Deathless Through Art: Building a Legacy On Expression

There are a number of ways that someone can establish their legacy. However, despite the idea that “all press is good press”, not all ways of establishing a legacy are created equal. 

Defining what “legacy” means is important to having any discussion here. The most bare bones definition is that, in order to have a legacy, people must remember that you existed. This could be as simple as making sure your residency when you pass is within a town that keeps a good record of their dead. Not quite impressive. To build upon this, one could say that a legacy is made when people remember what you did with your life. This is how most would define a legacy, and for good reason. Think of how many people have made their name through and are known for a specific thing they did during their life. 

Alexander the Great earned his nickname by conquering lands. 

Bonnie and Clyde gained their infamy by committing robberies.

Vince Lombardi became a household name by winning championships.

These are examples that everyone knows. These are examples that will be well known forever. But, think about it; no matter how famous these people are, what do you really know about them?

You can’t look into how Alexander the Great commanded his men as he won battle after battle in Central Asia and see his thoughts and feelings and emotions.

You can’t read about the string of robberies that Bonnie and Clyde committed and see the passion and love they had for each other.

You can’t watch documentaries about Vince Lombardi’s coaching success and see the look in his eye whenever he saw his mother for the first time in a long time. 

Now, with these examples in mind, let me ask you, are you your actions? How do you make a living? Is what you do to make a living the defining trait of who you are? Of course not. Who you actually are is more abstract than that. You are the feeling you have when you’re first getting up in the morning. You are the butterflies flying around your stomach when you see someone you love. You are the hunger you have in the mid-afternoon. You are all of the little things that make up your life. If your legacy doesn’t give people a look into the “small” parts of life, and instead is just a memory of the “big” parts of life, then this is a hollow legacy. 

There really is only one thing that can give people a glimpse into your thoughts, your feelings, and your emotion. That is art. Through art and only through art can you create a legacy that communicates the person you are to people who have never and will never meet you. 

An important thing to remember here is that I am incredibly loose with the definition of art. Too many people think that the only things that count as art are the popular mediums, like painting and music. Too many people think that it only counts as doing art if you are a full-time, serious artist. The truth is that art is any communication of your feelings or emotion into physical form. Sure, that could be a complex, life-size statue or a detailed painting. However, it could also be a journal that you kept for six months or the doodle you make on every check you get when you go out to eat. Will everything that everyone makes become a part of history and become someone’s legacy? Of course not. In fact, most things won’t. But, what I can say is that the art that someone named Ryan from the suburbs of Detroit made when he was 9 years old and was framed by his grandparents and put out during an estate sale is still remembered by me to this day. I may have left that piece there–I’ve never met Ryan after all–but I still feel like I saw a side of Ryan that no one alive knows of Alexander the Great or Bonnie and Clyde or Vince Lombardi. 

Now, it’s important to think about what this means. Does this mean that you should give up whatever you’re doing and pursue art? No, no, war will still happen and will need people to wage it, robberies will still happen and need loving couples to do them, and football games still need to be won and need old white men to coach them. These things will never change. So, go, do whatever it is you are pursuing in your life, whether or not that creates the most fleshed out legacy. But, remember that in every chance you get, you need to follow your emotions and feelings to create. The easiest thing in the world is not doing anything, and every person I have met has fallen victim to this when it comes to making art, and I’m no exception, I can assure you. If you take anything from this writing, it's that you should create what is true to you when the inspiration hits, casting aside any hesitation.