Clive Murray-White
"By doing the "Bourriaud" dance the forest demonstrates ways of living
and models of action within the existing real."
Last night while watching television I saw a news item about a fat guy who successfully sued his doctor for letting him get so fat. It made me think a lot about the tendency in our society to see all sorts of things as illnesses that are caused by neglectful professionals. So if fatness can be an illness so can art! Just as the fat person can't stop eating we can't stop making art. Society cares more about fat people than artists, it's just not right.
For most of my life when people have said, "You are so talented, aren't you lucky?" I reply, "I see it more as a terminal disease than anything else." Well its confirmed now, its even got a proper medical name - Schizotypy, and I'm relieved but also just a little grumpy because to cover their tails the researchers are calling it a good kind of madness.
A rewarding article on the subject is: 'Flow" and Psychosis in the Artist's Experience - Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD - Huffpost 03/13/11.
But all this has got me thinking about who I could sue, my secondary school is first on the list they should have noticed the symptoms and done something about it when I was found unconscious after hemorrhaging whilst I drove myself to complete the school play backdrop - instead they strongly encouraged my art. So far my sue list includes, schools, individual teachers, governments, doctors, art critics, other artists, gallery staff, corporations, several universities and a healthy number of extremely wealthy collectors!!!
Many of the consequences of being an artist impact on families just as badly as gambling or alcoholism, both deemed illnesses now, but no! there has been no effort from Government agencies to offer us support, there's not even counselling services. Instead they encourage us to strive more and feed our addiction/illness to our own detriment.
The strangest thing about this disease called art is that it often makes you feel so unbelievably well.
