Artist and Audience

Can one exist without the other? And whose needs are paramount?

It seems to me, as an artist, that the core of the creative experience is solitary communion with …the muse/source/deity/goddess. The child sits engrossed in sandbox play; the youth paints visions all night in an empty studio; the commuter frantically scribbles lines of poetry on the back of the gas bill; the elder belts out old hymns or Billie Holiday tunes while scrubbing dishes. The impulse is only a little less urgent than breathing, and requires an effort of will in order to refrain.

But of course art also communicates. I’m a member of the audience as well; as an observer, I’m often deeply annoyed by inexplicable or distasteful works. When jazz left melody behind, it left me behind too; handheld camera work triggers motion sickness, and heartbreaking works of staggering genius bore me halfway through the first chapter.

Have these artists “failed” in some important way because I cannot respond positively to their work?

Attired for Tarot?

By popular request: The Hat