Scott writes:

A common dilemma facing all artists is how much effort do you put in regarding the details at the expense of the underlying communication of the work? Or, in other words, one can get so caught up in perfecting every detail that one loses sight of the original intention and energy of the
work.

In my field of classical piano playing, this is a very common malady. There are literally scores of competent musicians out there that can do a respectable job of performing what are frightfully long and complicated works. Performing these things requires extended study for most of us, difficult memorization and intense practice and concentration to perfect.
Continue reading Scott Leather Writes: On The “IT” in “ART”

The other night the soldier and I were arguing. Not fighting but arguing.

“Fighting” is if we are both yelling. “Arguing” means that his voice is raised and I am still calm and asking him to quit yelling and/or raising his voice.

He claims he does not have the ability to lower his voice once arguing begins but this does not guarantee that an argument will escalate into a fight because my fuse is actually pretty long.  I can ask him not to yell at me, 10 maybe even 15 times before I start yelling myself in which case all hell breaks loose.

Continue reading Mercury in Aries vs Mercury in Libra: Fighting vs Arguing And Volcanoes In Nature

This comment on “The Cellist” post was sent to me privately by my oldest friend, Scott. Scott is a pianist I met when I was 15. He was 18. Instantly attracted, we fell into a relationship that has endured in one form or the other, for almost 30 years.

By that, I mean we could never maintain a romantic relationship for more than a few weeks at a time, but this did not stop us from going on and off like that for 17 years!! But now we’re just friends. More like family, actually. We are deeply bonded and his being a Cancer against all my Capricorn, there has always been a “family” type connection between us anyway.

So I thought of him when I wrote for the cellist, because I felt these two men has similar energy. Scott is also biracial, and outside of this, he can speak for himself. I am posting this excerpt of his email with his permission.

~~

Scott writes:

I was going to comment on this post when it first was published a few days ago…but, alas, I’m not as young and agile as I once was and needed the requisite time to gather my thoughts in my old (or at least, “older”) age.

Like your poster and even more so, like your description of his inner life, I was once young, impetuous and severely frustrated. When I was young I was a simmering repository of frustrated sexuality, just boiling-below-the surface rage and more talent than I knew what to do with. I was extremely accomplished in my field and on the way to, if not the very top, at least close to it. I also had both real arrogance about myself in relation to the world mixed with a good measure of false bravado. I barely suffered fools and thought everybody was dumber than I was; or, at least that no one was really any smarter or really much more gifted in my chosen field. (Actually, the field was chosen for me, but that’s another story).

This exchange makes me wonder: does repressed sexuality breed anger or does repressed anger breed simmering sexuality? Or are they a 2-way symbiotic street? It’s one question I never did figure out though I have come to peace with myself in my old (er at least, “older”) age. The tremendous anger along with the almost pathologically strong sexual drive I had when young frustrated me to an incredible extent back then and caused me enormous pain.

I’m not sure I honestly believe when you try to relieve the pressure valves of enormous anger and repression you don’t lose something artistically. There is an inherent relationship between suffering and artistic creation and integrity. I know I’ve said that perfectly well-adjusted artists have produced great art as well as tormented ones, but at 1:42am in the morning, listening to Beethoven, and thinking about all this, I’m not so sure.

Scott Leather

~~
So what do you think? Does angst fuel art?