Idinraha unshackled...

Dear Idinraha, I have never met you , but I do know you like so many dislocated souls. For you, home is reminiscent of a mosque in Persia saturated with human smells, for me, it is a roof top in Mosul. I have never met you, the fervent writer, or Michelangelo, the obsessive artist, who would sculpt non- stop for days with the blood of his fingers trickling down his body, or Mozart the musical prodigy, who resisted the advise of those who cautioned him against the extremism which culminated in his own destruction. In fact, having lived a sheltered life, I have never met any artist, but I can see that you, like them, appreciate-- the myth of moderation. All artists have demoted art into religion and were gratified in doing so, as long as its first and only pillar of FREEDOM was established as the non negotiable justification and precept. Freedom they profess, is just the inconvenient and often self destructive prerequisite to the creative process. I understand that, but I also understand that art becomes an idol, and an evil one at that, if it begins to make demands of you at the expense of your own self – the creator. Its easy to overlook seductive and gentle demands when they are whispered into the heart of a master so lovingly that they become internalized and go undetected. If such a demand can be reduced to words it would sing just one mantra – that the end justifies the means. It’s a hym I would be more then willing to embrace if it were not such a heinous lie, for if the ends, be they books or murals, could truly exist without the full sanction and elevation of their creator – which is you the artist, then I would be inclined to listen to every whisper which tugs at my heart strings. Your “art” is of no value if and when it demands your destruction for its own survival. Art, like religion should be removed from our shrines and relegated to our museums, if and when it cannot exist without destroying, denigrating, or torturing its creator. This is why I still worship my creator, knowing that I cannot fully live without exalting him. This is why I abhor Christian mythology, because it teaches the opposite. The crime of the artist is, of course, often overlooked, because the object of his destruction is often his own self. But that does not make it any less criminal, in fact it is more so, for he, as a creator is less dispensable then his audience. If you permit the source and inspiration to serve as the sacrificial lamb of your creation, then the object of your making will be codified, and its value will diminish from being a living inspiration to an artifact, mythology, or dogma. I tell you this, not just to remind you that you, as an artist of the highest caliber, have the same proclivity, as your predecessors, but to applaud you for courageously surpassing them in wisdom through your PUBLIC APOLOGY. When evil forces cannot subvert a free spirit like you with conventional dogma , they will seek your subservience to the concrete manifestation of that spirit which is your writing , your art. By apologizing and breaking the cardinal rule of art in danger of becoming dogma, you have redeemed yourself and your art. I respect you all the more for doing that, but also for keeping and maintaining the good company of men like fereydoon, who practice what perhaps you and I can only preach .