SUNDAY SLOWDOWN | Creative Muse - Patti Smith

It seems auspicious to end our August Artist in Residence series with the creative muse, Patti Smith. Patti and I share a birthday,  a love of vintage Polaroid photography, and writing, though I am merely an admiring amateur compared to her lyrical mastery, with over a dozen published books to her credit. 

I came to know Patti Smith not through her music, as most people have, but through her writing. Or should I say poetry. She is a storyteller with soul, weaving words of personal myth in which we find a universal thread.  One of her most well known books, Just Kids, a national book award winner, chronicles her young life with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe when she lived at the iconic New York City Chelsea Hotel.  As a musician, her songwriting carries the same lyrical language, though her performances on stage are emboldened with a raw and fiery rock and roll edge. She's soft spoken spirit who can catalyze a room with her silence and stillness as much as her deliberate gestures, beckoning us into her world. 

As a human being, she lives life as an art form, giving credence to sacred daily rituals like writing in cafes, visiting the graves of poets when traveling, and posting videos and photos with daily musings . Although she seems to always be on the move, giving concerts around the world, she somehow still is able to embody the art of slowing down. Just as a Polaroid takes time to develop, her presence subtly commands our attention, asking us to pause and savor each word she speaks or writes, each musical message she offers. Her artful offerings remind us that listening, and being in a community, is itself an act of devotion. In a world that rushes us toward the next moment, Patti shows us how to move through life as a series of thresholds, each one worthy of our thoughtful attention.

Perhaps the best reason why Patti Smith is a fitting choice to end this series is because she reminds us that art is not only what we create, but in how we choose to live our lives. 

X Alisa