Is the best art under the worst of conditions?

I have seriously come to wonder this. A lot of different realizations, questions, and wonderings, have ultimately led me to this moment where I’m wondering if this is reality.

In 11th grade, I took AP Lang.

We had this huge porject that was an essay and we could choose our topics. I can’t remember if there was at least some kind of restraint of within some theme we had to make it work…all I remember is the topic I ended up choosing. It was about the connection I guess (I think this must’ve been some persuasive arguement essay now that I’m retrospectively thinking about it, because I remember I was trying to find the relationship between:) mental health and art. And art defined very vaguely, on purpose. Because I wanted to encompass; I wanted it to be able to be art as in paintings, and art as in writing, and any type of art. Even music artists or musicians as in classical music. But I recall I did have to find specifics, so I think I primarily chose artists as in paintings (probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think art). Yeah, I think I just chose those, simply because it was easiest to find. If I had more time (and cared a little more) I could’ve found other types of artists from the other types of arts that I’ve mentioned. But I don’t think I cared enough and probably did not want to be putting as much time into it, because I was also junior year, in other AP classes, and had other stuff.

Anyway, and I also liked the idea rather than the specifics anyway. I never quite figured it out. I don’t think I did probably amazing on that essay, because my whole idea was a little iffy. Like I remember my teacher asking me if my entire argument (which I guess, even initially, when coming up with the whole concept, was something like…”is there a relationship between mental health and art?) was “Are you saying you have to be mentally ill to create good art?” And that was a little funny because I had to really come to terms if that was what I was saying.

And I think what was hard was 1. Yes that was what I was trying to say but it sounded extremely bad and terrible for a high school essay. Just too abstract of an idea to even put together in the rubric and earn a good grade in that system. And how would it have been received by teachers and peers? It’s more of something for this blog…not waiting to earn a grade. And 2. I knew what I was trying to say…but not how to say it. But now…

Well, I have written about this concept I feel like, in many formats. I believe it to be true. Not only because I found examples that backed me up in that essay, but just when I think about it, I believe the best “works” I have written, were also probably under pretty bad conditions. I feel like that’s when I get my best ideas. At least, the saddest, haha.

Like this whole progression thing. Or even, last year when I was taking statics. I was certainly busy that semester, and yet I was flowing and stemming with ideas for this blog, and just kept writing and writing. And how it is now 2026, this has been the hardest year (2025) and yet, my blog EXPLODED. At least some of those works are good, right? Haha.

It’s like my whole argument of why sad music is better than “happy music.” I just truly believe, that sadness and pain, cause people to feel/see true emotion, that they are then better able to encompass in some work of art. That’s where the true emotion…the true art, comes from. I couldn’t even think of what a happy music or happy work leads to. Because how do you even know the good, until you know the bad? How do you even know what happiness is, until you know what sadness is?

I believe people are connected to sad things more than they are ever connected to happy things. People focus on the bad. Why do you think people get so connected to the people who they go through traumatic life events with? And why are we so connected to people who are there for us in the lows? “Through sickness and health.” If people see us at our worst and can still love us, certainly, they can love us at our best. But it is the worst, it is the minimum, from which this bare minimum bar, can even begin to be drawn from.

I sure hope I said something like that in my essay. I can’t even remember what I wrote. I suppose I could find out if I really wanted to, and dig it up, or maybe, it even is on this blog, but I’m not sure I do want that. Perhaps some things are just meant to remain a mystery. I do wonder the grade I got on that essay now…because I don’t even remember a single point of argument, just the concept or overall idea I was trying to prove.

What’s going to elicit a better response? (By better I mean MORE of a response, more emotion, more human-ness) A sad work or a happy work? What are people going to remember?

These, I suppose, are points for the argument.

And so maybe, those who aren’t sad or mentally ill, who haven’t experienced something hard or terrible, just can’t understand, they will never compare to those who did and can make true art.

I mean, just imagine someone on the brink of death, don’t you think, whatever they create, will be better, more powerful, than someone who’s just dilly-dallying?