The Hand of God by Paolo Sorrentino offers an incredible narrative in the making of the archetype of The Artist. The main character goes through his own journey of self-discovery, of growth, beginning as the innocent and as we journey with him we learn how Paolo Sorrentino himself finds himself as a filmmaker. A storyteller, an Artist.

Movies like this are why I love learning about archetypes and how they play out in movies, stories, and narratives. We can see the journey that our characters go through and understanding the journey better grants us the ability to deeply empathize with these characters.

For this newsletter, I’d like to offer you 10 examples of The Artist at play, whether that’s through a persona on YouTube or its depictions of Artists through films. For each one, I’ll offer a short bio and my own thoughts on the adaptation. So we begin!

1.) The French Dispatch - Wes Anderson

You’ll see many of these Artists enraptured in love and for good reason as well. The Artist in this depiction is an Outlaw and Lover which are both a part of the Soul of the human. Within the soul are Artist/Creator, Explorer, Lover, and Outlaw/Destroyer. Each one it’s own journey toward the transcendence of the soul. Benicio Del Torro’s character seeks more outside of the confines of his shackles, and though unable to explore the outside world, he’s able to explore within his art, and within love. Both a traversal through an inner universe that is his own.

2.) The Phantom Thread - Paul Thomas Anderson

The struggle of an over-optimized Artist. Also the corruption of the shadow Artist at work. The only way this particular character is capable of exploring the outside world is through a muse that grants a portal into the outside world. He relies on a team to help him navigate a world that isn’t possible to navigate alone, and his artistry can lead him to bitterness that can sometimes shut out those closest to him. An exploration through the evolution of an Artist, into a Lover and countering of the EGO to embrace those closest to him, ultimately healing the true Artist.

3.) Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman

The decay of The Artist. I feel this film does an incredible job at depicting an Artist Archetype that truly wishes for a lasting creation, one that will surpass them even after death, with the depiction of death through aging a constant message throughout the film itself. The fight for something greater than the self and something lasting and not mediocre is an anxious battle with the world but most importantly the self.

4.) Basquiat - Julian Schnabel

Basquiat was a profound Artist through and through. He passed away due to an accidental heroin overdose. Basquiat was a part of the Neo-Expressionism movement making eye-capturing images expressing a life as a black man constantly mistreated and misplaced. When Basquiat rose to fame he even expressed his discomfort of the popular artist’s community. The novelty of his art became the want of many white collectors, partaking in the general abuse of a corrupt industry. This depiction is good and actually very star-studded, but I would just go straight to researching the artist himself. Basquiat honed in on an Outlaw/Destroyer, and Artist persona.

5.) The Science of Sleep - Michel Gondry

Overall a really great movie, and also an impressively creative movie. The entire film makes me feel like this is an Artist’s film, for Artists about an Artist. A story told through multiple disciplines of art. The creativity of this movie feels like anything goes. For many of these Artists the EGO has so much power, over us, or within us. This battle is usually depicted as capitalism and the artist’s fight against capitalism. Artists are usually depicted as poor and the only way to survive is to get a job, something that does not fit The Artist’s persona which creates an obstacle to what The Artist desperately wants to do. The journey is to overcome.

6.) School of Rock - Richard Linklater

An entire ensemble of Artists! Jack Black himself carries this wonderful Artist/Warrior persona through his press tours, through his music, and through his movies. In this movie, an Artist brings out the inner Artists of the class. Fighting the system of capitalism once again, this character fights with an Outlaw/Artist/Sage persona.

7.) In the Mood for Love - Wong Kar-wai

Our two leading actors in this film, Chow Mo-wan, and Su Li-Zhen, enter each other’s lives through peculiar circumstances. Originally, simply neighbors, but eventually lovers. But how they get there is so incredibly unique and interesting. I highly recommend this film for its unique storyline, stunning imagery, and top-tier acting. I’m gonna hold off on describing the Artist/Creator quality of these two characters because it would spoil the device in which they use artistry to heal, and eventually become lovers. I will say that they both have a secret desire to create Martial Arts serials together which pulls them closer together to work together on creating them for Newspapers.

8.) Cyrano De Bergerac - Jean-Paul Rappeneau

An Artist in Language. Unconfident in their physical appearance he expresses himself through his words. A struggle to find love he lives vicariously through another, helping someone else express themselves. But instead of him expressing himself, Cyrano writes as himself for himself and uses the other person as a vessel to share his words, someone who objectively is far more handsome than him. The outer world does not match the inner world, and the expression for Cyrano comes quite difficult, thus the only way to express himself is through his wit, language, and ability to express an inner world to those who are in the outer world. Unfortunately, the outer world finds it hard to swallow the vessel from which this language and incredibly poetic language is coming from.

9.) At Eternity’s Gate - Julian Schnabel

Willam Dafoe plays Vincent Van Gogh. The Artist people know very well, what we don’t know is the entire story. The difficulty Van Gogh had throughout life to come to terms with the fact that his art may just not be appropriate to the current time. The message of the film points toward a character that may have found a transcendent understanding that his art may or may not last, but that’s alright. The only option for him was to create. Because this creative space was the only space that he could see clearly. Clearly, how he saw the world, and quickly he would plot his paintings, just as if he was in communion with his subconscious being.

10.) The Pianist - Roman Polanski

A gripping first-person narrative based on the real person, we see the Artist when everything is stripped away. Events throughout the rise and fall of the Holocaust in Poland. A pianist suffers the terrible fate of a jew locked in the middle of the nightmarish events that was the Holocaust. Every time he would see a piano The Artist within him would jump for joy at the thought of being able to express oneself once again. The unfortunate truth of having to suffer as The Shadow Artist but pushed into this for one's own safety and survival. Adrien Brody gives us a stellar performance, studying this character through and through and even learning piano and German to get even deeper into this role. Truly depicting The Artist in both the character and as the actor themselves. Creating the outer depiction through the intrinsic intentional work of Adrien Brody.

Collective Thoughts

As I work in a restaurant, I get access to many people. So I was able to ask the question:

“Who is your favorite artist/artist archetype?”

I was just happy a few actually answered. Here’s what I got:

• Donnie Rotem Wright

• Robin Wall Kimmerer

• Cy Twombly

• Taylor Swift

• Daniel Ost

• Evelyn Waugh

• Loie Hollowell

• Salvador Dalí

I loved this little experiment. Reckon I live in Ohio so there were a few people who skipped the question entirely and left me a poor tip, but hey, I can’t be curious. But it was really cool to see a wider range of artists here, and I got really excited when I read up on Robin Wall Kimmerer who is a professor but creates art that points to the organic nature of our planet. Take a look at each of these artists and get to know someone new. Also, ask your friends who their favorite Artist/Artist Archetype is, you’ll probably find some really unique answers.

That’s it for today,

Much love today and every day.

Matt Piper 🐅🌱