People keep on asking me: when am I going to list all the art and artists that have helped keep me sane? In light of the new Level 5 restrictions and the renewed concern for people's mental health, I cast my mind over the past when art has proved to be a positive intervention. True, it's no 'bleach on the lung' but it provides some help.
So here's a list:
Some of the art and artists that have helped preserve some mental health.
1. How I Got Over - Mahalia Jackson. The back and white grainy version on Youtube.
2. Samuel Beckett- From an Abandoned Work. Sitting in the Galway Library, opened a book at random and started reading. Lifted me right out of the dark.
3. Isaac Bashevis Singer - The Slave. I read this and I stopped gambling for 6 months. The book has nothing to do with gambling.
4. John Clare - I Am
5. Donal Dineen - No Disco. During the self-isolating teenage years.
6. Lola Gonzalez – Able and Elio. Temple Bar Gallery.2018.
