Generally, this sort of thing makes much more sense driving on country roads, at least for me; and, as a rule, earlier in the day.
...So, I'm driving in the Hudson Valley, earlier today, and it occurs to me we're on a nominal seventy-five-year cycle: From the rule of the hive to the cult of self and back to the rule of the hive; then we swarm and start again. At some point, such as a world war or cultural revolution, we work together for a better chance of success. Examples of the cycle: From Great Depression to Great Recession; and from democracy to oligarchy and back.
The art world appears to follow a similar pattern of expansion and contraction; stricture and release. The timeframe may vary, but one paradigm follows another. Like simplicity and complexity; rigidity and permeability.
Right now, in art, I think there is a softening of boundaries, a greying of what was thought of as black and white. Art and design bleed into one another, as do public and private. Elitism breaks down and amateurism/naturalism is the new ideal. The internet and other digital technologies open things up. Control decentralizes. We swarm.
Starlings photo, "Murmur 1," by Richard Barnes.
You've been posting some great stuff lately - I can barely keep up! When are you going to talk about '12? ;)
ReplyDelete2012? I predict that John Cusack will make his comeback.
ReplyDeleteGod takes many forms, sometimes swarms like honey bees. Culture H's norms are Culture G's perversities.
ReplyDelete