Stuck in lockdown, unable to launch my dream Painting-Play space in Singapore as planned, I took a breath and some time out to playfully translate an extract from Arno Stern’s “Une Tracée De Plaisir”:
“Painting can be an art, but it can also be playful.
And play nullifies
The notion of talent; the obsession with success; the dependence on an audience.
As play, a trace is left for the pleasure of it, for its own power and purity.
The trace is enough in itself.
Leaving a trace is a fundamental and essential act; a tangible creation.
The act of leaving a trace resonates deeply within the person.
No other activity is as spontaneous.
No other activity eludes teaching to this degree.
No other activity procures such immediate pleasure.”
(Le Closlieu – le Jeu de Peindre et la Formulation, 2013, p.139)
Lucy E Shaw 