video artists, working with Sam Shepard, Joseph Papp,
Ornette Coleman. Clarke clearly took to heart the idea that it
was harder to hit a moving target. Whenever one avenue for
her creativity was blocked, she found another.
The world of reality has its limits; the world of
imagination is boundless.JEAN-JACQUES
ROUSSEAUFilm annals abound with such stories. Elia Kazan, out of
favor as a director, wrote novels. The director John
Cassavetes, also a fine actor, used his acting to fund his
directing efforts, which were too eclectic for studio backing.
“If they won’t make it as a feature, I’ll make it,” Cassavetes
said, and he did. Rather than allow himself to be blocked, he
looked for the other door.
We would not enjoy the wonderful series Fairytale
Theater if actress-producer Shelley Duvall had stayed home
complaining during acting droughts instead of turning her
creativity elsewhere. Non illegitimi te carborundum, the
graffiti in prisoner-of-war camps is said to have run. The
rough translation, very important for artists, is “Don’t let the
bastards get you down.”
Artists who take this to heart survive and often prevail.
The key here is action. Pain that is not used profitably