Modern Art: Fact or Fiction?
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Is Art become obsolete in our culture? Has it been mass marketed and critiqued into safe little corners? Has it been squelched into submission under the impressive weight of what has Gone Before? How can Art escape the suffocation of a culture that puts protesters into "free-speech" zones, and give the label of highest artist to he or she who makes the most money? As we move more and more into a techonological age musicians and film actors lose their artistic cred but writers and visual artists are on the verge of being revolutionary in and of themselves.
America today seems so obsessed with the disposable--from relationships to cleaning wipes--and Art is no exception. We worship only that which is flashy, beautiful, shocking and young so the Britney Spears and Eminem's sell the most records and are hailed as wonders of the universe. Celebrities become the new royalty, more than that, the new deity, and being acknowledged is more important that being well reviewed. Rather than live our own lives we are content to sit on the couch and in the movie theatre, existing vicariously in the glamorous, and highly fake, lives flashing on the screen. That which is difficult, that which makes us think, in a word, Art, is no longer valued unless it can be commodified thus losing at least some of what it makes it Art in the first place--trading steel for gold.
There is, of course, still Art to be had, and not just in coffee shops where moody, caffeine addled youth gather to muse bitterly over steaming cups. There are enough people out there who still desire true Art, who are willing to pay for it, that some of it slips through the cracks and gets published, produced, displayed, allowed. But those numbers of people are dwindling, an endangered species, those who want to feel and think, those who don't want to be numbed into submission. It is easier, of course, to be numb, to watch the pretty, flashing lights. But the cost is our soul, not to mention damage to our psyche's and our self respect. How many of us devalue our bodies because they don't look like Brad Pitt's or Jennifer Aniston's? How many of us toss aside our relationships when they get difficult instead of, like in the movies, maintaining that end of film kiss feel forever? How many of us say we are not 'writers' because we are not Stephen King's? How many of us are willing to forego that which is difficult and worthwhile in favour of that which is entertaining and easy?
We live in a society with many flaws and many beauty's. We all know this, and are at turns horrified by it and grateful for it. But allowing the solving of the murder mystery on TV to sate us from worrying about the murder down the street is death to passion and heart. Allowing the lie of media to pass for Art will be what creates A Brave New World, 1984.
"I thought America was a Free Speech Zone." Said by a protester who was being hauled away by the police for stepping off the curb, and out of bounds, of where protest was "allowed."
America today seems so obsessed with the disposable--from relationships to cleaning wipes--and Art is no exception. We worship only that which is flashy, beautiful, shocking and young so the Britney Spears and Eminem's sell the most records and are hailed as wonders of the universe. Celebrities become the new royalty, more than that, the new deity, and being acknowledged is more important that being well reviewed. Rather than live our own lives we are content to sit on the couch and in the movie theatre, existing vicariously in the glamorous, and highly fake, lives flashing on the screen. That which is difficult, that which makes us think, in a word, Art, is no longer valued unless it can be commodified thus losing at least some of what it makes it Art in the first place--trading steel for gold.
There is, of course, still Art to be had, and not just in coffee shops where moody, caffeine addled youth gather to muse bitterly over steaming cups. There are enough people out there who still desire true Art, who are willing to pay for it, that some of it slips through the cracks and gets published, produced, displayed, allowed. But those numbers of people are dwindling, an endangered species, those who want to feel and think, those who don't want to be numbed into submission. It is easier, of course, to be numb, to watch the pretty, flashing lights. But the cost is our soul, not to mention damage to our psyche's and our self respect. How many of us devalue our bodies because they don't look like Brad Pitt's or Jennifer Aniston's? How many of us toss aside our relationships when they get difficult instead of, like in the movies, maintaining that end of film kiss feel forever? How many of us say we are not 'writers' because we are not Stephen King's? How many of us are willing to forego that which is difficult and worthwhile in favour of that which is entertaining and easy?
We live in a society with many flaws and many beauty's. We all know this, and are at turns horrified by it and grateful for it. But allowing the solving of the murder mystery on TV to sate us from worrying about the murder down the street is death to passion and heart. Allowing the lie of media to pass for Art will be what creates A Brave New World, 1984.
"I thought America was a Free Speech Zone." Said by a protester who was being hauled away by the police for stepping off the curb, and out of bounds, of where protest was "allowed."
