is something that is a final product, a culmination of a period of work, and the end goal of an artist. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Just as a recording of a song isn’t the end of the life of that song. The final painting is not the goal of the artist.
It’s a snapshot.
It’s merely a waypoint in a journey. It’s a recording of the process of becoming something greater.
Picasso’s art career did not end with Guernica, Johnny Cash didn’t peak at “A Boy Named Sue”. In fact, just the idea of an artist “peaking” is often a complete misunderstanding of the creative process.
Creativity is about becoming.
It is about changing who and what you are in order to overcome a challenge, to improve, to become. The creation that comes of it is merely a recording of what you became. Michelangelo’s David is a reflection of who he had to become in the process of developing the ability to create it.
How can you use this?
Stop aiming for a culmination, a masterpiece, an end. This sort of thinking sends people into retirement and deprives us of the creative work of people who have incredible life experience and perspective. There is no end to you and your ability to create. If you believe that this moment in your life is just part of becoming a masterpiece, you will start to see what Michelangelo saw in his ceiling. It’s a moment in time, it’s a step to creating the real masterpiece.
The REAL masterpiece is you.
When you begin to not just understand that principle, but to act on that understanding, you can then create the works that the world will see as masterpieces, these snapshots of who you were when you created them.
YOU are the masterpiece.
You, right now are the culmination of a life’s work. What you create is a reflection of that. If you are underwhelmed with your creations, if you want more, you only need to do the work to become the being that can achieve that.
