The Role of Artists in Creating Myth

Much of the modern person's understanding of mythology has been shaped by the pioneering work of Joseph Campbell, made available to us through his lectures, books, and the popular interviews with him that were conducted by Bill Moyers in the 1980's. Campbell not only brought mythology to the attention of a wider audience, but also (perhaps more importantly) demonstrated that its themes are universal throughout all cultures and that it has as much relevance for us in the modern day as it did for ancient peoples.

Perhaps his most important statement on the subject was his early book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which examined hero myths and religious traditions from many disparate cultures and isolated the common story arcs that exist within all of them. What emerges from a study of comparative mythology is a sense that these tales arise in response to deeply buried needs within every human psyche. To those of us who're attuned to their language and symbolism, they illuminate the human drama and point a way for us triumph over adversity and find our true paths in life.

During one of his interviews with Bill Moyers, Joseph Campbell pointed out that, although myths contain universal truths, they have to be translated into the popular idiom of whatever era they exist in - i.e., they must be current, and reflect the sum of what is known about the world at any given time. They must constantly be re-created to meet the demands of new ages, lest the life force slip away from them.

Campbell charged the artists - societies' painters, poets, writers, musicians, etc. - with this responsibility. The artist is to be the interpreter of myth in modern times. But what does that actually mean?

Essentially, the artist has to undertake the same journey that the mythic hero does. There are many recurring motifs within this journey, but Campbell boiled it down to three basic stages. (1) The hero senses something amiss, or something lacking, in the contemporary society. He or she can not, or will not, adapt to the status quo, and must embark on a quest to discover what is missing (this is usually something both tangible and metaphorical). (2) The Hero undergoes a period of trials, when dark and bewitching forces seek to test him or her. The trials inevitably bring about the knowledge and illumination that transforms the hero. (3) The hero returns to his or her society, and shares the vision and the knowledge gained. The society, assimilating this new vision, undergoes its own transformation. The old is done away with; this is the time of ushering in the new.

Artists, if they are to create something truly original, must necessarily embark on personal journeys that will resemble the arc of the hero's. They will no doubt feel similarly alienated within society at large. On the road to discovering the new, the dark forces will test them. These can take many forms: loneliness, fear, misunderstanding, persecution, as well as the romanticized stigmas of the artist such as alcoholism, drug addiction and promiscuity. Finally, they will share the new vision that they've attained in their artistic expressions. Hopefully, society (or a significant part of it) will assimilate these words, images, or sounds and new doors to creativity will be opened.

And if our artists do not take this journey, if they hesitate out of doubt or fear? Then we will all suffer from malaise, from stagnation, and the status quo will be victorious. There must always be those souls brave enough to undertake the Night-Sea journey, as the ancient shamans did, and return with the boon for their respective societies.