Katherine's Cultural Revolution
(which will not involve the lynching of authority figures, iconoclasm or book-burning of any kind)
The two central principles of the modernists, according to Peter Gay in his study of modernist art, were/are ‘the lure of heresy that impelled their action as they confronted conventional sensibilities’ and a commitment to ‘principled self-scrutiny’. Or, put another way, "the desire to challenge the cultural establishment (Ezra Pound’s ‘make it new’) and to give expression to hitherto unencountered depths of the self" (Tim Black, same article).
The lure of heresy. Feels familiar. And, being a good product of my times, and clearly under the spell of this whole outlook, my reaction upon being faced with that fact is: well I'm not going to be like that, just because everyone else is.
A little paradoxical I know. But anyhow I shall explore that sentiment for a moment and see where it takes me.
A Proposition, addressed to Myself: Supposing, then, that you were to declare 'enough' regarding this whole modernist endeavour. That is, supposing you were to refuse to have your creativity hemmed in and cut off at the knees again and again by the thought that artistic endeavour is worthless if it's not doing something new. How would that be?
It's a bit like capitalism in a funny sort of a way, with its dependence on growth and progress, blithely ignoring the fact that such a system requires infinite resources which are simply not available. It feels a bit like that, this expectation to always be at the cutting edge. What happens when everything's been said, and we seem to have run out of layers of humanity to explore? The whole project falls in on itself - which we've seen occur in the last century, with the cutting edge being the courage to face nothingness, do nothing clever, and say absolutely nothing. Which is why postmodernism is still modernism - just the tail end of it. But what the hell comes after that?
It seems to all be a product of sheer boredom, and the restless quest for novelty, which comes from being spoilt. Too much free time, over-exposure (thanks to cheap printing, then recorded music, then the internet, then ipods...), over-indulgence, until we get blasé about everything and can no longer enjoy it, and then have to explore some more obscure genre and buy a bunch more CDs.
Well. Supposing, then, that you were to free yourself from these expectations in both your production and consumption of art as well as in economics, and in both spheres cultivate instead a vibrant capacity to enjoy whatever is available without always seeking more. How would that be?
Well, in a lot of ways it wouldn't be that different to what you're already doing, in fact, at least in terms of consumption. These have been the basic reasons behind your decision not to buy an iPod, or even a decent stereo - you haven't wanted to get sick of your favourite music too quickly. You've never watched much TV, even the good stuff, partly for the same reason, and have tried to keep alive the ability to simply enjoy-or-not-enjoy books, films, live concerts, art - instead of always scrutinising and evaluating them. Fortunately you've been aided by lack of funds in all this. Long may that continue.
But when it comes to your own creative impulses, this would be a revolution indeed. You could cast off your embarrassment at the fact that you can't seem to come up with anything groundbreaking, and thus be free to create what you are capable of, and learn to find your voice. You could stop thinking about your contribution to the global artistic project, and simply create in order to embelish the present, not to impress posterity; for your own enjoyment and that of your friends, not to amaze the whole world. That would be nice. Perhaps you could even give yourself a holiday from 'principled self-scrutiny' for a while, and see how you like it. Imagine that.
I guess it's no wonder I've been so captivated by folk music. Now all I need is to discover the local scene. It's a very personal thing, after all, and more at home in a live setting where you can see the artist's facial expressions and say hi and thankyou afterwards.
And there you have it. I seem to have come full circle, and created a new kind of pretentiousness for myself to strive after :P There's just no getting away from it. I think I am losing coherency here. Stop.
The two central principles of the modernists, according to Peter Gay in his study of modernist art, were/are ‘the lure of heresy that impelled their action as they confronted conventional sensibilities’ and a commitment to ‘principled self-scrutiny’. Or, put another way, "the desire to challenge the cultural establishment (Ezra Pound’s ‘make it new’) and to give expression to hitherto unencountered depths of the self" (Tim Black, same article).
The lure of heresy. Feels familiar. And, being a good product of my times, and clearly under the spell of this whole outlook, my reaction upon being faced with that fact is: well I'm not going to be like that, just because everyone else is.
A little paradoxical I know. But anyhow I shall explore that sentiment for a moment and see where it takes me.
