Doublereed Archive - Posting 000088.txt from 2003/06

From: PhilFrei@-----.com
Subj: [DR-L] Joyce
Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 20:43:28 -0400

> "The artist, like the God of the creation, remains within or behind or
beyond
> or above his handiwork, invisible, refined out of existence, indifferent,
> paring his fingernails."
>
> -James Joyce (1882-1941) Irish author
> "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," ch. 5 (1916)

Dear Phil,

Joyce was not "above" faults, but he got the job done...no?=A0 Notice that,
in
this quote, the "artist" is never "below" his handiwork.=A0 Quite a stateme
nt!=A0

Perhaps, we should all take a lesson.

Warm Regards,
Janie

Hi Janie,

I think Joyce is a great writer! I've read "Portrait..." and several of his

"Dubliners" but never tried to tackle "Finnegan's Wake."

I am reacting to a certain conceit that I perceive in the statement, that o
ne
should strive to be objective and selfless if they wish to create ART.
Joyce's character in the book is voicing an opinion that is promoting a cer
tain
British value system that devalues certain types of personal expression:
emotionality and advocacy (anything that is all tainted by "egotism".)

But there are whole schools of artists that put a highest value on self
expression, unfortunately sometimes to the detriment of form. In the extrem
e, these
types tend to think of "form" as some sort of external constraint on their

expression, to be resisted and rebelled against. Authenticity is valued abo
ve
all else.

My intendion is to point out that neither point of view is 100% of the stor
y
nor can lay claim to be the sole value by which we define Art.

I suppose this is sort of like the classic vs. romantic or Apollo vs.
Dionysius revisited.

Best wishes,

Phil