English
58610
 Letters Live was launched in 2013 by Caningate in the UK with the aim of paying tribute to the art and spirit of letter writing. Each episode of this television show invites well-known actors to come up to the microphone and read letters aloud. These dusty letters are like tiny fragments of history that take people back in time, allowing them to experience those moments once again. Today, we choose an excerpt from a letter written by the American pioneer artist Saul LeWitt to his close friend Eva Hesse, read aloud for us by Cumberbatch. In 1965, Hesse's artistic creativity reached a bottleneck, leaving him in a state of confusion and despair, accompanied by deep self-doubt. She confided her inner struggles to Levitt. A few weeks later, Leavitt replied to her with a wonderfully crafted letter. The letter spanned five pages, and the prominent “DO” clearly represented Sol’s encouragement for Eva to go ahead and “do it”. Read by Benedict Cumberbatch ▼ The narrated version by Andrew Scott ▼ Fragment Learn to say “fuck you”to the world every once in a while. You have every right to. Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder, wandering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, grasping, confusing, itching, scratching, mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling, numbing, rambling, gambling, tumbling, stumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching, moaning, groaning, honing, boning, horse-shitting, hair-spitting, nit-picking, piss-trickling, nose-sticking, ass-gouging, eyeball-poking, finger-pointing, alleyway-sneaking, long waiting, small stepping, evil-eyeing, back-scratching, searching, perching, besmirching, grinding, grinding, grinding away at yourself. Stop it and just DO!  Sender | artist: Sol LeWitt  Recipient | artist: Eva Hesse This letter was written on April 14, 1965; at that time, Sol LeWitt was 37 years old and Eva Hesse was 29 years old. The letter is on ink-on-paper and consists of five single-sided pages. It is housed in the Levitt Collection in Chester, Connecticut, United States. Translation Dear Eva,： It’s been almost a month since you wrote to me, and you might have forgotten how you felt at that time (although I don’t think so). You look just like you always have—hating every single minute of your life. Don’t do that! You need to learn to tell the world “fuck off” from time to time. You certainly have every right to say that. Stop thinking about it, worrying about it, being careful, wondering, doubting, fearing, feeling sad, trying to find shortcuts, struggling, craving, getting confused, feeling itchy, scratching, muttering, grumbling, complaining, speaking in a low voice, stumbling, murmuring, wandering around, taking chances, falling, downplaying things, fighting over them, staggering, plotting, mocking, groaning, lamenting, longing, last-minute efforts, talking nonsense, engaging in pointless arguments, being overly critical, wasting time, meddling in others’ affairs, scratching one’s own back, poking others in the eyes, blaming each other, taking shortcuts, waiting for a long time, walking slowly, looking at people with hostility, exploiting each other, searching, stopping, contaminating things, and torturing yourself. Stop right now Go do it! Based on what you’ve described and what I know about your previous creative abilities, what you’re doing sounds really great. “Drawing, erasing, being awake and yet mad like a machine, bigger, bolder… all meaningless. It sounds so good, so wonderful—“all meaningless.” Creating more of this kind of stuff—only more meaningless, more insane, more machine-like, more beastly, whatever—it’s all about surrounding it with nothingness. Try to stir up those things inside you, your “quirky temper”. You belong to that most secret part of yourself, deep within your heart. Don’t worry about staying calm; just let yourself lose your composure. Create your own world, one that is entirely yours. If you are afraid, let fear work for you—visualize your fears and worries. Stop worrying about big, profound questions like “how to choose a meaning for one’s life and a way of living, how to pick a firm path that might lead to an impossible destination, or even a destination that is merely imagined”. You must practice becoming stupid, slow, reckless, and empty. And then you will have the ability to do it! I have a lot of confidence in you; even if you are torturing yourself right now, what you are doing is really good. Try to create something “bad” – the worst thing you can possibly imagine – and see what happens. But most of all, relax and let it all go. You don’t have to be responsible for the world; you only need to be responsible for your own creation. So, Go do it! And don’t think that your creation has to follow any preconceived form, idea, or characteristic; it can be whatever you want it to be. But if stopping what you’re creating would make life easier for you, then stop—don’t punish yourself. However, I think it has already taken deep root in your mind. So, an easier way to do it is…： Go do it! Speaking of which, I quite understand how you’re feeling because I sometimes go through similar experiences myself. I subject my own work to a “painful reevaluation,” trying my best to overturn everything I’ve done before—disliking whatever I’ve produced and striving to create something completely different and better. Perhaps that process was necessary for me, it motivated me to keep moving forward and made me feel that I could create something better than what I had just done. Perhaps you need to struggle a bit to complete the work, or perhaps it will push you to do better, but I understand that it can be very painful. If you have the confidence to just go for it and let go of all those thoughts, it will be easier. Can’t you put aside words like “world” and “art” and stop indulging your ego? I know that you (or rather, everyone) only have a limited amount of time to work, and during the rest of that time, you’re thinking. But when you are working, or before you start working, you must clear your mind and focus on what you are doing at that moment. Once you’re done, it’s the finished product—it is what it is. After a while, you’ll find that some works are better than others, and you’ll also discover the direction in which you should move forward. I’m sure you wasted all that time on these things. You must also know that you don’t have to prove your creations—not even to yourself. Hey, you know I really appreciate your work, so I don’t understand why you’re so troubled by it. You can foresee the future works you will create, but I cannot. You must also believe in your own abilities. I firmly believe that to be the case. So, go ahead and try doing the most outrageous thing you can think of – surprise yourself. You can do anything within the limits of your abilities. I look forward to seeing your work and am willing to wait until August or September. I saw some photos of Tom's new works at Lucy's house. New works are truly impressive—especially those that are more formal and simpler in structure. I think he will send some more after seeing that. You need to tell me how the exhibition went, or something like that. After you left, the style of my work changed for the better. I will be holding an exhibition at the Daniel Gallery, located at 17 East 64th Street (where Emmerich used to be), from May 4th to 29th. I hope you can come by. I love you both so much. Sol April 14, 1965  Daily Intent To perceive the subtleties and radiance of human nature WeChat ID: luobin_meiriyitu |
|
|
|
|
|
