It's a great excuse and luxury, having a job and blaming it for your inability to do your own art. When you don't have to work, you are left with the horror of facing your own lack of imagination and your own emptiness. A devastating possibility when finally time is your own.

In this quote, Julian Schnabel reflects on the tension between having a job and pursuing personal art. He describes how it's often easy to blame the demands of a job for the inability to focus on one’s own creative work. For many, work serves as an excuse, a way to justify not spending time on their own art or creative pursuits. However, Schnabel suggests that this excuse is a luxury, as it allows people to avoid confronting the emptiness that can arise when they have too much free time to focus on their imagination.

Schnabel highlights that when one is free from the constraints of a job, they are left with the difficult task of facing their own lack of imagination. With time to spare, the distractions of work are gone, and individuals are forced to confront the reality of their creative blocks or feelings of emptiness. This moment of self-reflection can be devastating, as it exposes the vulnerabilities of a person’s artistic ability and their inner world. It becomes a challenge to find the motivation and creativity that seemed easier to pursue when work provided a convenient distraction.

The horror Schnabel speaks of is the fear of realizing that without external pressures or commitments, there might be little to hold on to in terms of personal artistic expression. This fear stems from the idea that without the structure of work, one might feel unfulfilled, unable to generate ideas, or unsure of their creative potential. For Schnabel, this is a powerful realization—the possibility that one's artistic identity could be defined more by the absence of external obligations than by the pursuit of meaningful creation.

Ultimately, Schnabel’s quote delves into the psychological challenges that artists often face. It addresses the conflict between the security of a job and the internal struggle of confronting one’s true creative capacity. Schnabel reflects on how time can be both a gift and a curse, offering both the potential for growth and the devastating possibility of artistic stagnation.