Little Bird wrote: > n a Canadian television interview that aired in 2000 she said that she was ready to >retire from the beginning because she got "waylaid into music," which was deviant >from her will, which was to develop her painting skills. She never liked the big >stage, never enjoyed fame and never really felt like art could successfully meet >commerce without one or the other suffering.
I had the occasion a couple years ago to visit a gallery showing of John Lennon's art. It was enjoyable, but the feeling I had afterward was, yes, he was artistic, but suppose he had never made music. Would his art have moved millions of hearts? (I am a huge Lennon fan BTW). I guess I feel the same about Joni's art. I know she is driven from a deep place to create and paint. But will her art ever be a rosetta stone that all other painters will gush about and say that it influenced them? In the case of both of them, their music was so undeniably head and shoulders above their contemporaries. As far as their art, it is nice enough, but there are probably thousands of artists who are as good or better, and were it not for their celebrity, we probably would have never been aware of their work. So thank goodness Joni was "waylaid" by her music carreer. It's strange that she is almost complaining about having been a trailblazing composer. I guess what I'm trying to say, to sum up, is that as a musician and songwriter, Joni is in the top 1%. Had she poured all her talent into painting, I doubt we would be signed onto a discussion list for it..... RR
