13 November 2009

cool





For the last few weeks I have been thinking about a remark (remarque) made by the late American painter Elizabeth Murray. In an interview somewhere she said (and I paraphrase from memory):


"Just because you, as an artist, think that your path (chemin) is the right one, it doesn't make other artists wrong"


I have contemplated that for the last few years since I came across it. Personally, I have been plagued by a pontificating (pontifier) spirit living inside of me like a untamed (non apprivoiser) dragon. Enough I say, I want to be done with it. I was mentioning it to someone the other day and she quickly said: 


"Well, you might want to think of it in another way as well: 'Just because they are right doesn't make you wrong!"

She knows me too well. But, it's this thing of criticizing others, fellow artists in fact, which can be so boring. I loathe (detester) it when I hear others do it, and yet, I am the King of Criticism, and I hate myself for being thus!


I remember watching Coltrane once, speaking in an interview, he was being asked his opinion on what fellow artists were doing, this, that, the other (patta-ti patta-ta), etc.. He was totally cool.


"Yea, Cecil's (Taylor) cool... he's doin his thing..." "Yea, Bill's (Evans) cool, he's makin it you know..."








1 comment:

  1. Hi Chris
    I finally got around to visiting your thoughts via your blog site.
    My comment regarding this post(my opinion,or observation) is that the difference between artists and others is that we think that we are different, and therefore we wonder why we sink to personal critisism.Is that cynical?
    We all have to set high standards, I beleive.

    ReplyDelete