Picking at the Scab of Vulnerability for Art
A reminder from Eddie Vedder to keep being genuine in creative work, even when it hurts
On a drive to pick up my brother from his place a few cities away this morning, I decided to listen to the “I Am Mine” audiobook by Eddie Vedder, and it reminded me of a sentiment about writing and other creative work that I appreciate immensely.
For context, Eddie Vedder is the lead singer of Pearl Jam, a rock band from the ‘90s that my dad and I bonded over quite a bit over the last decade or so as one of our few shared interests before he passed away earlier this year.
Seeing Pearl Jam live in 2013 with my parents was one of those bucket list things that I’m glad I got to experience when I did — those are the kinds of memories that you only get the chance to make once, and I’m lucky to have gotten to take advantage of that chance.
Hearing Eddie talk in the audiobook about his thoughts on creativity and art feels like a unique opportunity, seeing as he’s someone who spent his free time as a teenager reading poetry and plays, and has turned his love for collections of words into a career in creating them. In today’s age of TikTok and commodified virality, there’s a real appeal to indulging in more classic forms of creativity, and hearing about the experiences of someone who has spent the last 30+ years just making things outside of this modern sphere tickles something in me.
The part of the audiobook that stuck with me most was Eddie’s thoughts on vulnerability in art. He was speaking about the way that writing music on such profoundly real and raw topics can be a release that is hard to come by through other means.
But he mentions that there’s also a flipside to that coin, which is that sometimes those songs that touch on such vulnerable subject matter get popular, and you’re put in a position as an artist where you’re forced to confront that material consistently for weeks or months or years and it makes it difficult to actually heal from the thing that caused those feelings in the first place.
I imagine it must be difficult to be put in that sort of situation, where in most cases, something traumatic that you’re looking to process would at some point require some distance to be able to properly heal from, but as a musician, you’re consistently being reminded of the exact place that you were in during that difficult moment.
Yet there’s also a profound opportunity that comes with sharing that vulnerability, which is the ability to share that moment with others, and allow those experiencing something similar to lean on your experience and your processing to help them in their own journey.
It almost encourages an artist to keep that wound open to keep creating and iterating from a place that’s real, but it also needs to be said that trying to keep emotional wounds open indefinitely is not something that can ever really be sustainable.
Trying to find the balance in that is tricky, and not something that I envy, but it is something I can relate to with the book I’m working on.
Working on something that deals with any sort of past trauma or real, personal feelings requires you to enter that space again to be able to create from that place, and having to do that any number of times per week turns into a bit of a tiring ordeal.
But looking back on the work after the fact also starts to have this effect of feeling like you’re really, truly processing and healing from the thing you were struggling with all that time ago.
Again, it’s a balance. Finding a way to not get sucked into the feeling, but just re-access that place enough to genuinely represent how being there actually felt is a demanding, and extremely rewarding undertaking.
I’m by no means comparing myself to the likes of Eddie, but it is extremely validating for myself and I’m sure any other creatives out there reading, to find some sympathy and commonality in the experiences of other like-minded individuals.
I’ll leave you here with a few journaling prompts for those who want to do a bit of guided thinking around this topic:
Reflect on a piece of art or music that has deeply resonated with you. What emotions or memories does it evoke, and why do you think it has such a powerful impact on you?
Explore the idea of "keeping the wound open" in creative work. Have you ever felt the need to revisit painful experiences in order to create authentically? How do you approach this process while still prioritizing your own healing and well-being?
Explore the concept of creative catharsis through revisiting past work. Have you ever experienced a sense of emotional release or closure by expressing your thoughts and feelings in your work?
As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments and replies. Talk to me about something you’ve made if you’ve got a story.
For now, have a great rest of the week. Talk soon.