Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 58

J. P. Singh:
Are both of those dialogues or is there something that’s just Shostakovich?
Dorothy Miell:
Dialogues are both driven by and drive the development of your own identity.
Your identity is made up of different associations and collaborations. I think
the work that goes on between you and various different external groups—
and how that changes your own sense of identity—affects the next piece that
you develop. I don’t see a very hard and fast line between those “external
dialogues” and internal dialogues that make up the thoughts and identity of
an artist. Indeed you might see, as Ruthellen Josselson put it, that building
an identity is “the ultimate act of creativity.”
J. P. Singh:
So, what you’re actually saying is that the lonely artist is actually a dialogic
person.
Dorothy Miell:
I think everybody is a dialogic person. For example I think cultural references
are very characteristic of the way you talk J.P.; you reference others’ art,
thoughts, and writings. They infuse your own language, art, and thinking.
J. P. Singh:
Do we need a place for silent reflection away from external dialogues?
Dorothy Miell:
I would say definitely. You need to be able to assimilate, review, and rethink.
J. P. Singh:
Like me sitting at my desk.
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