A Sense of Failure

"All art represents a failure, I speak as a failing novelist of long standing, all art arises from error, it is inherently an inaccurate representation of reality and this has long been a philosophical objection to the whole artistic enterprise. Plato in “The Republic” contends that the ideal civilization would banish artists because they distort the truth, and he’s absolutely right, they do. Art is not only insufficient, it is often wrong. There are many ways that writers and artists have represented and meditated upon or railed against this simple fact. Indeed for some of us the question of how to transcend the failings and limitations of our art form has been the motivating force behind our creative efforts."

The tragedy of Gurney’s life is the real tragedy of art - that the devotion of a lifetime often yields only a scrap of a hint, an inkling of what’s possible, of what might have been.

 Ian Sansom

not just a prelude to success