CURATED BY JASON MARTIN
The title of this exhibition by Paul Valéry if read literally, asserts the impossible. However ,the grand assertion in dying twice is of course a possibility in our imaginations as we have all suffered at some time a loss that focuses the mind on the vulnerability of our existence and the frailty of life .We are very naturally self conscious to the burgeoning prospect of our pending fate .To escape ones fate or answer that predisposition is of course the catalyst that drives a creative life .Herein lies the potential for greatness .
The most primal endeavor for the artist is to contribute to a long and shared story by leaving behind a body of work that furthers the conversation and the history of our ancient cultural traditions .The story that began in the caves of Lascaux or Mazoucou 10 000 years before the written word. In such an endeavor and for each and every artist committed to a wonderful yet solitary path, there is the strivance to escape the mere pedestrian and mundane if only for a fleeting moment, to be rewarded with poetry, emotional truth and meaning. Of course this doesn't happen too often no matter how tenacious you might be in the hunting grounds of creativity. Having the will to reach out and to succeed with ones ideas is only the beginning. Learning by doing is fundamental to an empirical life all artists develop in order to refine a studio practice and there is inevitably a very fine line between genius and folly .
And so ,all bad art is made with good intention. We can approach the spirit of making with militant fervor to make beauty or to reveal the hidden and the undiscovered, employing a dogged desire to feel more to experience more to communicate and be understood more however the work of the worthy if to be so, must also be profound and must touch the lives of others.
Great men die twice brings together emotive works by a diverse range of artists from various generations and cultures. Some are internationally understood enjoy a critical support and are undoubtedly highly distinguished. Some are relatively unknown and remain for now remote to a wider public. All however recognise the enlightenment momentarily afforded when once we enter into the bigger conversation we contribute to a shared understanding of human virtues.
Jason Martin, July, 2013
