Monique Lapidaire and Arnold Trampe had a big party in the foothills of Motovun. Many people came by this afternoon. Monique went around with an empty notebook asking everyone to write a few words or make a drawing. I made a few drawings and signed them all with the names of people sitting next to me. For good measure, I added the year, as well. What are signatures without years, anyhow? Monique was not pleased, though. In fact, she was quite annoyed with my shenanigans. Creativity is a serious endeavor. It should not be fooled around with. Looking back, my drawings were reasonably good. One of them was no less than excellent. My signature would have made them even better, no doubt. All things considered, creativity is my forte. Minus the false signatures, to be sure.

Addendum (April 11, 2012)

I got a wonderful comment on this piece from Giuseppe Mastruzzo, known to his closest friends as Fra’ Peppino. “I can see you got back to the signature front on Easter Monday, and lost to the Philistines,” he writes. “An extremely interesting note you made on the necessity for a signature to be located in time,” he adds, “a work of art before Resurrection being different from art in Heaven.” Well put, as ever. My old friend is well versed into questions of creativity and authorship. After all, he is the author of the masterful book on the subject, Who is Art?.[1] God be praised for faithful readers like Fra’ Peppino!

Footnote

1. London: Hereford Salon, 1997.