I came across the following wonderful statement today, by Eva Hesse.* In a “note to self” she wrote, “Don’t pressure self about this, it will come when lifestyle opens up.” Her approach to art is not one with which I normally find myself in sympathy, but this observation is exactly what I need to hear.
For a little while now I have been increasingly interested by the Faust stories that have been an enduring thread running through European culture at least since the sixteenth century. Apart from the celebrated plays by Christopher Marlowe and Johnann von Geothe there are two major operas, by Charles Gounod and Arrigo Boito, as well as numerous films and other items reworking the theme. I’m not sure how I came to be so interested, but the Faust story has been foremost in my mind for several weeks now.
I have been very frustrated because, even ‘though my interest has expanded there has been no inkling of how anything might emerge from it all that could become an object of artistic attention. It all remains at the level of ideas, without a vivid visual dimension. The video version of the Boito opera I watched yesterday was visually arresting, but not in ways that I could develop in my own vocabulary.
So Eva Hesse’s comment arrived today at a very opportune moment, in time to head off frustration. I’ll stay with the material, but make no attempt whatsoever to force imagery. “It will come when the life-style opens up.” Even so, I remain unclear as to whether the “opening up” of my life-style has anything to do with the restrictions imposed by this wretched virus, or whether I need to loosen up in other respects. At least the snooker World Championship is over now, so I can’t blame that as a distraction.
*A key figure in the “conceptual art” movement. An exhibition of her work is currently on tour.