We inherited many myths about creativity, art, geniality... Two of the most enduring and damaging are the myth of the starving artist and the myth of the mad genius.
On the surface, they look different: one links art to poverty, the other to madness. But at their root, both serve the same purpose: to romanticize suffering, obscure systemic inequities, and discourage us from demanding more humane conditions for creative life.
The Starving Artist
More than a year ago, I wrote about the origins of the starving artist myth. Born in the romantic idealism of the 19th century, it cast the struggling painter or poet as a noble soul, sacrificing material comfort for art’s sake. Over time, this image seeped deep into culture, shaping how we perceive artistic labor.
The starving artist myth:
• Reinforces the idea that artistry and financial success are incompatible.
• Protects the myth of meritocracy: if you’re struggling, it’s just your dues.
• Aligns with capitalist ideals by glorifying poverty as proof of “real dedication.”
• Upholds cultural elitism by implying that only those willing to endure hardship deserve to be called true artists.
It’s a story that valorises scarcity, while excusing systemic neglect of the arts and normalising the exploitation of creative labor.
The Mad Genius
The starving artist’s sibling is the mad genius myth: the idea that creativity requires psychological torment, that breakdown is the doorway to breakthrough. We see it everywhere: in how we talk about Van Gogh’s ear, Sylvia Plath’s despair, or the “eccentric” brilliance of modern tech founders.
This myth does similar cultural work:
• It glamorises mental illness instead of addressing it.
• It conflates vulnerability with collapse, as if art must be born from suffering.
• It positions the destruction of the self as a prerequisite for value.
• And again, it serves the system: the work is celebrated, the person behind it is expendable.
If the starving artist is told that their poverty proves devotion, the mad genius is told that their suffering proves brilliance. In both cases, harm is reframed as virtue.
Two Myths, One System
Seen together, these myths create a double bind:
• If you are an artist, you must be poor.
• If you are a genius, you must suffer.
And if you are neither poor nor suffering? The myths suggest your work may not be “authentic” or “serious.”
This is how culture disciplines creativity: by making thriving suspect, and suffering sacred.
Toward New Myths
We need to tell different stories. Creativity is not scarcity, nor is it collapse. It is spaciousness, curiosity, risk, and play. It flourishes in environments where basic needs are met and where mental health is protected, not glamorised in decline.
We need to normalize:
• The artist who is both creative and financially secure.
• The leader who is visionary and mentally grounded.
• The innovator who doesn’t sacrifice their wellbeing to be taken seriously.
A Collective Responsibility
These myths don’t just live in culture; we reproduce them ourselves. Every time we treat art as a “hobby,” dismiss creative work as less professional, or admire the “brilliance” of someone’s suffering without questioning the conditions around it, we participate in keeping them alive.
Breaking free requires more than personal resilience. It’s collective work:
• Building systems that support rather than exploit.
• Valuing creative labor as real labor.
• Making space for artists, innovators, and leaders to thrive without collapse.
The myths of the starving artist and the mad genius are not harmless stories. They shape who gets to create, whose creativity is seen, and how we treat those who give us their art, ideas, and vision.
The invitation is to dismantle them, so that creativity can be what it truly is: life-affirming, nourishing, and available to all.
Which myths about creativity are you still carrying, and what would it mean to lay them down?
My invitation to you is to unpack and dismantle those outdated myths. Embody the Artful Mindset and explore the different possibilities to work more creatively:
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