I had a lovely meal with Sasha Wolf (fantastic gallery owner and friend) and we talked shop with belly warming fire of Makers Mark. One of the things we talked about is what separates the great artist from merely a good artist. Sasha believes in order for an artist to transcend into “greatness” the artist needs a profound understanding of themselves .. intensely, intimately, painfully so.
There are days when I struggle with my “humanness.” On those days, when asked how I am, I would reply, “I’m having trouble with the being human part.” A quizzical brow. “I wish I was a robot.” Sure, as a robot I might not be able to feel the pork fat melt in my mouth or the intricate pleasure of a warm, melty chocolate cake, but I certainly wouldn’t have to suffer the depths of my feelings either.
Then, a few days ago Huge MacLeod send out this cartoon:
and he says “no matter how big a castle we may build for our self, no matter how big an army we may raise, our human frailty remains. And that’s where the most interesting art comes from…”
Maybe its good that we’ve been broken open.
Broken open so we can dig deeper into the mess that is our insides, if for nothing else, for the betterment of out art.
Broken open to let the light in.
Broken open to the the light shine out.
Related Post:
Rewrite. Reclaim. Reprogram.
Forgive Yourself
A Mouthful of Questions
Standing at the Edge of the World, at the Edge of Oneself
