January 13, 2026

No one remembers Mike

Ask most people to name the crew on the Apollo 11, the first moon landing, they’ll likely say Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, but not Michael Collins.

Ask most people to name the Three Italian Tenors and most people will say Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, but probably not Jose Carerras.

But, in both cases (and in many others), the success of those whose names we remember are only remembered because of the work of everyone in the group. Without Michael Collins there may not have been a moon landing at all and Neil and Buzz might just be two other names we no longer remember. Without Jose Carerras, the Three Italian Tenors are just the Two Italian Tenors, which is no longer the supergroup we remember.

It’s easy to believe that the single name on the cover of a book or the signature at the bottom of a masterpiece painting is the work of that person and that person alone. The likely reality is that the transcendant achievements of humanity, either in science or the arts, are not the result of individual genius or intense adversarial competition but rather a consistent collective collaboration, co-operation, mutual support and trust in one another.

Other observations
March 24, 2026

I have to work today

What if, on the days we don’t feel like making art, we do anyway? In the same way that we show up to our day jobs when we don’t fee like it?

March 17, 2026

Scared of progress

The problem with progress is that we’re likely to learn that we’re either not good enough or not ambitious enough. But maybe there’s no other way?

March 3, 2026

The ancestors are speaking

What might we be able to tell ourselves and listen for in order to provoke more positive energy and action in our art practice?

February 24, 2026

Can I do this?

Where does the motivation for beginning mark making come from? Why would I even try in the first place?

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