I’ve been thinking some more about Lisa Milroy’s performance painting and the instructions she gave her ‘self’ in the painting: Shoulders back, chin up, feet together, loosen up, step back in ….
They do feel like things one might say to oneself when looking in the mirror and getting ready to go out and face the world.
Joanna said she felt as if she was the brush and to some extent resisting the instructions: materials and tools do have a life of their own and can’t be willed to do what the artist wants always.
I was also wondering what kind of things I say to myself in the studio or when working – generally I have to exhort myself to get to the studio, and when I’m there I suppose I might say things like “I’ll just cut a few squares” or “What did I do with the oil stick” and then spend several minutes hunting for it.
