An artist discovers his genius the day he dares not to please. - André Malraux
Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in. - Amy Lowell
Art is coming face to face with yourself. -
Jackson Pollock
What is real is not the external form, but the essence of things . . . it is impossible for anyone to express anything essentially real by imitating its exterior surface. - Constantin Brancusi
It's only words... unless they're true. - David Mamet
All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster's autobiography. - Federico Fellini
We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth. - John F. Kennedy
Every great work of art is offensive to someone, for a work of art is a protest against things as they are and a proclamation of things as they ought to be. - Gerald W. Johnson
Censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates in the end the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion. -
Henry Steele Commager
The writer must be willing, above everything else, to take chances, to risk making a fool of himself - or even to risk revealing the fact he is a fool. - Jessamyn West
What marks the artist is his power to shape the material of the pain we all have. - Lionel Trilling
A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art. - Paul Cezanne
Art is a way of saying what it means to be alive, and the most salient feature of existence is the unthinkable odds against it. For every way that there is of being here, there are an infinity of ways of not being here. Historical accident snuffs out whole universes with every clock tick. Statistics declare us ridiculous. Thermodynamics prohibits us. Life, by any reasonable measure, is impossible, and my life—this, here, now—infinitely more so. Art is a way of saying, in the face of all that impossibility, just how worth celebrating it is to be able to say anything at all. - Richard Powers
Art is long, life short; judgement difficult, opportunity transient. - Goethe
The artist is always engaged in writing a detailed history of the future because he is the only person aware of the nature of the present. - Wyndham Lewis
The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean that you're an artist...
Now begins my personal practice of humility...Through many, many years of denial and self doubt, and the constant badgering (lovingly so) of various wonderful people in my life, I have been able to grasp the realization, nay embrace it, that I am an artist. As I have stated before, it is my life, my purpose for existence in this body; through the struggles, the triumphs, the countless defeats, the snickers, the praises, the befuddlements, the astounding set backs and self deprecations, the revelations...
It is what I do, in whatever shape, form, colour, or medium it may embody: photography, painting, writing, sculpture, performing...
As we are merely the summation of our experiences and people in our lives, it is life, my life and the people and things in it that inspire me, motivate me, provide me the sustenance to create. It is my process. I am also a performer and thus my work is projected beyond myself. What I do, I do out of a dire necessity to express, to share, to heal, to grow. In the far distance follows a hope that someone, somewhere, sometime, may derive emotion, inspiration, perspective, insight, or strength from the remains. I do not do this with malintent for, or praise by others.
In the wake of Papa's death and my tellings of it, it has been brought to my attention that not everyone may understand this, and/or has serious personal issue with it. As I am merely a fallible creature and stumbling along my own path, I sought counsel from some dear and wise people in my life. I first asked the brother I never had, my spiritual and intellectual anchor, his input. His first remark was that I made an ethical screw up in publishing a private moment. He then followed by saying that what was written was very nice, honest, candid and bittersweet, nothing seemed out of place. I also asked my other brother from another mother his input. His reply was, "Dude, you're an artist to the core, it's stamped on your ass! What you wrote is so you! It's the only thing you know and anyone who knows you, will get it. Not everyone will get that." I also told a fabulous and connected woman in my life, quite frankly one of the most amazing people I have ever (re)met, that I had every intention of writing about her presence in my life. I asked how she feels about that. She asked me not to yet, as it is between us. And so with this in mind, I have been in a state of reflection and this is the product.
I am concerned that I may have acted in a behavior that I admonish. Whether this is true or not and I am correct in my assumption or not, I express myself thusly...
We all, each of us, have different stress point tolerances, emotional triggers, psychological stamina, brute strength, levels of communication, comprehensions of the world, of our own worlds, of each other... I love my family!! My entire family, with no exclusions. Sometimes, we F*@# up, or misunderstand, or misinterpret or miscommunicate. Sometimes we don't want to be bothered, or are unable to deal. Sometimes we assume, presume, collectivize, or minimize. Sometimes we don't focus on what the important issue is at hand and get caught up in our own poo instead. Sometimes we get so encompassed in trying to care for everyone else, we forget ourselves for the worse rather than the better. Of these, we are all guilty, regardless of what family!
For anyone on who's behalf I misspoke, I sincerely apologize. If it seems as though I am attempting to elevate myself above anyone, I am not. To those who I have expressed my disappointment in, please know that it in no way signifies a loss of love! I have inadvertently disappointed people at times. If they stopped loving me, I'd have no one to share life with. You see, we don't usually realize that we let someone down momentarily. That's where the beauty lies in people telling us. If no one ever told me I had done so, cripes man, I'd never think to cut it out and be more conscious!
The death of a loved one is probably one of the most emotionally and mentally taxing environments to be immersed in. People say and do things they don't mean, they don't realize, they shouldn't. I think it is, in part, a way to release and attempt to make ourselves feel better and more important. Thankfully, forgiveness, understanding and family love have the power to persevere.
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