Get It While It's Fraught

Nietzsche, whose name's spelling always escapes me the first time, may have been right in saying that suffering is the key to enlightenment - at least for the artist. And I think artists have a special aptitude for suffering. The good ones are capable of suffering in any situation. An uneventful life can still yield great things. Look at Anne Frank's diary, all written in the tiny confines of an attic. I wish I could write diaries like that. I always think I have to throw extra stuff in to make it interesting. If I was Anne Frank back then, I would have lied and said things like, 'Today I stuck my head out of my window and spat down on the helmet of a German soldier. He didn't know.' But she didn't, and her diary's still interesting. A good artist only comes across as a suck if his life is too easy. This is because he has found ways to suffer in a favourable situation, in order to gain enlightenment. That's why you might notice that they always have some peculiar hangup or other. Canada's a great country in which to invent new suffering. The more comfortable they make us, the more artists must resort to lamenting about poorly designed coffee machines and such. And their suffering is real. Everyone has their own personal hell. For a sensitive artist, hell may consist of more sophisticated, subtle torments. Rather than fire and brimstone, it may be attire with rhinestones. But just as painful. It could also come from learning that their country's media has adopted yet another trend from south of the border, bringing the voice of uninformed, small minded bumpkins right into your living room every night. God damn wimp country! God damn wimp media! It makes me want to cry and suck my thumb. I think we are lucky to have artists to remind us that we are suffering. I guess that's why they're always so darn popular.
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© 2010. Statements by David Skerkowski. All rights reserved.