While I was at Playa Summer Lake artist residency, I came across a book, Bill Kitt: From Trail Driver to Cowboy Hall of Fame by D. L. “Jack” Nicol and Amy Thompson, and in that book I came across this saying attributed to Will James:
There never was a horse that couldn’t be rode, there never was a cowboy that couldn’t be throw’d.
I’m not sure what this has to do with A Life’s Work, but I wrote the quote down when I saw it and it seemed to say something to me about the film. But what?
Any ideas?
Eleni
I think it fits with the mentality of the people in your film- never a horse that can’t be rode- never a job or task that can’t be conquered or achieved. And the cowboy that can be thrown refers to the setbacks on the way to achievement. It’s about perseverance.
David Licata
Another mystery solved! Thanks, Eleni.
So here we have another example of something appealing to a person’s subconscious that the conscious mind (mine, at least) can’t articulate.