(new work in oil, gold leaf and cold wax on wood panel 50cm x 50cm)
This is not the first time I've quoted writer Jeanette Winterson on my blog. She manages to express thoughts in such a beautifully clear, succinct, and often brutally honest way.
This past Friday, she participated in a one hour live webchat with the Books section of the Guardian online. The conversation can be found here.
One of Winterson's comments particularly struck me:
"Life has an inside as well as an outside. Consumer culture directs all resources and attention to life on the outside. What happens to the inner life? Art is never a luxury because it stimulates and responds to the inner life. We are badly out of balance. I don't think of art / creativity as a substitute for anything else. I see it as a powerful expression of our humanity - and on the side of humanity under threat. If we say art is a luxury, we might as well say that being human is a luxury."
Wish I could have put it so well when I've met people who think of art / creativity as a frivolous, indulgent pursuit.