Matti Megged
BECKETT AND GIACOMETTI
In one of thc ra re cases in whi ch he di scussed hi art ,
Beckett said : "T o be a n a rti st is to fa il , as no o ther d a re fa il , that
fa ilure is hi s world a nd to shrink from it is dese rti on , a rt a nd craft ,
good housekeeping, li vin g.... I know tha t a ll tha t is required now
... is to ma ke of thi submi ss ion , thi s admi sion , thi fidelity to
fa ilure, a new term of rela ti on , a nd of the act whi ch , una ble to act,
obliged to ac t, he makes a n expres ive ac t, even if onl y of itse lf, of it
imposs ibility, of its obli gati on " ( from "Three Dia logues with George
Duthuit in
Transition,
1949). And in the same di a logue he speaks of
"the express ion tha t there is no thing to express, no thing with which
to express, no thing from whi ch to express, no powe r to expre s, no
des ire to express, toge ther with the obli gati on to express."
Albe rt G iacometti wro te in 1961: "I find it ha rder a nd ha rder to
fini sh my things . The older I ge t , the loneli er I am .. . . Yct , even if
eve rything I've made up to now does n't count a t all ... a nd in spite
of my certa inty tha t I've fa il ed up to now, a nd ex perie nced that
cve rything I sta rt runs betwec n my fin ge rs, I have mo re des ire than
eve r to work . ... I don't understa nd it , but tha t's how it is. I see my
sculpturcs befo re me: each one ... a fa ilure. Ri ght , a fa ilure ! But
in each is something of wha t [ wa nt to create some d ay .... But the
sculpture I'm thinkin g of conta ins eve rything tha t ma kes onl y a
sca ttcred a nd fragmenta ry a ppeara nce in the o ther sculptures. That
gives me a des ire . .. to continue my wo rk ." And again the
foll owing yea r : "Bas ica ll y, I am onl y wo rking fo r the sake of the
expe ri ence th a t I fee l whe n workin g.... Success or fa ilure is
unimporta nt. I work onl y bccause it is impossibl e fa r me to do
somethin g else."
Compa ring Beckett's word with those of G iacomctti , o ne find s
th a t the tone is diHe re nt ; thc phil osoph y - if there is such - is di f–
fe rent , a nd the a ttitude toward onc's work , goal, a nd achi eveme nts is
diHe ren t. Yet there is a n aHinit y betwee n them . Both Beckett a nd
G iacometti sha red the perma ne nt , consistent fec lin g of fa ilure a nd
the need , or the ma ni a, to continue do ing the onl y thing to which
thcy we re devo ted , namely, crea tin g.
