Ask An Artist: What It Means To Be Vulnerable?

“Vulnerability is the core, the heart, the centre of meaningful human experiences.”

Dr Brené Brown, professor and vulnerability researcher, and now star of the Netflix special ‘Vulnerability: A Call to Courage’ champions this message, across her books, research and speaking sessions.

The renowned author, speaker and researcher won the hearts and minds of thousands of people for her authentic, research-backed message on alleviating the stigma of vulnerability as a sign of weakness. Instead, Dr Brown insists that being vulnerable is a necessary means of courage, and part of the path to realizing the joy, love and success that everyone strives for.

“Uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure” are the definitions of vulnerability, according to Dr Brown, and may take various forms, across the personal and professional sphere. Organizations are keen on innovation and building creativity internally, while individuals might be seeking love and care. Realizing these goals requires one to tap into one’s own vulnerability, according to the expert.

“How can you receive love, and care, if you don’t let yourself be seen? No vulnerability means no creativity. No tolerance to fail, no innovation” Dr Brown mentions in her Netflix special.

Baring it all – on and off the stage

In reflecting on this concept, I realise, some of the greatest practitioners of vulnerability are artists. Processing the world around, and within, and expressing themselves through their form, is a feat of vulnerability, in the physical and emotional sense. A dialogue with true art can only develop when artists put themselves out there wholeheartedly and unabashed. Even within the confines of Dr Brown’s definition of vulnerability, artists thrive in environments of uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure.

From the artistic process to the final performance, an artist enters the stage with a great deal of uncertainty. The creation of a piece of art is (usually) a personal journey, and a creator’s unique perspective on a story or issue. However, the life of the artistic piece of work is also evoked by the audience that engages with it, and once that creation reaches the stage or the silver screen, reactions of the audience cannot be predicted. Art is subjective, and thereby invites as many people to like or dislike a piece. Nonetheless, from an artist’s eyes, some pieces just need to be created, not only for the sake of artistic expression, but for the world to converse with it. It is only by embracing the risk and uncertainty of its reception, that this conversation can flourish.

The evolution of artistic forms has also exemplified how artists took great risks and were vulnerable to how the artistic community would react to that risk. Whether we refer to resurrecting art forms entirely, as Rukmini Devi did with Bharatanatyam, or revolutionising past interpretations of Balanchine’s work, as the English National Ballet has done, art is transforming because of the risks that artists are willing to take, time and time again.

The last element of vulnerability, according to Dr Brown is ‘emotional exposure’ – in some senses, the literal definition of true art. Art is the practice of self-expression, that entails the artist's emotional reactions and introspections to be shared on stage.

What is not often seen to the audience, is the emotional journey that a creator of art has to navigate through to get a thought, or scene, or movement, that ultimately makes it to the stage or screen. Every piece is months or years in the making, not only because of the logistics of the production and the reverence of practice, but also for the effort it takes in figuring out what parts of the story need to be expressed. An idea could permeate over years, take different forms, and culminate into a production that ties together volumes of emotional toiling.

Even in the efforts of a performer, story-telling and seeping into the depths of a character involves a great deal of vulnerability. Whether it is James McAvoy playing a man with a split personality in ‘Split’, or Anna Pavlova playing Odette in Swan Lake, the process of interpreting and performing a character requires an artist to connect to some part of themselves intrinsically, in order to seep into the skin of a character. It is through the performer that we immerse ourselves into a story, requiring them to share a piece of themselves, in order for the beauty of the art to be seen.

Vulnerability brings courage, and beauty

In Dr Brown’s work, it is said that vulnerability is one of the truest forms of courage. It is also through this courage, that we see and feel the beauty of the world. Artists have proven that in sharing their vulnerability with us, true beauty unfolds. Art is, in my opinion, the most beautiful form of being vulnerable.

We might need an expert like Brené Brown to explain how we need to practice vulnerability ourselves, but if there’s ever a doubt on the impact vulnerability can have, look to artists. They could be a testament to the beauty that exists in vulnerability, in art and in life.