ARTICLE PUBLISHED

One of the hats Richard Price wears is Head of Contemporary British Collections at the British Library. Under other hats, or in other words, he is also poet, short story writer, novelist, lyricist for the musical project The Loss Adjustors and editor/publisher of the little magazine Painted, spoken. In my FB post on January 26th this year I linked to an online issue which included all images from the paperback edition of my artist’s book My Life Unfolds.

Richard asked me to write a follow-up article for the next print edition of Painted,spoken and Number 34 is now out. I invite you join me in admiration of this idiosyncratic, quiet and uniquely different publication in which I am chuffed (delighted, thrilled) to see the article My Life will eventually be in your hands. Because I’m vain and always hungry for immediate feedback I’ve scanned the whole article below. Erm...just noticed that the scan isn't quite readable unless you have laser-sharp vision. Never mind, you can have a free copy of the magazine and there's other good stuff in it besides me. What more do you want?

You can receive a copy of the magazine Painted, spoken for free. Just send a stamped A5 SAE to:

Painted, spoken, 23 Magnus Heights, Hampden Road, Hornsey, London N8 0EL

SELF BUBBLE

Sometimes, often, I feel guilty for posting stuff about me me me when the world outside this little selfiebubble is bursting at the seams with every possible and impossible kind of suffering. But then I say to myself, hey, your guilt is as useless as your opinion on the suffering. Neither of them is going to make the slightest bit of difference to the misery happening right now, or yesterday, or tomorrow everywhere on this planet. If you were one of those who choose to dedicate their lives to alleviating or finding solutions to at least one form of suffering then you might have something useful to say about it. But you’re not and you don’t.

So, more stuff about me. Out today in the culture Sunday supplement of ABC Color, a Paraguayan newspaper, is this article by Amalia Ruiz Dias:

And Richard Price sent me the latest issue (No.34) of his Painted, spoken printed magazine which includes my article: My life will eventually be in your hands.

I’ll post about this next.

THE ATTRACTIONS OF UNCERTAINTY

I’ve been busy painting. Painting is torture. Art is torture. Of course I don’t mean painting in general or art in general. I can only speak for myself, someone who from the cradle - well, twelve thirteen years old - chose to devote herself to the making of art as a way of life.

Someone like this has to be a born masochist. Who but a masochist chooses the principle of uncertainty as a career? Not only chooses but remains faithfully addicted to it forever? Never mind the difficulties of uncertainty in purely practical terms, look at the psychological ramifications of never knowing where or who you are and what you’re doing? And actually preferring to remain in that tight-rope position rather than seated in a comfortable, secure armchair, office or yacht? Yes, innumerable famous art-makers can be found seated in comfortable armchairs, studios, yachts etc. Are they also masochists? I have no idea.

Let’s just look at the attraction to uncertainty. For me, it’s the combination of four factors: receptivity, excitment, control, doubt. Those four states are whirling around bouncing against each other like quantum particles in…what? A glass of champagne?

By art torture I didn’t mean the angsty romantically furrowed brow of the supposed genius. I meant ordinary common torture. I’ll post a photo of the current painting when I’ve finished it.