Just a quick link here to a WSJ article by Terry Teachout. The article discusses the history of the final artistic efforts of masters who are about to pass away, and know it. Mr. Teachout writes about the differences in creating a masterpiece (such as writing, painting) versus performing a masterpiece (music, acting), and he touches on the possible reasons why there hasn’t been more efforts to provide one, final triumph. A very interesting article, especially in noting the examples he provided.
I agree with the article that any involved effort might well be too draining, especially considering what an artist is experiencing physically if they are about to die. In addition, it seems that many who are performance artists are not only not aware of there impending death, they also die due to some sort of tragic circumstance, many times earlier than their time (drug overdose, accident, etc.). I have no idea of how true that is, it’s just a perception on my part. Take jazz, for example - how many jazz greats died before their time, due to circumstances where they may not have been healthy (and knew it), but certainly weren’t aware they were about to pass on. Therefore, no opportunity to
In any event, it’s worth a read!
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