The Vogels<\/a> were a New York city couple with a modest income\u2014he a postal clerk, she a librarian\u2014who managed to amass an extraordinary collection of minimalist and conceptual art in the post 60s. They amassed it through their compulsion to buy. During their off-work hours, they would prowl Soho and any other place a struggling artist hung out and buy up to\u00a0six or seven pieces at a time. They couldn\u2019t not buy a painting by a budding and promising artist.<\/p>\nWhat was also striking about their acquisitions was the fact that they had little room to display them in their tiny apartment. Art work hung on every wall, and when space ran out there, they hung the canvases on their ceiling or jammed them into every conceivable corner, including under their bed. They became both collectors and hoarders.<\/p>\n
They also had no idea how much their art collection was worth. It was never about the money. It was about what they felt compelled to do. It was their bliss. Mind you, they had an eye for talent, and they used it to bolster the egos of the artists who struggled to make ends meet. It was a win-win relationship.<\/p>\n
At the end of their lives, when Herb and Dorothy\u2019s energy had petered out, and Herb had to hobble from one artist\u2019s studio to another hunched over with a cane for support, they gave their entire collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It took several block-long moving trucks to empty their apartment. It was a puzzle to all how they\u2019d managed to cram what\u00a0they had collected into that tiny space.<\/p>\n
Their compulsion reminded me of my own, my need to write. Mine wasn\u2019t always like that. As a child growing up with immigrant parents, one of whom was illiterate, I would never have dreamt of becoming a writer. Though an honors student, the subjects of language and literature were a challenge. As I look back, I think it was a matter of confidence that I didn\u2019t pursue writing at that time. But once I hit my 20s, I began jotting notes here and there, trying out a short story or a newspaper article, and entering an essay contest in a major fashion magazine, for which I won an honorable mention. I proceeded to buy journals which I filled right to the margins. But though I scribbled every chance I got, writing took a backseat while our children were growing up. It didn\u2019t put food on the table.<\/p>\n
I admit to being driven to write. The first thing I do now when I get up is put the coffee on and hit my computer. I\u00a0find, that if I don\u2019t create something new, there is something missing in my life. It\u2019s like I need that jolt of new words on a page to settle me, much like a drug addict who needs a fix to calm his spirits.<\/p>\n
Yes, writing is an obsession of mine,\u00a0but it\u2019s a positive addiction, much like running, that gives you a natural high. It doesn\u2019t hurt anyone and brings me a sense of accomplishment, and in that, there is\u00a0much satisfaction. I also sleep better when I\u2019ve used my imagination to take me to a place I haven\u2019t gone before. And for that reason, I have no intention of breaking, what for me, has become a delicious habit.<\/p>\n
How about you? Are you compelled to do something? Some compulsion\u00a0you wouldn\u2019t mind sharing? I\u2019d love to hear your comments.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My compulsion is to write. I can\u2019t not write. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines compulsion as a :\u00a0 an act of compelling :\u00a0 the state of being compelled b :\u00a0 a… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[82,88,4],"tags":[785,656,425,653,655,658,657,654,5],"class_list":["post-1835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film-2","category-life","category-writing","tag-art","tag-compulsion","tag-documentary","tag-herb-dorothy","tag-minimalist","tag-national-gallery-of-art","tag-positive-addiction","tag-vogels","tag-writing-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-tB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3637,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2018\/writing\/if-the-dead-could-only-talk\/","url_meta":{"origin":1835,"position":0},"title":"If The Dead Could Only Talk","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"12 \u041b\u0438\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The thought, if the dead could only talk, came into my head in the middle of last night. I\u2019m not sure why except that I\u2019ve been writing a story in which so many of the characters are drawn from people who are already dead. Drawing on Family Stories My third\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Documentary"","block_context":{"text":"Documentary","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/documentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"if the dead could only talk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/do-not-say-we-have-nothing2-199x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5479,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2021\/uncategorized\/the-world-revolves-around-family\/","url_meta":{"origin":1835,"position":1},"title":"The World Revolves Around Family","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"12 \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The World revolves around family, for where would we be without one? No matter the religion, the race, the culture, the sexual orientation, we've all struggled to manage the restrictions imposed because of the pandemic. Forced to work from home, or forced to be home, many have strengthened their family\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"world revolves around family","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/diversity-5452364_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/diversity-5452364_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/diversity-5452364_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/diversity-5452364_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1405,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/writing\/the-art-in-good-writing\/","url_meta":{"origin":1835,"position":2},"title":"The Art in Good Writing","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"4 \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Who\u2019d have thought I\u2019d learn what it takes to write well at a Painters' Weekend?\u00a0 It\u2019s one attended by many of the best artists in British Columbia. They come annually to Painters Lodge in Campbell River to demonstrate their technique, show slide presentations and participate in panel discussions. What I\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Painters' Lodge, Campbell River","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/P1030254-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3232,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2017\/writing\/writer-finds-inspiration-desert-x\/","url_meta":{"origin":1835,"position":3},"title":"Desert X’s Installation Art Inspires This Writer","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"12 \u0422\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As a writer, I'm always looking for new inspiration, and found it at Desert X, an installation art exhibit in the Palm Springs area, where my husband Robert and I recently spent a few weeks. Internationally renowned installation artists had set up their work for the public's enjoyment and study.\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"installation art","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FullSizeRender_10_1-300x188.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4521,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2019\/writing\/roads-east-and-south\/","url_meta":{"origin":1835,"position":4},"title":"Stories on Roads East and South","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"9 \u0412\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0441\u043d\u044f, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Taking roads east and south this summer gave me the opportunity to spend time with family, act in a feature film, and contemplate my next steps. Nothing like a road trip to stimulate those writing juices and come up with new stories. Ontario and Quebec At the National Art Gallery\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"stories","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_7459.jpg?fit=640%2C429&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_7459.jpg?fit=640%2C429&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_7459.jpg?fit=640%2C429&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":181,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/fictional-or-real-characters\/","url_meta":{"origin":1835,"position":5},"title":"Using Real Characters In Fiction","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"5 \u0411\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0437\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I read about an interesting court case in the USA. Katherine Stockett, author of debut novel, The Help, is being sued by the maid she based her fictional character on. It seems Ms. Stockett used a fictional name closely resembling the real maid's one. Also, the details in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Herb](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Herb-and-Dorothy-202x300.jpg?resize=202%2C300\")
<\/a>compulsion in general was a documentary I saw the other day called Herb\u00a0& Dorothy<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n