Chandler adapted, postcard series
studio idea / work ongoing
taking the quote below by Raymond chandler, speaking on the unique nature of his noir detective. his words adapted and reinterpreted characterising the essence of an honourable if flawed artist. these opening lines provide a hook for the start of a series of postcards. (hard boiled) tales of imagination, betrayal and ambiguous artwork.
‘because he represents justice and not the law, he will sometimes defy or break the law. because he is human he can be hurt or beguiled or fooled; in extreme necessity he may even kill. but he does nothing solely for himself.’
Raymond chandler: in his own words. new York: Alfred a. Knopf, 2014
failure, failing better in a universe of infinite ideas. dry and dusty imaginings. souls of bloodied and haunted dark neglect. carting meagre wares along a stretch of dim road, called belief. thieves scuttle in shadows, night hawkers’ cradling clusters of gold, silver imitations, parodies from a looted city … AB, 2025
‘… down these mean streets an artwork must go, but it is not in itself a mean work, that is, it is neither tarnished nor afraid. art in this kind of story must be such a work as to be heroic, it is everything. it must be complete art and a common art and yet an unusual art. it must be, to use a rather sanguine phrase, an art of wonder, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought and certainly without saying. it must be the best art in its world and a good enough artwork for any world’
text has been altered and adapted from original Raymond chandler quote in ‘the simple art of murder’ 1950
