The Artist

Once again I am late and I apologize. This time it was due to travelling. One of these weeks I am going to post on time I promise.

I want to expand on Alli's post about the artist as an animal. I also thought this section was interesting, and in particular the line "and one begins to think of the phrases 'incapacity to live,' 'the artist,' etc., letting them echo and thin in one's mind, fighting the sense of disgust and the staleness..." Anna claims that curiosity is what drives her on and that she is only interested in living as fully as she can. As I think most artists will agree, they-we, live for the experience. The appeal of new aesthetics and different interpretations of life drives the artist. The artist is simultaneously analyzing and dissecting every moment, but in doing so separates him/herself from the actual experience. The artist lives in his or her own interpretation of reality. To let others influence an artist's interpretation is to take away from anything he or she produces as art. It is no longer wholly theirs. In this way they are isolated and it is my opinion that this is why Anna feels an incapacity to live. Similarly because they crave and live in pure experience and isolated perception and interpretation, they can be said to be like animals- existing in themselves, without a shared reality. When other artists continue to produce the same themes and interpretations on an experience however, the artist no longer has something unique to offer on that experience, and so it grows old and stale and they must move on. We'll see how Anna as the artist continues to change and progress throughout the novel.