I have a friend who has been working in the studio continuously trying to complete the work for his upcoming show. Everyone has been banned except for a few, and his temperament has slowly deteriorated as he becomes sleep deprived and blind to his own progress.
He was also earning a living by teaching so he would occasionally leave the enclave to supervise the budding skill of others. He picked up some commission pieces and quickly lost his mind juggling all the work. The bubble of the studio became the only safe place in which to operate because the rest of the world was such an extreme distraction from the mental space necessary to be continuously producing creative work.
Friends forgot how often he used to enjoy going for a drink.
Family wondered why he never answered the phone.
Food came from a delivery man rather than a market.
And eventually...he went 52 hours without sleep, refused to see anyone for a week and completed the show miserably disoriented but at least a little satisfied.
Had I listened to anything said about the work in the weeks leading to the opening, I would have feared for his sanity and the success of the show. Instead, I took it as a bit of melodrama. In other words, ignore artists before a show.
You will hear the artist say something like: “Hang the show. I quit. I want to be a car mechanic.” Ignore it. He is unlikely to quit it all to become a mechanic, plumber, hairdresser, or join the family business–ideas that I have heard from various artists at different times. If one decides to move to Nepal, do not look into plane tickets.
All of this is so concerning of course, because stuck in the studio, you never do hear any news. When what you hear is that the work is terrible and Abu Dhabi is their next destination, it can be a trifle concerning.
Leave them to the studio and it will work itself out. If you are ignored, do not take it personally. The studio becomes a sacred space and only those involved in the sacrifice may be permitted to enter. It isn't pretty and the cost of entry is your blood and brains.
Wait for the show opening, where the work can glow without your sweat, where the artist can rhapsodize about an experience mostly forgotten in the swell of speed that heightened the last effort. Some memories are best left to the silent walls of the studio.
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