“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.”
Few artists have touched popular culture more wholly than Prince. Both his music and personae made cultural ripples that have been felt throughout four decades, and will continue for at least that long. A fan of his music or not, most anyone can identify the icon, for he was truly unique.
If “art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known," then Prince truly was the Artist.
As an artist, the amount of material in his content catalog is impressive; a quick look at his unreleased projects is mind-blowing.
Famously, our own SModfather – Kevin Smith – was given a rare glimpse into the closely-guarded personal life of Prince. In 2001, Smith was initially dispatched to create a movie for the singer. If you’re not familiar with the journey into “Prince World,” watch the recorded Q&A AN EVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH; you’re in for a treat. But due to (let’s say) creative differences, the Prince Production by Kevin Smith was filed away with the rest of the aforementioned unreleased projects.
Though there is an interesting caveat to the Smith-Prince almost team up. At a live taping of NetHeads, an audience member asked if Smith had since had any interactions the artist. While the two hadn’t had contact since, the speaking personae of Silent Bob was still on the Artist’s mind, at least back in 2004. Smith said:
He was on the cover of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, and I got a heads-up from the writer of the piece … He was like, “Prince referenced you in his interview … I don’t know if you’re gonna be happy about it …” and he told me, “Dude, I didn’t even bring you up. He wanted to bring you up.”
Prince had taken his crew to his JERSEY GIRL (which had just been released in theaters) and said, “We walked out after an hour … Guess that’s what happens when the potty mouth don’t work for you anymore.”
“I didn’t know what that meant,” Smith told NetHeads. “I mean, it was a PG-13 movie, and we were going for it. I guess he meant without curse words nobody fucking gives a fuck.” Smith explained while he was perplexed, he wasn’t upset:
“I wasn’t hurt. I was like, PRINCE SAW JERSEY GIRL!”
In the Q&A, Smith tells of a Prince employee explaining, “Prince doesn’t comprehend things the way you and I do.” A truly fitting statement; after all, it was da Vinci who explained what sets an artist a part:
“The artist sees what others only catch a glimpse of.”
