Hello, people who appreciate art! Guess, what? I quit my job!
Now I don’t want to get into it here, maybe in a future memoir once I gain enough power.
But I will say that for the first time in a long time—I feel good. I feel like I finally know what I want for the most part. Let’s be real: things change, people evolve (hopefully). Who really knows, right? The future is uncertain and that’s the great beauty and tragedy of life.
With that said, I for sure know what I DON’T WANT, and most importantly, I’ve realized my time is valuable. I’m 34. I’m not getting any younger. And frankly: I’m just sick of the bullshit.
So with that elegant statement, I’m here to say that I’ve decided to go rogue and become a freelance writer.
I realize that we’re on the brink of World War III, but humor me here.
If you’ve ever read my blog posts as an art librarian for Dallas Public Library, you know I love writing about the lives of artists and their work. The whole research process honestly fills me with such great joy. What can I say? I have fun learning new things and understanding the minds of creatives throughout the course of human history.
Well, I’m going to keep doing that but on my own terms now. I’ll still write about the history of art around Dallas (because that’s my hood) but also about whatever the hell else I want to talk about as it relates to art. I’m also interested in comedy, politics, and the culture at large, so anyway I can insert these other areas into the discussion: I will.
I love that a single work of art can tell a story of a particular time and place of a particular people. Like Sol LeWitt, I just want to follow the ideas that interest me most.
I’m currently reading his biography Sol LeWitt: A Life of Ideas by Lary Bloom and he basically redefined the definition of what art meant up to that point in the late 1960s. The idea itself took precedent over the final execution of the artwork.
The conceptual artist was also a deeply kind, witty soul. He was known for his friendship with Eva Hesse, another pioneering figure at that time who didn’t always get the respect she deserved. She was a woman in the 1960s trying to make it in a male-dominated field, so you get what I’m driving at.
She struggled, as has been documented in her Diaries, but she was also courageous, ambitious, and oh so talented. And Solly knew this.
Here’s the first paragraph of an inspirational letter he sent to her once:
“Dear Eva,
It will be almost a month since you wrote to me and you have possibly forgotten your state of mind (I doubt it though). You seem the same as always, and being you, hate every minute of it. Don’t! Learn to say “Fuck You” to the world once in a while. You have every right to. Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder, wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, grasping, confusing, itching, scratching, mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling, numbling, rumbling, gambling, tumbling, scumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching, moaning, groaning, honing, boning, horse-shitting, hair-splitting, nit-picking, piss-trickling, nose sticking, ass-gouging, eyeball poking, finger-pointing, alleyway-sneaking, long waiting, small stepping, evil-eyeing, back-scratching, searching, perching, besmirching, grinding, grinding, grinding away at yourself. Stop it and just DO!”
I’ve been Eva Hesse and we all need someone like Sol LeWitt in our corner. I like his overall message of just saying fuck the noise, do what you need to do. So that’s what I’m trying to do!
I’ve always been kind of a generalist when it comes to art history. People ask me what my focus is, and I always want to say: “um, all of it”?
Like Pocahontas, I tend to go where the wind blows. From ancient history to now, my interests are all over the map, as I assume my writing may be. Not to sound grim, but honestly, I prefer my artists dead. Why? Because I can dig further into the past and present what may have been long forgotten. It’s so important to discuss the past, as the great George Orwell once said: “who controls the past controls the future”. Never forget, my friends.
So, what’s up with the blog name—Nature Morte: Stories Through Art? (updated to Nature Morte: Art History for the Rest of Us as of January 7, 2023. Let’s see if it sticks!)
The term nature morte, French for literally “dead nature” was used in the 19th-century to describe still life paintings. And it’s a term that has always intrigued me. So much so that I actually branded myself with it when I was about 20 years years old.
I first learned of nature morte in a 19th-century American Art course I took in college. We learned of the hierarchy of paintings in Europe as opposed to America at that time. While history paintings reigned in Europe, landscapes (because we had to be different) dominated in America. However, poor, lowly still life paintings or nature morte was dead last either way.
Maybe it’s because the word DEAD is in it. Maybe it’s because I’ve always rooted for the underdog. But mostly, it’s because I’ve seen some absolutely breathtaking still lifes in my day.
Come on, how can fruit be so hauntingly beautiful and delicious all at once?
Besides the standard flowers and fruit, artists also put literal morte into their work.
I dig it when beauty and the macabre unite. So, that’s what’s up with the name and I’d love to write about the history of nature morte in art in a future (few) posts. Stay tuned!
In addition to art blogging, which obviously won’t pay the bills on its own, I’m also out there freelancing my wordsmith talents to other industries as well. Hey, a girl’s got to eat. I actually have a great writing gig right now (my first!) and you can learn more about it on my About page.
So, writing is my business now and I couldn’t be happier. It’s been something I’ve explored and enjoyed since a young age, but I finally got the courage to pursue it. Nothing like hitting rock bottom in order to get your priorities straight. I might go broke doing it, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.
I love libraries and they will always be a part of my world as well. Kind of required for all that fun research I will be doing.
If you’re interested in art, history, and possibly a lot of dumb things in between—here I am.
Mariza Morin 