Just a little bit of background why I am currently not on Social Media. I haven’t been on Facebook since 2019, and now it is time for me to take a sabbatical from Instagram too.
- March 10, 2021 -
Hey. I need a break.
No worries, I’ll be back shortly, just need a personal moment, and we all know there is no way escaping this mess if the App on your phone stares at you and cries for attention like a baby. Hell, often it’s even quite fun being in this time-/energy-consuming and creativity-exploiting capitalistic trap we call „social“ media. But if there is one thing my day long #instagramtakeover of the @heliumcowboy account - which I took dead serious and worked passionately all day on - showed me, than it’s that I really should take some time off of it for real … like a vacation, or even a therapy you might say.
I know many people still see me as the gallerist who is great at marketing and business and shit and some won’t even accept that I am no longer that, probably also because heliumcowboy is still so close to me which weirdly enough is still frowned upon after at least a century of artist-run galleries. But I couldn’t even give a single fuck about this opinion, cos it’s only that - an opinion, subjective and prejudiced. What few might believe is that it is extremely exhausting and often hurtful to run full force against windmills for close to two decades, and that this I-got-it-all-covered-and-under-control person I can be is not there all the time. Most and foremost I have been an artist since I can think, and now that I managed to free myself from the business side and just want to embrace not being a dealer anymore, there are new barricades in the way that I first need to figure out how to kick to the ground.
What I am trying to say with all this is that a few things have reached and kind of attacked my, hmmm, more touchier side lately, and that I need to take better care and protect myself for the sake of creating the art that is still in me after all these miles I made on both sides of the art world for such a fucking long time.
I have to concentrate on some meaningful new pieces, find a strong direction for my next exhibition (May 8), get projects done that really matter, find another gallery that is seriously interested (and only that!) in working with me, continue to write my book (release moved to 2022) and dig deep into the restoration of our 260+ year old farmhouse. I have to keep my strength for what is really important right now and take a long, deep breath.
Don’t worry, I am all good. But I need some silence and peace for a bit.
You can always reach me, I have a phone number and a vintage but very active email-address (studio@alexdiamond.net), I have a great website (www.alexdiamond.net), so I am never really far. And most likely it’s only gonna be a few days, you won’t even notice.
Big hugs, stay vigilant and off your phone from time to time.
Jörg aka Alex-too-many-things-Diamond.