Artists tackle ten existential questions
Rich Hall is a comedian and writer born in Virginia. He won the Perrier Comedy Award in 2000 for his alter ego Otis Lee Crenshaw. He performs at the Soho Theatre, London W1, from 16-20 October.
1 Does art make a difference?
In “polite society”, absolutely. To the starving in Darfur or fundamentalists in Basra or Idaho, probably not. Art is an elevation of reality. Where reality is dire, art isn’t a priority.
2 Should politics and art mix?
Politics is the craft of compromising. Art doesn’t compromise. They must exist separately from each other. This doesn’t mean that a politician can’t be artistic. Thomas Jefferson and Václav Havel were artists as well as statesmen, but they’re remembered primarily as politicians. You don’t get it both ways.
3 Is your work for the many or for the few?
I’m a comedian, so that one’s fairly obvious. I wouldn’t get far making three people laugh.
4 If you were world leader, what would be your first law?
That the evil axis of Robin Williams/Jim Carrey/Adam Sandler be banished from celluloid. I saw Licence to Wed on a plane. I walked out.
5 Who would be your top advisers?
You just made me world leader and now you want me to appoint advisers? I wouldn’t have advisers. Just yes-men. Maybe.
6 What, if anything, would you censor?
At the moment of writing, I would censor everything about the Madeleine McCann case. The newspapers are planting staged scenarios in our minds that are no longer grounded in any kind of truth. It’s emotional porn.
7 If you had to banish one public figure, who would it be?
Al Gore – for imagining he can shepherd us through an environmental crisis when he couldn’t summon up enough charisma to beat Bush in a presidential election.
8 What are the rules that you live by?
Never cut yourself off from nature. Most of the evil in the world is perpetrated by people no longer in touch with it.
9 Do you love your country?
Yes, for two reasons: its natural beauty and its grandiose mythology of Hope.
10 Are we all doomed?
Eventually. But we’ll fight it every step of the way.
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