WALLS & WINDOWS

[mpalmer at jps.net]

There are these things on the wall that keep me from seeing the wall. Some call them works of art, but I think of them more as ways of masking the wall's true purpose with a humanizing facade. At some point in history artists attempted to break through the wall, and I applaud that effort, even if I find it futile. I once made a piece where I punched a wall repeatedly until I reached the point of exhaustion. There is no document of this work, as I was simply angry at the time and only considered it a work of art after the fact, once I had recovered a bit of calm. Many of my best works are like that, actually. I find it advisable not to be too self-conscious about making art, as when one does the result only ends up seeming pretentious. Speaking of which, I saw my first chocolate-colored balloon today -- what a treat!

I forgot to mention windows, so here I go. You'll excuse me if I repeat myself, I hope.

I once traced the lines of my palm onto a map of the city and walked the route it laid out. This made me think that I was doing good art, but nobody else seemed to care. Windows are like that. We only notice their presence when somebody stops us from seeing through them.

We always come upon walls with windows in them, but I want to see a window with a wall in the middle of it. The same with doors, but that's a topic for another time.


mwp