As an artist -Two-

I have been reading up on artists of the past. American artists of the sixties. It all started when I saw a magazine called interview. It was the Feb ’10 issue, Jay-Z on the cover. Jay on the cover is what attracted me and at the same time repelled me from the magazine. So I went for my usual GQ and Esquire. It was not until I read through those two that I dared to pick up this previously unheard of magazine.

Its ironic because the thing I didn’t want to pick up ended up being the thing I actually bought. I work at a grocery store so I never have to buy the magazines. I can just read them while I take my extended breaks. Even inside the magazine the article I read last (the Jay-Z article was the first) had the biggest impact on me. It was an interview of Pattie Smith, a woman I had never heard of previously. I just want to summarize this all up at this point before I go any further. An article I first ignored and glanced over in a magazine I almost didn’t even pick up inspired me and validated me on what it means to be an artist. Suddenly Bob Marly’s singing voice comes to mind. “The stone that the builder refuse shall be the head cornerstone.”

Well Pattie was telling me all sort of useful information even though she was talking about herself and Mapplethrope. She was still talking about being an artist. Not only did she tell me about how to wrestle my creative process away from harmful substances but also she reminded me of what it means to be an artist. “You cant go anywhere without trying to transform it, you know? You go into church to pray, an you start writing a story about being in church praying.” That hit the nail on the head for me. Two Sundays previously, I was inspired to write a church story after going to church for the first time in years. Reading Patties words were a validation to my soul as an artist.

Not only that but she re introduced me to Andy Warhol. She spoke of him in passing but since I had a beginners knowledge of Warhol and already Pattie had inspired me so much, I decided to look him up.