John Baldessari, "Solving Each Problem As It Arises," acrylic on canvas, 1967. Courtesy Yale University Art Gallery.
Thoughts, to an artist, writer, or any individual who wants to live thoughtfully
Influence. The personal narration that comes with cinematic fiction, the fragmentary staccato of poetry or song, the conversational conventions following television drama or the full frontal cynicism of network comedy. What will you fill your head with this day? Patterns of influence easily sketched, I have waded through the mire, the hyper-linked adaptation. An associative amalgam of anything and all: I am a glut for
Stimulus. Fill my head with points of interest in the hope that some how, some day there will exist a pellet of information I can call my own. Maybe it will sell for thousands, accrue a million hits, even be given an ISBN number in countless closed libraries city wide
Inspiration. I despise the word, rather: where does creativity come from? Influence. Doubt. Every thought followed immediately by its opposite. Delete a phrase before
Doubt dispelled. No new emails. Literary devices aside a blinking black line. I am alone and free to pace my apartment. Television set less
Life-style. The availability of the available. When all questions answered the impulse to ask
Decreases. The duality of discourse.
Community. Creative community. The influence that comes from thoughtful individuals living together, thoughtfully. Go to a school or job, swim around an art world, form a collective or organize an exhibition. The events of interest in the places of myth. If it does not exist, make it. Find the like minded &
Explosion. Utopic pockets of creative professionals. That is how to write it. Live it. Forgetting what unifies artists is their individuality. The complexities of the interior the intricacies of intimate life. Alienation accompanies being your self all the time
Transgress expectation. Habit & happenstance. Let go. Make a life fit for you. Doubt dispelled. No new emails. Literary devices aside a blinking black line. I am alone and free to pace my apartment. Television set less
