A reader asks Matt whether it is hard for him, as a former alcoholic, to attend show openings where people are drinking wine. The reader follows up by asking Matt whether he believes wine is a lubricant that helps gallerists sell work.
Matt responds:
When I decided I wasn’t going to drink, I just decided I wasn’t going to drink. I always try to just get over it. I hate to live in a world where I can’t do something, where my whole being revolves around not doing something. For me at this point, not being able to drink is about the same thing as not being able to conceive a child. As a man, I can’t do it. As a white man, I can’t be a black man. As a human being and a limited swimmer, I can’t be a fish. So if I can’t be a drinker, I just put it in an envelope and say I don’t give a shit about it. It doesn’t exist to me anymore.
As far as people drinking wine and looking at paintings and buying them, I put that in the category of going to the race track and getting dressed up in big hats. It goes with the trappings of the events. It’s like a night at the opera where everybody’s dressed up like penguins, having a great time. It seems to be the way the tribe acts. Is it more astute to look at a painting while you’re holding a glass of wine? I suppose it’s more astute than if you’re holding a dog or a baby or a big bag of shit. It makes for a nicer photo op.
Matt