In Michael's piece today he quoted Steven Pressfield's reference to Hilter's progress as an artist (or lack of it), citing starting World War II as a diversionary tactic (as you do!). Little did Hitler know that on the other side of the fence (literally) was a true artist who realised that through recording the events as a Japanese POW would be a 'daily private victory' and yesterday British artist Ronald Searle celebrated his 90th birthday.
Channel 4's Nicholas Glass wrote about it in an exclusive interview, "Searle admits that his experience as a Japanese prisoner of war in his early 20s transformed him as an artist. His collection of 300 drawings was donated to the Imperial War Museum in 1985.
A corner of a self-portrait has been cut off: he used it to make a cigarette. A Japanese document in English, which prisoners were supposed to sign , saying they wouldn't attempt to escape, has been used for portraits - a couple of Japanese guards.
Searle says he wanted to make a record of what was happening. For seven months, for 16 hours a day, he hacked away, breaking up rocks on the Siam-Burma railway." Inspiring - see more at the Channel News 4 website
http://www.channel4.com/news/authors/nicholas+glass/106165
