💥✍It's 3:51. We just lost one 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 to another 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 due to a virus. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 we once knew, when the things we did every day, came & went every day, & we moved on, day after day, so every day became 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺. First time I heard the term 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 was in art school. Then there was no IKEA "Wonderful Everyday" promotional campaign to offset the shock that art wasn't about some fantasy. Artists were here to show you what you were missing right before your eyes without the razzmatazz of the mainstream. This was art: unsheet 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 whilst retaining the veil of art. When I was an exhibiting artist it was common for artist friends to say in response to my forecasted misgivings regarding the location or timing of a forthcoming exhibition that, "At least you'll get good photos!" This response, which was said without an ounce of irony, but I felt a ton of defeat, somehow helped. However, if the location & timing of the exhibition was in sync with my grand ambition or fantasy, then takeaway images were not as important, because the cycle of desire had reached a height from which other experiences were yet to be measured. Speaking of height: did you know Giorgio Morandi was six feet four? To fantasize is to wonder higher than 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺, not romanticize the ground underfoot, something I never trusted as a thing to romanticise about. It always seemed forced to speak of 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 in art parlance, like trying to be mindful of present reality & its fantastical shortcomings, even though we cannot experience 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 as something important until it's past. 2-inches taller than Morandi, Michael Jordan's gift (we are told in The Last Dance) was not his athleticism or ambition, but mindfulness in motion - past, present & future fused in a dunk. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 is never a substitute for fantasy, no matter how much we elevate 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 in our artist statements or IKEA promotion. Images of art promote fantasy; art in the physical setting promotes 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 is always harder than fantasy. It's 3:51

May 23, 2020 (ORIGINALLY POSTED ON INSTAGRAM @a_flash_in_the_small_night