“Could an Artist Have Anything in Common with A-Rod?” by Pamela Beck
Recently I read a provocative article by Michael Farris Smith inspired by the deluge of baseball-steroid shenanigans entitled: “What if Novelists Took Steroids?”*
Alex Rodriguez bats in a game on April 19, 2008 courtesy of Keith Allison.
The writer wonders would he, too, indulge if the results were superpower skills that allowed him to leap to the best-seller list faster than a speeding bullet? If his stories could flow like water and his fingers could grow extra-muscular to better attack the keyboard with stamina and zeal—would he be able to resist the temptation to pop that pill?
While this falls in to the category of “What I’ll Do When I Win the 45O Million Dollar Powerball,” you have to admit that the pill-popping question intrigues and makes you silently consider your ethical stance.
Le Penseur, (The Thinker), Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
As an artist, the consequences could be extraordinary. What if by taking such a pill, original ideas would frequently appear to you along with the technical mastery to produce them? What if the results would be met with international acclaim? What if there was a shortcut to creating satisfying work and your motivated hands would work forcefully and successfully to paint, sculpt, or fabricate the best ideas you’ve ever come up with? Would you be able to resist the temptation for that new little chaser with your morning coffee? You could take that pill secretly.
It’s hard to say if you’d develop affection for a fantasy capsule that’s accompanied by a solo show of your work at the Guggenheim Museum. The writer of the article cited says, “Cheaters always know how it’s going to end. That’s why they become liars too.”
What hand would you play…if no one were watching?
