I Pursue No Intentions, No Directions; I

I Wanted To Say Something Different: The Pictures Are Also A Leave-taking, In Several Respects. Factually: These Specific Persons Are Dead; As A General Statement, Death Is Leave-taking. And Then Ideologically: A Leave-taking From A Specific Doctrine Of Salvation And, Beyond That, From The Illusion That Unacceptable Circumstances Of Life Can Be Changed By This Conventional Expedient Of Violent Struggle.

The Urge To Break With A Tradition Is Only Appropriate When You're Dealing With An Outdated, Troublesome Tradition: I Never Really Thought About That Because I Take The Old-fashioned Approach Of Equating Tradition With Value (which May Be A Failing). But Whatever The Case, Positive Tradition Can Also Provoke Opposition If It's Too Powerful, Too Overwhelming, Too Demanding. That Would Basically Be About The Human Side Of Wanting To Hold Your Own.

To Talk About Paintings Is Not Only Difficult But Perhaps Pointless Too. You Can Only Express In Words What Words Are Capable Of Expressing-- What Language Can Communicate. Painting Has Nothing To Do With That.

I Am Thankful That The Church Exists, Thankful That It Has Done Such Great Things, Giving Us Laws, For Instance - 'thou Shalt' And 'thou Shalt Not', And Established Goodness And Evil. That's What All Religions Do, And As Soon As We Try To Replace Them, Worldly Religions Like Fascism And Communism Take Over.

Art Is The Ideal Medium For Making Contact With The Transcendental, Or At Least For Getting Close To It.