I left America almost twenty years ago. Very good decision at the midpoint of my life I'm grateful to America but glad not to be there now. I liked what you wrote here; rings true to me as an artist though it's easy to forget or make trade-offs. Thank you for the reminders.
Your writing gave me the freedom again to be. Happy you are at a good place for yourself. I very much agree with your take on the expectations others have. You had the courage and inistence to transend it. Bravo! Now I can work again today on my own story with my own materials of preference (fabric). Cheers.
I feel this way too about America. I'm about to head to Sweden next month to be with my boyfriend that I met in Thailand. Some will say I have given up on The States (born and raised in CA), but playing their game is getting old. There is no thriving, only barely surviving.
Several years ago, I became aware that making art--if not being human, regardless of one's stated vocation--is a means towards becoming the best version of myself. I'm a filmmaker and when I join two discordant images together onscreen, I feel--with palpable ecstasy--that I've forged a new connection within my very being. Furthermore, artists don't 'own the market' on creativity! To be human is to be fundamentally creative. If only most folks didn't siphon it away and live in a near constant state of distraction, they too could live a life of insight and integration. And rather than seek to prosper in material accumulation, prosper in spirit. Lastly, consciously making my films in service to others preceded my awareness that I'm essentially an in-progress work of art. Perhaps the best way to get over our selves is to get out of ourselves. Creativity is a two way street for all sentient beings. Thanks, Judson, for inpiring these thoughts...
I love this piece, one of my favorites from Judson Vereen.
For any of your readers who haven't checked them out yet, I've read his "62 Poems" and "American Pleasure" as well, and they're both terrific..
He is an author who is not afraid to lay himself bare in his work. Seriously recommended, if you want something different than all the regurgitated slop out there.
I left America almost twenty years ago. Very good decision at the midpoint of my life I'm grateful to America but glad not to be there now. I liked what you wrote here; rings true to me as an artist though it's easy to forget or make trade-offs. Thank you for the reminders.
Speechless
a wonderful piece; thank you 🙏🌿
Your writing gave me the freedom again to be. Happy you are at a good place for yourself. I very much agree with your take on the expectations others have. You had the courage and inistence to transend it. Bravo! Now I can work again today on my own story with my own materials of preference (fabric). Cheers.
Found myself nodding a lot while reading this. Godspeed, Justin Stacy Vereen.
I feel this way too about America. I'm about to head to Sweden next month to be with my boyfriend that I met in Thailand. Some will say I have given up on The States (born and raised in CA), but playing their game is getting old. There is no thriving, only barely surviving.
Several years ago, I became aware that making art--if not being human, regardless of one's stated vocation--is a means towards becoming the best version of myself. I'm a filmmaker and when I join two discordant images together onscreen, I feel--with palpable ecstasy--that I've forged a new connection within my very being. Furthermore, artists don't 'own the market' on creativity! To be human is to be fundamentally creative. If only most folks didn't siphon it away and live in a near constant state of distraction, they too could live a life of insight and integration. And rather than seek to prosper in material accumulation, prosper in spirit. Lastly, consciously making my films in service to others preceded my awareness that I'm essentially an in-progress work of art. Perhaps the best way to get over our selves is to get out of ourselves. Creativity is a two way street for all sentient beings. Thanks, Judson, for inpiring these thoughts...
That’s a thought-provoking relatable story
Nero’s violin was extra small
I love this piece, one of my favorites from Judson Vereen.
For any of your readers who haven't checked them out yet, I've read his "62 Poems" and "American Pleasure" as well, and they're both terrific..
He is an author who is not afraid to lay himself bare in his work. Seriously recommended, if you want something different than all the regurgitated slop out there.
ZL
i see. thanks for this, judson! keep going, man!
I dig it.
this is the best thing I’ve read in a while - and I read a lot. beautiful.
Thank you for writing this.
You might try my site for a chuckle or two.
So relatable, the process of trusting your instincts against formal education, other’s opinions, a hidden sneer or two.
I have found that Americans, unlike Europeans who have lived surrounded by art, are intimidated by art. ‘What should I
think, say, should I laugh..oh no surely I can’t find it amusing which would show I don’t know…’. If someone in art world
authority has not issued judgement how can I know?