The art of Temptation

The statement, “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it,” resonates with me deeply, particularly when I think of the life and work of the musician and artist David Bowie.  Ever since I was a little kid my mom has played David Bowie through the house.  This statement is a very bold saying, it appears aggressive and even risky.  However, once you give this statement more thought, it reveals a more profound reality where human creativity and desire are more complex and confusing.  Bowie is a great example to examine the relevance of this phrase because of his unstoppable investigation of identity and change, which is consistent with Wilde’s assertion that surrendering to temptation can be a path to emancipation.  David Bowie, who is frequently recognized as one of the 20th century’s most inventive and significant artists, accepted the idea of giving in to temptation as a defining feature of his work as well as in his personal life.  Throughout his career, Bowie’s fearless experiments with various characters, musical genres, and cultural movements characterize his career.  From his hit songs like Ziggy Stardust to The Thin White Duke, Bowie’s tendency to play roles frequently defied social expectations.  This was a clear act to give into temptation- the need to investigate every aspect of human existence, no matter how sinister or controversial.  According to Wilde’s saying, temptation is a natural component of the human brain and cannot be wished away.  The temptation to explore one’s darker side, one’s desires, in Wilde’s view, is a natural, even necessary aspect of being human.  In the case of Bowie, this temptation was reflected in both his private and public selves.  He was never one to shy away from temptations, he has been very open about all this such as his drug use, experimentation with gender fluidity, and acceptance of many sexual identities.  Instead of suppressing his temptations, they were incorporated into his creative output and became a component of his brilliance.  David Bowie was able to overcome the constraints of traditional identification by accepting his own paradoxes and impulses.  Instead of resisting temptation, he made use of it to create and reinvent himself.  Bowie broke the “Social Standards” and “social Expectations” by giving into his temptation as a way to explore the multiple sides of himself and escape, ultimately leading to him pushing the limits of music and art, rather than losing control of his decaying moral.  Bowie follows Wildes’s theory of temptation, demonstrating that openly embracing one’s desires rather than suppressing them is the path to creative freedom.  Like Wilde, bowie recognized that the artist’s capacity to produce challenging and inspirational works is frequently fueled by temptation, whether it be the desire to embrace a taboo, take on an unorthodox character, or explore one’s dark side.  His ability to shut off outside talk and explore uncharted territory, no matter how controversial it is, is what allowed him to remain a revolutionary figure in popular culture.  Wildes’s saying highlights the value of accepting one’s temptations as a means of developing oneself and one’s work.  It’s not about indulging for the sake of indulging, it’s about realizing how these urges work and when accepted and acknowledged, can contribute to the development of the artist’s distinct voice.  Bowie and many other artists like him were able to push the limits of what they could be and transcend social norms by giving in to temptation.  True creative freedom frequently resides in accepting our contradictions and impulses, as Wildes’s comments remind us in a world where submitting frequently seems like the safer option.  Perhaps, as Wildes suggests, the only way to rid ourselves of our temptations is to give in to them, because in doing so, we may just discover the freedom to express our most authentic selves.