I am so happy. I blogged before about a book close to my heart, Just Kids by Patti Smith. Much to my delight, it just received the National Book Award for non-fiction!
"The judges called her memoir "an evocative work of cultural history" and an "unsentimental elegy for a time that seems both very recent and very long ago." - Bob Minzesheimer, USA Today
Smith cried while accepting as she told of working at Scribner's Book Store in New York City when she was starting out. She used to put the National Book Award winners on the shelf and wonder what it would be like to win. She promised Robert Mapplethorpe the day before he died to tell their story. They came from nowhere, committed themselves to art and came out on the other side. She means a lot to me for writing a book that is about art and the artistic struggle, fine literature than can speak to everyone. She opens the door to show people what an artistic life can be like. The book takes place in a particular location, time, and culture (NYC, 1970's bohemia) . This differs from my experience as someone who is just as committed to art but also determined to have a quiet family life avoiding walking the line with a risky, potentially self-destructive environment. I don't believe that that environment is necessary for great art-making but the proximity to other artists and exchange of ideas can generate more. It can lead to recognition as well. I neither celebrate nor criticize Smith and Mapplethorpe for choosing that framework for living; it's a valid path. It isn't for me - art yes, instability, no. I plod on painting dots in quiet.
A note on the above images:
The singular trees are figurative, like self-portraits. They are made colored light occurring at a particular time of day. Key is the loose, energetic line, free yet structured, communicating space and form. I am very free yet structured.
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