After my interview with Mystic Shorts a couple weeks ago I received a random message from someone I had talked to once or twice saying he also would like to be interviewed. Seeing no harm in this, and believing that random internet people are as likely to have something worthwhile to say as many who are revered for babbling in the public square, I decided to give it a shot.
Viz is an amateur artist and musician who has been drawing most of his life. We had a nice discussion on the value of making art in itself, regardless of whether or not one wishes to receive adulation from the world or aspires to creativity as a career. We also discussed his conversion from atheism and the influence of his spirituality on his creative process. Anyone who knows me, online or in real life, knows that I hold broadly “classical” views on art and have little sympathy with religion based on subjective experience rather than on revealed doctrine, but I also believe it is important to be able to listen to other people and to do our best to appreciate why they love and act in the way they do. There is much worthwhile here, even for a closed-minded bigot like me!
I’ve added a handful of Viz’s drawings below. I should be back with a new poem and essay by the end of the week, but for now I hope you enjoy the interview.
Happy Vizteenth!