Art and Death

Before they both passed away, I had the chance to see Mitch Hedberg and Spalding Gray perform live. It remains very sad to me that both of them died untimely deaths. Although Hedberg had a heart condition and was a regular drug user (well obviously) and Spalding had a personal and family history with depression, both were also deeply devoted to their craft and almost supernaturally talented and it was hard to give thought to their passing until it happened.

I was very sad when I heard both of their deaths, but I also felt a little lucky, in a terrible way, that I had seen something special and that no one else would ever see it again. It's one of those conflicting emotions, I absolutely wish both were still alive and creating, but it's also a little special to be part of an exclusive club now. I know many people probably feel that way now about David Foster Wallace.

There is something about the art that each one created that was so wonderful that it makes us a bit greedy in our enjoyment, and this selfishness extends until the artists own end. For most people it doesn't include buying the Kurt Cobain diary, but somewhere in all of us, that same sort of impulse is there.