Another Unknown Genius
the artist
This artist really is an artist of great calibre, almost as if he
were from another world. However he is considered to be a touch mad,
as all great artists tend to be. He is not at all handsome but is
charismatic and has great presence. The type of man you notice when he
walks into a room. No-one is quite sure what gives him this presecne
since he is short, dresses in an inconspicuous way (other than the
beret) and seems painfully shy. It could be his aura of unintentional
superiority, but some say it is simply "that prepostorous beret which
never leaves his head, alsmost as if it were stuck there". He stammers
and despite wanting to learn more about society, does not spend a lot
of time with others because he is acutely aware of his speech
impediment. Instead he spends time producing painting after painting,
repeating the same scene over and over until he is satisfied.He
travels far and wide, making use of contacts built up from this type
of wandering life-style, but rarely staying in one place for
more than a fortnight. His only passion is his art.
the art
He is a master of all styles, but his personal favourite is the
traditional way of true representation of a scene. His pictures never
seem dead, there is always something with life, to which the eye is
drawn, even if it is only the only bird in an otherwise life-less
landscape. He is little-known and only sells paintings when desperate
to pay for new paints, or a new canvas.
the beret
Now this is really something special. He is, unbeknown to everyone,
not human at all. He is trapped here from some other galaxy, I forget
which, and is unable to leave. He posesses magical powers, and this
incredible talent of painting. It is such a passion because it is a
sociably unacceptable practice to be an artist where he comes
from. The beret is the key to this fact. Without it, he would
perish. This strange headgear is his only link with his home. Despite
the fact that he hated his planet while he was there, it was his home,
where he was raised from the ashes, and some communication back there
is essential. There is also a rather more mundane reason for it
continually being worn, and that is his head is not the right
shape. This and his stammer are the only things that separate him from
being completely like everyone around him. This amazing beret is in
fact stuck to his head. It really seems to be part of him, to those of
us casual observers, watching him as he paints away. It was once upon
a time red, but has now faded to a dark, dull rust colour. It is
floppy, and naturally enough, looks well worn. In the fibres of the
hat is the necessary technology to communicate across
galaxies. However this is not visible to the human eye.
Submitted by Kirsty Maguire, on Friday, January 20, 1995, from Leiden.The Netherlands