Beginning of the end

There are those who believe it’s wrong to show others at their worst. In my view, celebrities of Hideki’s caliber must accept that their lives are public because they are, after all, a public commodity. When you live a life as flashy, overindulgent and soaked in illicit substances as Hideki has, not to mention six failed marriages, one to a Hollywood starlet, you have to expect some negative publicity at some point. Besides, as they say, bad publicity is good publicity.

To be fair, Hideki was encountering the same things that many creative artists who achieve commercial success do. The noted art critic and close, personal friend of Hideki’s, Sheldon Massey, stated in an e-mail interview:

“His fans started complaining that they had bought one of Hideki’s balloon pieces only to realize that it was starting to deflate and shrivel up. He tried to explain that was the point; that all things in life, including art, do not last, but they wouldn’t listen. His agent put pressure on him to start papier mache-ing his work so that it would last, so that his fans would be happy and keep buying his works, but he refused, initially. The worst of it is that he then heeded his agent’s advice and started designing papier mache versions of his most famous designs. That is death to a true artiste like Hideki. It is what is called ‘selling out.’ So if you do write about him, go easy, would you?”