(An Appropriate Distance)

 

FROM THE MAYOR'S DOORSTEP

Mar 20, 2014 12:01 PM EDT

Yes, genius is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. I believe that genius is not the only necessary condition as well. There must be a community that is close by, that prods, pushes, and provokes genius to do more than simply perspire. The perspiration must be inspired, and self-inspiration seldom works. I say this despite the assumption many artists make that they are the beginning and the end.

- John Link

Mar 20, 2014 12:19 PM EDT

Yes, at some point an artist needs a congenial milieu, and Nolde got that both in Dresden & in Berlin. But how about the years when he was living under virtual house arrestin Seebull, which is a hell of a long way from anywhere -- yet still managed to produce much fine work?

- Piri Halasz