I've often wondered why my dear friend David Schoffman abandoned his thriving career as a visual artist in favor of becoming the principal archivist of the Bibliothèque nationale d'études culturelles en marge (BNECM).
As a painter, David enjoyed the kind of rare fame that appoints cultural vedettes with unparalleled prestige. A fixture in the world of ArtFairs, Museum galas, auction houses, galleries, casinos, penthouses, governmental offices, sheikhdoms and nearly every other cathedral of conspicuous wealth, David seemed to have had it all. Though his work was uneven his style was unmistakable and for nearly three decades Schoffman coasted the canals of consumption like a gilded gondola.
Then, one day in the early aughts, it was announced in a modest small-print ad in Le Monde that David Schoffman would assume the position of BNECM's archiviste en chef , taking the place of the legendary scholar of 16th century Burgundian tapestries and manuscripts, Jean-Chlomo Angoulème.
Honestly, I can't picture David being happy so far away from the bright lights of art stardom but I guess the pressure simply wore him out.
