Arthur Sze

Arthur Sze, from an interview in Rattle (winter 2007). He is talking about creating the writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts:

I think the Greeks had a phrase called “hermaion,” which means a lucky find, something that’s a bit of thievery, a bit of trickery, because it’s derived from Hermes, the god of mischief and invisibility. But the Greeks believed you could—if you were truly aware and awake—find these lucky finds anywhere and everywhere. …One day James Stevens said to me that one of the crucial mysteries of art was the disparity between intention and effect. An artist can intend to do one thing but ultimately one loses control and the effect can be very, very different or totally unanticipated. I thought it was very profound, and I hadn’t thought of it or articulated it in that way. So I feel like I constantly learn from my students.

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