Guardian Interview

["Andrew F Wilson" <andrewfwilson>]

Portrait of the artist: Patti Smith, musician

Interview by Laura Barnett
Tuesday, 1 April 2008, The Guardian

What got you started?

My mother giving me a copy of Songs of Innocence by William Blake when
I was about seven. I was immediately drawn to the way he combined his
poems with calligraphy and drawing.

What was your big breakthrough?

Meeting [the late photographer] Robert Mapplethorpe in New York City
when we were both 20. He was so gifted, confident and committed; with
him, art became part of my daily vocabulary.

What have you sacrificed for your art?

The blessed curse of the artist is always to remain on the outside,
reprocessing every situation. Sometimes I used to wish I could just
enjoy myself.

What work of art would you like to own?

Brancusi's sculpture The Prodigal Son. His work is about simplicity of
the highest order.

Which were the first films you loved?

Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn - it's about an idealistic girl who
works in a bookstore and dreams of meeting philosophers. I was just
like her. And Carl Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc - its use of
close-ups was revolutionary.

Which songs would feature on the soundtrack to your life?

People Have the Power, which represents how I feel about our
collective power, and a modest little song called Wing. I wrote it
just after the death of my husband and my brother [in 1994]; it
reminded me to be happy to be alive.

Which art form do you feel most comfortable in - art, poetry or music?

I'm very comfortable on stage. Music isn't really the vocation I chose
- I really strive as an artist and writer - but I love to make an
audience laugh.

What advice would you give a young artist just starting out?

Stay focused. In the end, you won't be remembered for your looks, or
for taking a lot of drugs. Only the work will remain - so make it
good.

What's the greatest threat to art today?

Its corporatisation. Becoming too involved in the selling of art
drains the blood from both the work and the artist.

Who would you most like to work with?

The opera singer Waltraud Meyer. More than work with her, I would like
to ask her about her inspiration. I'm sure she could teach me a lot.

Complete this sentence: At heart I'm just a frustrated ...

Opera singer.

What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?

When I was very young, William Burroughs told me to build up my name
by the merit of my deeds and my work. I said: "But William, my name is
Smith." Then I remembered that "smith" means "worker". And that's
exactly what I am.

In short

Born: Chicago, 1946

Career: Has released 10 studio albums, including Horses (1975), and
nine books of poetry. Her photography, drawings, films and writings
are at the Fondation Cartier, Paris, until June 22. Info:
fondation.cartier.com

Low point: "Feeling so much guilt about Vietnam in 1973 that art
seemed superfluous. Then I found rock'n'roll."

High point: "Right now. I'm 61, and people still appreciate my work."


http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/photography/story/0,,2269903,00.html