Henry Pisciotta

Is what you are reading today more or less important to your work than what you were reading when you were 18? Recently I heard a panel of well-known artists answer this question. Each gave much greater importance to something read in youth. As a Freshman Antonin Artaud’s The Theater and Its Double was an assigned reading. I woofed it down and later found scattered examples of his poems. I ate cheaply so that I could buy his Selected Writings edited by Susan Sontag. Reading Artaud I began to see that art is not simply a matter of showing off whatever talent one can muster. Instead is pounds of difficulty and dedication – a commitment to discovery. It’s a discipline. Been studying it ever since.