On Refusal, Contingency, and Your Duty as an Artist

— One of the most useful things I’ve read lately comes once again from the book Faith, Hope and Carnage, a conversation between Nick Cave and Seán O’Hagan. Cave speaks about the loss of his son, as a condition that infuses everything. He hopes that in the records he has made, that there is “an audacity in the face of things, a kind of reckless refusal to submit to the condition of the world.” It seems to me that this kind of reckless refusal to accept the current fuckery of the world is the kind of audacity that is needed.— And he also says this, which is in my mind, beyond useful. Like, fucking yes. "Well, I love this world — with all its joys and its vast goodness, its civility and complete and utter lack of it, its brilliance and its absurdity. I love it all, and the people in it, all of them. I feel nothing but deep gratitude to be a part of this whole cosmic mess. I have no time for negativity, cynicism, or blame.” — We’ve seen some truly evil things take place. Ongoingly. And…