"Erase Everything" - Geoff Hendriks

I'm supposed to be studying but my brain has temporarily shut down from panic and lack of understanding. I decided in the time that it is rebooting I will write an entry about the phrase that inspired my blog. It's this badge: 

I got it from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York earlier on this year and have had it pinned to one of my handbags. I always get asked what it means every time someone sees it and to be honest I never really gave it any proper thought. I would normally just mutter something like, “You must erase everything in your life like the badge says,” or “I don’t know, that’s what Geoff Hendriks said.”

As I got this badge from an art museum I figured I had to look into it, like it's an artwork. My understanding of art is that we can all look at something and get our own interpretations from it. I still suck at getting my own interpretation, because my mind has been conditioned to see only a few alternatives not an expanse of ideas. Being at MoMA made me slightly uncomfortable because I realised I couldn't "see". Still unsure of what was right I went and checked out Geoff Hendriks. He’s an artist of course and he chose to paint sky imagery in everything he did. The mediums ranged from objects (as you’ll see in the picture below) to plays. 

Geoff Hendriks

Skygun, 1968

(Courtesy of Pavel Zoubok Gallery)

I still do not know the exact context in which Geoff Hendriks said, “Erase Everything.” It is a hard quote to track down on the internet, and I would really like to know what he meant.

My interpretation of the “Erase Everything” quote is this: In my ideal world, I would erase everything that made me unhappy or angry. It would be the final step in forgive and forget. I could create a clean, new canvas to paint my life on. Imagine being able to start again, no grudges, no expectations of failure, loving everyone and trusting everyone. Or maybe I would just erase things or people who do not fit in my life.

But as I thought more about this magical life eraser, I realized it would be pointless. This is my sometimes angry, rational side speaking. Sure, I would love to never feel sad and to forgive people quickly, but if I kept erasing people’s mistakes, I would end up sad for the same reasons all over again. What if I just kept erasing and erasing until I erased myself, like rubbing a hole through paper or painting over mistakes until they turn into a thick, unsightly layer on a canvas?

And what if everyone had access to this eraser? Would we forget big events like World War II and end up repeating the same mistakes? I do not think the written records would disappear, but people might forget how those events made them feel. We need those feelings, painful as they are, to keep such tragedies at bay.

So when I thought of a blog name, Erase Nothing came to mind immediately. I realized I have to keep everything because everything matters. Happiness holds more value when we have experienced sadness. Forgiving someone by choice, rather than erasing or forgetting them, ultimately means so much more.