07-24-2013, 10:12 AM
I've never bought this idea that madness equals great art. My mum and stepmum were as mad as a weasel's aunt, yet neither of them had a creative bone in their bodies, so far as I know. These days we're so interested in artists' personal lives that I think we create this myth about madness equalling artistic talent, when in reality artists as a group are just as prone to madness as plumbers, doctors or shop assistants. The art itself doesn't seem to be enough for a lot of people; they also need a tragic backstory filled with heroin and schizophrenia. Call me uncool, but I enjoy Pam Ayres just as much as I do Kurt Cobain
"We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges." - Gene Wolfe