Wednesday, March 11th 2020
by Lee St. Clair
March 11, 2020
I’ve been working on a review of the MFA student art show “For us with” that happened just before spring break but last night as I sat down to finish it up and make the deadline for today’s post… I froze, not with writer’s block but in a much more alarming way. I’m not typically the paranoid type but I must admit the Coronavirus has my anxiety in a flux. Last night my fingers refused to perform the usual hunt and peck procedure to produce these sometimes witty, sometimes silly and most of the time personal writings I’ve task myself with this semester. I felt it would do a disservice to the Grad students if I tried to force my fingers into forming words and phrases regarding their show at this particular time. I will finish that review and get it up for all to see, but not today. Today my mind seems unable to multitask. I’m unable to think clearly, I’m unable to not think about this stupid virus and the paranoia surrounding this new germ. It reminds me of the supermarket rush that happens when the local news tells us there’s a snowstorm on the horizon and we could get anywhere from a foot of snow to just cold rain. Either way, all the bread disappears and most of the time the bread sits and molds on our shelf with the passing of time, the same way the wet streets dry after a good cold rain. All of my classes over the last few days have started with talk of going remote, and as more Universities (including Duke) make the call, I’m stuck wondering what happens if we do go remote. I’m not too concerned with doing work at home or making the grade and moving on to next semester. I’m sure we’ll all figure that out when we have to, but what about this semester, damn it? I have 3 studio classes that I’m really into and I feel like this virus is going to cheat me out of them. The Gatewood is a special place and I’m (believe it or not) really into getting up early and getting here everyday. Maybe I’m an Art nerd, maybe my life outside of UNCG is boring the shit out of me, but I feel lucky; lucky to be here, lucky to be alive and lucky to be enrolled. I’m fortunate to be the one person who has this platform to say anything I decide might be worth saying every Wednesday… lucky to not have the Coronavirus yet, lucky to have a computer and internet at my house in case we do go online. What is luck anyway? Last semester in an article entitled “Who is Lee St.Clair”, I described myself as “accidentally one of the lucky ones” and I still believe that but, I’ve washed my hands so many times this week they’ve dried out and cracked open. The hand sanitizer I keep using reminds me of this for a minute or two everytime I slather my hands in it. But the stinging subsides and life moves on. So what are we to do? I have a feeling we’re going remote but I guess we’ll all just wait and see. Till then, wash your hands, don’t touch your face, stay home if you’re sick and make some Art because that’s what we do.
coraddimag.com 