"A Lot of Art is Simply Being a Loudmouth"

Sue Graham Mingus on her husband Charles: “See, his motives are right. This is the whole thing. See, the means he uses can be outrageous. If you were to look at the way he does a lot of things you might say, ‘What the hell, this is impossible. You know, you can’t deal with people on this level.’ But his motives are always right, and I think that’s what people respect about him; and they understand that maybe he doesn’t handle things the best way, but they know it’s from the heart and they simply put up with it….Most people don’t live as full a life as Charles does. He is inhibited about very few things, and he lives out his feelings, he lives out his doubts, he lives out his angers. See, most of us have learned to curb certain things, control certain things….That’s partly what an artist does anyway. You know, a lot of art is simply being a loudmouth. Saying everything, spitting it all out, getting out all your feelings, examining them—and eventually certain truths become apparent. You know, most people don’t expose themselves all the time, but that’s how you do find art. You know, it can be at the expense of a lot of people around you when you are doing this, but this is an artistic need.” From John F. Goodman’s Mingus Speaks, University of California Press, 2013.