excerpt from interviewing the artist’s memory: 2016 and 2010
JH: So I wrote this thing, right? And I had an idea I mean some kind of idea about what it was gonna be or what I wanted it to be but it was the action–the process–of finding the words, stringing them together, that was most exciting for me. I don’t care so much for writing that is supposed to be a product.
JR: Product as in a finished product or draft ready for publication? Or do you mean product in a market or business sense?
JH: Um, good question…I think I mean any of them. Something about writing being ‘finished’ or ‘done’ or ‘complete’ or ‘ready for consumption’ that irks me.
JR: Right. Do you attribute that to being more interested in complicating a narrative or is it more about wanting to continuously refine your ideas? You’ve written several artist statements at this point in your career–are any of your statements ‘finished’?
JH: Hah! Nothing is ever finished. Ever. Why should it be? I mean besides the obvious: some external deadlines, some particular moment in time when other people are asking questions of you. Any finished writing, finished work, statement, written statements, those things are good to call ‘finished’ regardless of whether the artist/author thinks it is or not. And I honestly don’t think I have much of a ‘career’ at this point but…thanks! As for why? Why does ‘finished’ writing irk me? Like, what did you say? Complicating…narratives? No, I don’t think I’m trying to complicate a narrative or narratives. I think the complexity is there already. I’m just playing around with the words and the meanings, and my audience–the readers–they bring their own understandings of complexities to … what I’ve written. Our words–I mean my written statements and the understood or projected understandings of the readers–are an active kind of exchange. Well, maybe not exchange between them to me but .. probably from my words to theirs. Or, no, yeah, there is an exchange. And it’s between our words. Between. And it’s ongoing. It’s fluid. It’s… it’s yeah. The actual words are exchanging information and meaning between them. That’s what I’m interested in: information between words.
JR: So by declaring a statement ‘finished’, are you effectively rendering the exchange ‘finished’?
JH: …something like that…maybe. There’s also some kind of arrogance around saying ‘yeah, this is exactly what I mean and it’s final and complete.’
JR: Is it impossible to be simultaneously decisive, satisfied, and humble as an artist/author?
JH: …I have no idea. I’ll let you know if I ever figure that out.
Angel 