30 July 1996

Pointless Discussions

I'm at a gathering of arts administrators, critics, and related sycophants. They've all been making lots of points for hours, but I'm becoming increasingly less interested. (Or that may have something to do with all the French wine I've had to drink with and after dinner.) I am reminded of Paul Cézanne's observation:

"It is sufficient to have a sense of art--and this sense is doubtless the horror of the bourgeois. Therefore institutions, pensions, honors can only be made for cretins, rogues, and rascals. Do not become an art critic, but paint; therein lies salvation."

(Or that may have something to do with all the French wine I've had to drink with and after dinner.)