A Proposition, addressed to Myself: Supposing, then, that you were to declare 'enough' regarding this whole modernist endeavour. That is, supposing you were to refuse to have your creativity hemmed in and cut off at the knees again and again by the thought that artistic endeavour is worthless if it's not doing something new. How would that be?
It's a bit like capitalism in a funny sort of a way, with its dependence on growth and progress, blithely ignoring the fact that such a system requires infinite resources which are simply not available. It feels a bit like that, this expectation to always be at the cutting edge. What happens when everything's been said, and we seem to have run out of layers of humanity to explore? The whole project falls in on itself - which we've seen occur in the last century, with the cutting edge being the courage to face nothingness, do nothing clever, and say absolutely nothing. Which is why postmodernism is still modernism - just the tail end of it. But what the hell comes after that?
It seems to all be a product of sheer boredom, and the restless quest for novelty, which comes from being spoilt. Too much free time, over-exposure (thanks to cheap printing, then recorded music, then the internet, then ipods...), over-indulgence, until we get blasé about everything and can no longer enjoy it, and then have to explore some more obscure genre and buy a bunch more CDs.
Well. Supposing, then, that you were to free yourself from these expectations in both your production and consumption of art as well as in economics, and in both spheres cultivate instead a vibrant capacity to enjoy whatever is available without always seeking more. How would that be?
Well, in a lot of ways it wouldn't be that different to what you're already doing, in fact, at least in terms of consumption. These have been the basic reasons behind your decision not to buy an iPod, or even a decent stereo - you haven't wanted to get sick of your favourite music too quickly. You've never watched much TV, even the good stuff, partly for the same reason, and have tried to keep alive the ability to simply enjoy-or-not-enjoy books, films, live concerts, art - instead of always scrutinising and evaluating them. Fortunately you've been aided by lack of funds in all this. Long may that continue.
But when it comes to your own creative impulses, this would be a revolution indeed. You could cast off your embarrassment at the fact that you can't seem to come up with anything groundbreaking, and thus be free to create what you are capable of, and learn to find your voice. You could stop thinking about your contribution to the global artistic project, and simply create in order to embelish the present, not to impress posterity; for your own enjoyment and that of your friends, not to amaze the whole world. That would be nice. Perhaps you could even give yourself a holiday from 'principled self-scrutiny' for a while, and see how you like it. Imagine that.
* * *
I guess it's no wonder I've been so captivated by folk music. Now all I need is to discover the local scene. It's a very personal thing, after all, and more at home in a live setting where you can see the artist's facial expressions and say hi and thankyou afterwards.
And there you have it. I seem to have come full circle, and created a new kind of pretentiousness for myself to strive after :P There's just no getting away from it. I think I am losing coherency here. Stop.
posted by Kat | 5/22/2008 02:07:00 pm
4 Comments:
So if I read that right (e.g. cynically) you've just translated the greenie values of 'recycle and reuse' across to the sphere of the arts ;-).
On the other hand, folk music *is* brilliant.
oh man I think I just used e.g. where I meant i.e.
I am a terrible human being.
Ooooh interesting! This reminds me of the days when I was little(er) and used to listen to the same three books on tape over and over and over again, just cos they were so good. (I'm sure the rest of my family got sick of them, but they were a happy part of childhood). That would be a good thing to re-capture.
I find it really hard to look at a sketch/written piece of mine and say "it's good, I like it" without thinking "but would other people agree?". When you've always got someone else (or your idea of their expectations) in your head it's quite hard to be yourself (and be yourself well) and enjoy yourself.
So trying to read, write, create art, listen to music and attend plays solely for pleasure, and because I can is something I aspire to. I am learning to revel in the novel idea of doing things I haven't done in years, just because I can. Painting - albeit badly - is one of those. Yay for re-finding lost joys :)
@ Matt: shock! horror! Destroyer of grammar (worlds)! :P
Yep. I agree. I did art all through high school (double art in 7th form - painting and design), then stopped when I left because I was never 'good enough' to satisfy myself and I couldn't enjoy it any more. I think this is a very widespread problem among our generation (I can't speak for those that have gone before?), and one that I'm trying to break out of, but generally end up feeling a little futile.
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