appreciation I

I’ve always been inclined, naturally to express my appreciation of things and, especially people. I also recognise that it is valuable thing to express to others and it enhances their self esteem.

On the other hand, well meaning compliments, not really based on facts, but intended to make you feel better, such as that offered by family of friends doesn’t sit well with me. Still worse, I find the ‘affirmation movement’, though perhaps well intentioned, entirely bogus and counterproductive.

To be meaningful and effective, appreciation really has to be genuine otherwise it has a hollow ring that only the most narcissistic, naîve or gullible can overlook.

One of the reasons I found it very hard to work in design studios was the hype and bullshit that is common currency in that industry. On the other hand, many years back when I got to know the film maker Derek Jarman whose work I had previously quite appreciated and was really blown away by a video he’d shown me over his Super 8 work, I felt almost too embarrassed to express my enthusiasm as I feared he might mistake it for brown nosing. Although, there were some dubious ‘fans’ around him at times, I can to know him as a genuinely kind and talented man, who didn’t take advantage using his alternative celebrity. I appreciate having known him both as a person and an artist and, since his death in 1994, I miss him greatly.