Rick Rubin’s Sneak Peek at Wes Lang’s New Exhibit (Conversation + Tour)
Audio Brief
Show transcript
This episode features artist Wes Lang, who discusses his journey from feeling like an outcast to achieving artistic and personal fulfillment by redefining success.
There are four key takeaways from this conversation. First, redefine your personal measure of success beyond external validation, focusing instead on the creative process and meaningful relationships. Second, view personal struggles and self-doubt not as weaknesses, but as potential sources of creative energy and depth. Third, a creative breakthrough can occur when you stop resisting your influences and instead embrace them as part of an ongoing dialogue in your work. Fourth, cultivating a daily spiritual or mindfulness practice can provide the internal stability required to navigate the pressures of creative life and success.
Lang's journey highlights success as the ability to pursue creative passion, find love and connection with family, and achieve inner peace. He emphasizes that material wealth or fame do not define true fulfillment. This perspective emerged from early career challenges and a profound desire for authenticity over external validation.
He frames psychological trauma, fear, and doubt not as obstacles, but as essential fuel for profound artistic expression. Lang believes these internal struggles are not to be eliminated, but harnessed as the very source of deep, meaningful creative work, providing depth and resonance.
A pivotal breakthrough in Lang's career came when he stopped trying to hide his artistic influences, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat. Instead, he began an open "conversation" with them in his work, which immediately unlocked his creative flow and fundamentally changed his artistic trajectory. This embrace of influence allowed him to develop an effortless, intuitive approach to painting.
His spiritual evolution, influenced by figures like Ram Dass and the Tao Te Ching, also played a crucial role. This internal work helped him navigate severe anxiety, find peace amidst professional success, and view painting as a meditative act. Lang's art aims to convey the possibility of finding love, gratitude, and peace by working through personal darkness. His decision to leave the established New York gallery system further exemplifies his commitment to an independent path, pursuing his vision without compromise.
This discussion offers a compelling framework for aspiring artists and individuals alike to find purpose and meaning through struggle and authentic expression.
Episode Overview
- Artist Wes Lang discusses his journey from feeling like an outcast in suburban New Jersey to achieving artistic and personal fulfillment, redefining success along the way.
- The conversation explores the deep connection between creativity and personal struggle, framing psychological trauma, fear, and doubt as essential fuel for the artistic process.
- Lang details his spiritual evolution, influenced by figures like Ram Dass and the Tao Te Ching, which helped him navigate severe anxiety and find peace amidst professional success.
- He provides insight into his artistic method, from his early struggles with painting and leaving the gallery system to developing an "effortless" flow by embracing his influences and creating large-scale narrative works.
Key Concepts
- Redefining Success: Success is presented not as material wealth or fame, but as the ability to pursue one's creative passion, find love and connection with family, and achieve inner peace.
- Creativity Fueled by Struggle: The artist's journey is deeply intertwined with psychological trauma and self-doubt. These challenges are not obstacles to be eliminated but are the very source of profound creative expression.
- Intuitive and Narrative-Driven Art: Lang's process involves coming to the canvas without a plan, trusting his intuition, and often visualizing a finished painting in his mind. His work is frequently part of a larger, cohesive narrative exploring themes of good vs. evil and spiritual journeys.
- Art as a Spiritual Practice: Painting is framed as a meditative act and an extension of a spiritual journey. Lang's work aims to convey the possibility of finding love, gratitude, and peace by working through personal darkness.
- Embracing Influences for Breakthrough: A pivotal moment in Lang's career was when he stopped trying to hide his artistic influences (like Jean-Michel Basquiat) and instead began an open "conversation" with them in his work, which unlocked his creative flow.
- Forging an Independent Path: The decision to leave the established New York gallery system was a crucial act of self-reliance, allowing Lang to pursue his own vision without compromise and fundamentally changing his life's trajectory.
Quotes
- At 1:47 - "'It like, changed your perception of what success was... it isn't those things, the mansions and the cars... It's just the fact that they got to to make music.'" - Lang describes how seeing working musicians redefined his idea of success, anchoring it in the act of creation rather than the fruits of fame.
- At 23:56 - "'Having those fears, those doubts...you don't want that to go away, but you want to fight through it.'" - Lang, explaining that negative emotions are a necessary part of the creative journey.
- At 54:16 - "'Yeah, that's success, man. That love.'" - Borland defines his ultimate measure of success as the love he shares with his family, rather than professional or financial achievements.
- At 94:48 - "'It is quite possible to become hyper-successful as a musician when you're a teenager and still be really fucking good at it when you're 70 years old. It's possible... Painting, it's not possible.'" - Lang contrasting the potential for early prodigy in music with the need for life experience and maturity in painting.
- At 99:02 - "'Then I embraced the conversation, and my life changed drastically.'" - Lang explaining his artistic breakthrough, which came when he stopped trying to hide his influences and instead engaged with them directly in his work.
Takeaways
- Redefine your personal measure of success beyond external validation to focus on the creative process and meaningful relationships.
- View personal struggles and self-doubt not as weaknesses, but as potential sources of creative energy and depth.
- A creative breakthrough can occur when you stop resisting your influences and instead embrace them as part of an ongoing dialogue in your work.
- Cultivating a daily spiritual or mindfulness practice can provide the internal stability required to navigate the pressures of creative life and success.
