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Chuck Close

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Artist Chuck Close gives advice to his younger self.

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this morning one of the favorite things that we do our note to self Series where we asked people to write letters of advice to their younger selves truck close at been a preeminent Richard painter from many decades is overcoming Norma's obstacle learning disabilities face blindness in a rare condition to let him mostly left him mostly paralyzed in 20 years ago here now Chuck close's notes to self this is a note to myself at age 14  I was in the eighth grade and was told not to even think about going to college I couldn't subtract never could memorize the multiplication tables was advised against taking algebra geometry physics chemistry since I was good with my Brown's I was advised to aim for trade school perhaps Body and Fender work  never let anyone to find what you are capable Low by using parameters that don't apply to you  I applied to a junior college in my hometown with open enrollment garden and embarked on a career in the visual arts virtually everything is influenced by my learning disabilities I think I was driven to paint portraits to commit images of friends and family set memory face blindness and what's the faces flattened out I can remember it much better inspiration is for amateurs the rest of us just show up and get to work every great idea I've ever had grew out of work itself sign on to a process and see where it takes you  you don't have to invent the wheel ever today you'll do what you did yesterday tomorrow you'll do what you did today eventually you will get somewhere no one gets anywhere without help mentors including your parents can make you feel special even when you are failing in other areas everyone needs to feel special my father died when I was 11 and that was a try day of my life horrible thing that happened when you were so young only enough there was a gift in this tragedy very early in life that the absolute worst thing can happen to you and you will get past it and you will be happy again losing my father at a tender age was extremely important in being able to accept what happened to me later when I became a quadriplegic if you're overwhelmed by the size of a problem break it down into mini bite-size pieces quadriplegic Stone Envy the able-bodied we Envy paraplegics we think they've got a much easier Roto hoe there's always someone worse off than you I'm confident that or what has more pleasure damn and they out from what he or she does then I do Chuckles and this is one of the things that I'm enormously proud this kind of way of presenting a remarkable people in their room induction she always does some so beautifully but what I like about Chuck Close to be written off and 8th grade where they said you can't do you can't do you can't do for him to turn that around I think is really special things that should have held him back when's can make you feel special but even when you're failing but everybody needs to feel special at some point in their life and I think that is so true I don't care who you are most of the time

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