Hi Everyone, Just after the New Year, I read MONSTERS: A FAN’S DILEMMA by Claire Dederer and haven’t stopped thinking about it. It’s part memoir, part interrogation of the tacit pact we make with monstrous, “genius” artists—and it helped me navigate my own complicated feelings on the subject of the public versus private artist.
This quote makes sense in many ways. An artist really must become "something else" to undertake and complete something as monumental as a novel or a symphony or any work that requires sacrifice. It requires sustained sacrifice. Maybe the difference between "monster" and "artist" is that the monster sacrifices its soul for evil, whereas the artist lays their soul upon the altar of art, of connection and understanding. What's scary is that it's possible to do both simultaneously. It seems that all monsters want to be seen, acknowledged, and understood, and perhaps even appreciated.
This quote makes sense in many ways. An artist really must become "something else" to undertake and complete something as monumental as a novel or a symphony or any work that requires sacrifice. It requires sustained sacrifice. Maybe the difference between "monster" and "artist" is that the monster sacrifices its soul for evil, whereas the artist lays their soul upon the altar of art, of connection and understanding. What's scary is that it's possible to do both simultaneously. It seems that all monsters want to be seen, acknowledged, and understood, and perhaps even appreciated.