Why We Love David Bowie

The world lost an extraordinary artist this week when David Bowie passed away at the age of 69. The media has published many reverential articles about Bowie and thousands of fans have gone on social media to express their heartbreak and disbelief. Yes, Bowie was a rock star, but people also are acknowledging that there is more to Bowie’s legacy than celebrity. We are reminded of the definition of a true artist and why artists inspire us.

Yesterday, The New York Times reprinted an interview with Bowie from 1998 when an exhibition of his paintings opened at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands. It is worth your time to read the interview, not only to learn about his skill as a painter (this should come as no surprise), but also for the way he described his artistic process. In the interview, Bowie stated that he created visual art when he felt stuck as a musician. For him, painting was “problem solving.” The point here is how much this self-described workaholic labored on his art, musical and visual.

Many people believe that an artist’s talent is a gift, and that’s true, but what Bowie proved in this interview is that in order to be successful, an artist also must work – very hard. Bowie was always working; he was always thinking about art and carefully observing culture.

Artists inspire us because their success depends in equal measure on raw talent and hard labor; therefore, great artists, like David Bowie, realize the very best of human potential.

And we should appreciate that Bowie really knew his art.

RIP Starman.