The artist: disciple, abundant, multiple, restless.
The true artist: capable, practicing, skillful;
maintains dialogue with his heart, meets things with his mind.
The true artist: draws out all from his heart,
works with delight, makes things with calm, with sagacity,
works like a true Toltec, composes his objects, works dexterously, invents;
arranges materials, adorns them, makes them adjust.
The carrion artist: works at random, sneers at the people,
makes things opaque, brushes across the surface of the face of things,
works without care, defrauds people, is a thief.
“The Artist” — an Aztec poem translated into English by Denise Levertov.
Note on vocabulary: “Toltec” refers to the Aztecs’ Mesoamerican predecessors, who were greatly revered as exemplars of high artistic culture and idealized civilization. “Carrion” is a term for rotting animal carcass, known for hosting disease and attracting scavengers, and also a common mythological symbol of ritualized sacrifice.
STENDHAL SYNDROME: a giddy, debilitating stupor evoked by great art
