Renaissance Man

We who question and create are a part of the most ancient of human lineages. We can trace this instinct through the ages past inventors, scientists, philosophers, artisans and artists, all the way down to the first people to discover that sticks and rocks could become spears and axes.

Our modern society has an amazing adaptation. It has the ability to swallow any dissention within itself and turn it into product. In our society all things are commodity. Easily one can see through our even short history the examples over and over again. Jazz, rock and roll, the radicals of the 60s, graffiti, hip hop, all co-opted and stripped of their power as outsiders. The identity having been developed through individual style is mollified and subdued into an acceptable commercial form.

In this world everything is stratified. Occupation and identity hold fast to labels of class and personal preference. In this way one is isolated made ignorant and blind. The magic of technology surrounds us. We do not question how these devices work or come to be simply that they do work. The same can be said for politics, art, and any other insulated system we become entangled in. The downside is these are factors in our life and they do influence us even if we remain ignorant.

An artist must see beyond. Art is not gallery, literature, studio or even the actual final product or result is. Aldus Huxley says that we are all dogs tied to a stake in our yard. The only way to learn about the other yard is through someone whose leash is longer then yours.

We are all young, and we are told to look forward. But it seems increasingly naïve to expect anything other then monetary gratification. Should we accept this seeming fate? That the best one can hope for is the neutering of one’s vision to fit into a commercial identity? It would seem though that to do anything else would be quite ineffective since most other alternatives lead one outside society making any rebuttals effectively meaningless.

I call on you my new friends to help find this answer. We are children staring out at something that many men before us have been swallowed by. Our parents should be example enough. Our world has the knowledge and technology to know that there is much more to the universe, but we still remain isolated and intent on our immediate needs. It is time to look beyond this.