seeking for support letter to Love / no.3
Dear Love,
Vile Hypocrites,
In all their outward shows
Filthy inwardly - they pollute
Vile hypocrites take little or no care.
I see them, how
How deplorable, they are within.
Love, I do not wish to sound needy in my letter to you. I never rely on other people, and you know it. I know if you want to get a job done, you should do it yourself, from the grocery shopping to the bigger things. I chose to be an artist and never expected to receive support to remain one. My mother supports me, sometimes it comes with a price, but I thank her for that. Things are tough, sometimes better, and sometimes even more robust, but I am always looking at the bigger picture and move on. But I am furious again. I am sick of the vile hypocrites. They are dangerous, and I now know it.
I am a non-essential worker, I think. But I am not a vile hypocrite. I canceled some of my shows - the bread and butter of my life and stayed in isolation. Even though I could have scheduled them now, it was a choice at the end of the day to withdraw from any physical proximity to others, to crowds, from know-it-all assholes. I did it to express my loyalty to others that I care about. It was a choice that could have quickly been done since I am a non-essential worker.
We, as non-essential workers, have always faced precarity in our practise. It was a choice. But even though we are non-essential workers, we are part of civic engagement before we are artists. That is an underlying difference we carry in the nature of our work, compare to any other essential workers. I use essential and non-essential in a subtly ironic tone, and I hope you picked that up already, Love.
Making art gives me something to hold onto. I did not go into the arts to make a profit. I did not go to art school because I thought this profession would make me financially stable. Even my family doesn't understand that. I do art because I need to stay in touch with myself. It is my journey and taxi to sanity and madness. I don't think that what I am doing carries great importance. People can live without art. Or maybe not. Well, during the lockdown, they sure as hell couldn't.
So the question is, how does a non-essential worker complain? Should he or she complain? Or even, what is a complaint, Love? I read about it, think about it, and discuss it every day, with you, with other people.
But my answers never came. How does one read a complaint, Love? Can bureaucracy be supportive? When a complaint is delivered and addressed, does this mean you get support, validation, or does it mean that it has been solved? What is support, Love? Does support come behind closed doors and confined walls? Is it enough for the bureaucracy to show up in a theatre or performance premiere, sit in the first row, and act as the first-class citizen? Is it sufficient if they show up in an opening and appear in the press? Is support an emergency response package that comes as a disguise of a philanthropic giving? When an emergency response package does not come, what does it mean? Does it mean that support no longer exists? Is it the right time to file a complaint?
What the fuck is a complaint? What the fuck does it mean when someone complains? Does it stand somewhere?
In the past month, I have been thinking a lot about support. Whether it is financial or mental – or none of the above. I have been thinking about the nature of a complaint when support is poorly addressed, and I thought of the Cypriot government. This government reminds me of an ex you don't want to think about but is always present. It's like a cancerous cell, growing uncontrollably in a patient's body and won't go away.
I went to an art opening the other day, and I saw many people, politicians, ministers, and other VIPs. For the ones that do not know the background story, this is charming, sometimes even cute. Mainly because the show was for a good cause. I stayed there for a while, watching people interacting with one another, and it hit me. Is this support to the arts? Is this an outward show from the inwardly filthy? Does support come if the press is around? Isn't this vile hypocrisy?
I know the answer, Love.
Support comes when one understands the values of an artist in a community. And clearly, they don't get it.
Support comes when one understands that art is not the whim of an eccentric artist, but more than that. And clearly, they don't get it.
Support comes when one understands that art can have a social impact, or rather, supporting the arts is a social impact. And clearly, they don't get it.
Support comes when one understands that art is education, innovation, a unified community. And clearly, they don't get it.
Support is not merely an emergency response package of cash. Support is not an outward show that comes when the press is around. Support is part of a school of thought, a philosophy, a mentality, and clearly, they are missing out. But support in this place, never came, for neither essential nor non-essential workers, and I will leave it here.
Love, a friend said, screw the government. People for people. The ones that show up because they genuinely know what support is. The ones that show up, because, for them, art makes them hold onto life. The rest, make me sick, Love. People for the people.
Always has been, I think.
Vile Hypocrites,
In all their outward shows
Filthy inwardly - they pollute
Vile hypocrites take little or no care.
I see them, how
How deplorable, they are within.
Until next time, Love.
Yours forever,
Vasileia
