Opposition In Art ἀin gs by John Christian Perkins We all experience opposition in life. Art i s n o ex ception. W hen i t co mes t o reaching for those golden concepts and making t hem a r eality in a rt, f or m e, there seems b e the same things in the way every time. Time. We w orship i t. We li ve a nd die b y i t. B ut t here n ever i s en ough o f it. Sometimes I f eel like I co uld execute an ide a o r t weak i t en ough t o b e w ell pleased w ith it, but, li ke a si lent crocodile, t ime a lways sn eaks u p o n m e a nd destroys my enthusiasm. ἀ ere must be some ancient, irrevocable curse upon all artists everywhere to never have enough time, I ’m s ure o f i t -o r m aybe i t’s j ust procrastination, ei ther wa y. ἀ e l ack of t ime p oses a s erious p roblem t o m y workmanship. Weakness in t alent. ἀ ere a lways seems to be some formal imperfections and p roblems I a m n ever q uite a ble t o
resolve in m y work. I’m never s atisfied. It is very disheartening. Either that, or I’ll have this great idea I’m really excited about, b ut f or in ability t o ex ecute t hat idea in a wa y t hat’s co nsistent w ith m y vision I g et frustrated. I ts like reaching for some great treasure with jello arms, no matter how hard I try and effort I put forth, m y j ello-arms w ill a lways hin der me. So, what is to be done? Am I cursed to struggled with these problems always? Yes. I t i s in o pposition t hat w e g row. Consider the tree grown with too many anchors. With out experiencing the full force of nature, the tree can never grow an adequate root system to stand on it’s own. S o i t i s w ith t he a rtist, t he r esistance will strengthen him. ἀ ough it’s hard, and at times I really don’t like it, the struggle against time and lack of talent will make me better.