Life Surface-Deep
February 2015
I have a habit of distilling. We have a habit of distilling, of selective recollection, of extracting what we think to be the essence. This is why I won’t give a direct account of… Well, this is why I don’t give direct accounts. Because I can’t. Because I accept that I can’t and so I don’t try. I give up. (If you’re going to give up, the best place to do it is always before you begin.) What I will give, what I do give, is all that I have and nothing more. More is covering, coating, masking, painting, hiding. This is why I use light in my sculptures. Light adds without subtracting. It reveals. It makes surfaces more honest. I’d like to keep the surface of my writing as honest as possible. I’d like to keep the surface of my practice as honest as possible. I’d like to keep the surface of my life as honest as possible. I’d like the surface to be prevalent. Sometimes this means I have to cast a shadow on content, on exactitude, on the matters I address. Sometimes I plunge them into darkness for too long. Sometimes they drown there. But it’s okay. I gave up on them a long time ago. Their death is only that of the author, and that’s one I’m in favour of. Mind you, this isn’t an act of cruelty. I am the author. And I cannot hold my breath any longer than what I speak of.
February 2015
I have a habit of distilling. We have a habit of distilling, of selective recollection, of extracting what we think to be the essence. This is why I won’t give a direct account of… Well, this is why I don’t give direct accounts. Because I can’t. Because I accept that I can’t and so I don’t try. I give up. (If you’re going to give up, the best place to do it is always before you begin.) What I will give, what I do give, is all that I have and nothing more. More is covering, coating, masking, painting, hiding. This is why I use light in my sculptures. Light adds without subtracting. It reveals. It makes surfaces more honest. I’d like to keep the surface of my writing as honest as possible. I’d like to keep the surface of my practice as honest as possible. I’d like to keep the surface of my life as honest as possible. I’d like the surface to be prevalent. Sometimes this means I have to cast a shadow on content, on exactitude, on the matters I address. Sometimes I plunge them into darkness for too long. Sometimes they drown there. But it’s okay. I gave up on them a long time ago. Their death is only that of the author, and that’s one I’m in favour of. Mind you, this isn’t an act of cruelty. I am the author. And I cannot hold my breath any longer than what I speak of.