The Majesty of Age
The artist as Muse
Monday, 7th March, 2011
Photography by Erik Madigan Heck
Lawrence Weiner wearing Ann Demeulemeester A/W11
I believe I have posted this series before, however with certain things going on it seemed the right time for a second look.
.
You are confronted with yourself. Each year
The pouches fill, the skin is uglier.
You give it all unflinchingly. You stare
Into yourself, beyond. Your brush's care
Runs with self-knowledge. Here
Is a humility at one with craft.
There is no arrogance. Pride is apart
From this self-scrutiny. You make light drift
The way you want. Your face is bruised and hurt
But there is still love left.
Love of art and others. To the last
Experiment went on. You stared beyond
Your age, the times. You also plucked the past
And tempered it. Self-portraits understand,
And old age can divest,
With truthful changes, us of fear of death.
Look, a new anguish. There, the bloated nose,
The sadness and the joy. To paint's to breathe,
And all the darknesses are dared. You chose
What each much reckon with.
Rembrandt's Late Self-Portraits, Elizabeth Jennings
xxxx