Tuesday, January 17, 2017

William Stafford

INTERVIEWER

I remember a statement of yours about not being interested in master-disciple relationships.

STAFFORD

Yes, I have a feeling that art is something you do yourself, and that any time you turn the decisions over to someone else you’re postponing, at best, your own development. The atmosphere of the workshop should be that of trying out one’s own work and accepting the signals from others but not accepting the dictation of others because that is a violation of the spirit of art. Art can’t be done by somebody else, it has got to be done by the artist.

- William Stafford, Paris Review Interview

No comments: