Marilyn and I talked about Belle reminding me of Cindy, the beautiful ballerina that sat across from me in art class. I did a bust of her for month or more and barely spoke a word to her. Cindy and Belle had the same developed calves and look alike. “THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN artist and muse is intuitive, private, visceral, complex.
It is most notable in the visual arts, of course: an artist like Picasso might spend decades painting the same model, often a wife or lover, obsessively exploring her many facets. But muses inhabit the performing arts just as potently, and their impact is no less crucial or revealing. Choreographers speak of choreographing their work “off” an individual dancer, and the expression is apt. George Balanchine invented some of his greatest ballets for Suzanne Farrell, the dancer he called “my alabaster princess.” For her he created “Mozartiana” and “Don Quixote,” with Ms. Farrell representing Balanchine’s own unrecoverable youth and beauty.
When Rena came out of that darkened doorway at 3:00 A.M. she did her best not to ask me to help her. Severely abused children often make a vow they will never cry for help, no matter what. They will keep that vow till their dying day. Within this vow is their untouched perfect self. No one gets to see this person. To say;
“Please help me!”
Destroys the tabernacle. If Rena is dying, she will not seek help. However, she will let someone know, is code, in a very disguised way, because, to die alone if very frightening.
Rena finds me after a very long and far away time. She sends me a letter with no address or phone number. She does not ask for my phone number. She has sent a message outside the tabernacle. She has established th rules of how we are going to communicate. We…
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