Eyes wide shut
He was a very talented artist with a huge and loyal following.Critical acclaim was high,Moebius himself congratulated him, the future seemed prosperous.
Than, one day, he simply quit.Vanished.Disappeared.
Fans felt a huge void where his pages used to be,urban legends grew regarding the "why"s, and the whole thing blew out of proportion.
I bumped upon him yesterday.Casual smalltalk,even some shoptalk as if he was still actively present."So what are you doing now?"-i expected every possible answer instead of the one he actually gave me:
"Ι 'm still drawing comics.The moment i finish them, i throw them in the trash.Then i start all over again".
Fuck.This touched all the wrong buttons.
I can understand many things. The demanding pressure of audience expectations after a huge success.The natural burn-out after reaching your maximum working levels.The annoyance towards a spotlight too bright for one's likings.
One thing i could never understand is the act of art creation without the prospect of sharing it-even with a minimum audience.I always thought art creation is all about communication-your way of connecting to others.Other fellow artists told me that they'd keep on drawing even as castaways on a desert island.The urge to materialise what you have in mind is too strong to ignore.
I wouldn't.What's the point? What for?
Why do i even struggle with the question? What does the answer tell me about them?What does the answer tell me about me?
And why do i have the gut feeling that the moment i 'll finally reach a conclusion will be the moment i'll stop making good comics?
Or stop making comics at all?
Than, one day, he simply quit.Vanished.Disappeared.
Fans felt a huge void where his pages used to be,urban legends grew regarding the "why"s, and the whole thing blew out of proportion.
I bumped upon him yesterday.Casual smalltalk,even some shoptalk as if he was still actively present."So what are you doing now?"-i expected every possible answer instead of the one he actually gave me:
"Ι 'm still drawing comics.The moment i finish them, i throw them in the trash.Then i start all over again".
Fuck.This touched all the wrong buttons.
I can understand many things. The demanding pressure of audience expectations after a huge success.The natural burn-out after reaching your maximum working levels.The annoyance towards a spotlight too bright for one's likings.
One thing i could never understand is the act of art creation without the prospect of sharing it-even with a minimum audience.I always thought art creation is all about communication-your way of connecting to others.Other fellow artists told me that they'd keep on drawing even as castaways on a desert island.The urge to materialise what you have in mind is too strong to ignore.
I wouldn't.What's the point? What for?
Why do i even struggle with the question? What does the answer tell me about them?What does the answer tell me about me?
And why do i have the gut feeling that the moment i 'll finally reach a conclusion will be the moment i'll stop making good comics?
Or stop making comics at all?
posted by Spi_Der at 10/10/2005 12:23:00 pm
3 Comments:
It's not necessary to create art just to share it.Creation of art can fulfill other inner personal needs. A lot of people write, paint,etc just for themselves.
yes master i agree with alkistis!there are things that you just do for yourself!
Great blog I enjoyed reading it
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