civilized ku # 37 ~ a walk in the forest #5
Friday, June 15, 2007 at 10:18AM 
Traces and evidence of a different world • click to embiggrnYesterday's entry prompted this reply - re: All art works either in service of or as a challenge to the status quo/prevailing cultural paradigm. One way or another it's part of the language of meaning of any picture - from Paul Maxim - 'Horse-pucky. Sadly, you've once again lapsed into making statements that simply echo restrictive postmodernist sentiment. The above is one of those "either / or" proclamations that, when translated, simply means that "you're either with me or against me". There ain't no middle ground here, folks, so pick your side carefully. This is a fight to the (cultural) death!...
But, on the other hand, Tim Atherton stated - '... as you say, all art is political (as is all life)'
Now, I come down with Tim because I actually believe it to be so - all art, as all of life, is political. I don't believe that there is any act that doesn't not have consequence (great or small). Whether you are 'with me or against me' really isn't the point at all - rather, the point is everything you do matters and, as Dylan says,
We live in a political world,
Love don't have any place.
We're living in times where men commit crimes
And crime don't have a face
We live in a political world,
Icicles hanging down,
Wedding bells ring and angels sing,
clouds cover up the ground.
We live in a political world,
Wisdom is thrown into jail,
It rots in a cell, is misguided as hell
Leaving no one to pick up a trail.
We live in a political world
Where mercy walks the plank,
Life is in mirrors, death disappears
Up the steps into the nearest bank.
We live in a political world
Where courage is a thing of the past
Houses are haunted, children are unwanted
The next day could be your last.
We live in a political world.
The one we can see and can feel
But there's no one to check, it's all a stacked deck,
We all know for sure that it's real.
We live in a political world
In the cities of lonesome fear,
Little by little you turn in the middle
But you're never why you're here.
We live in a political world
Under the microscope,
You can travel anywhere and hang yourself there
You always got more than enough rope.
We live in a political world
Turning and a'thrashing about,
As soon as you're awake, you're trained to take
What looks like the easy way out.
We live in a political world
Where peace is not welcome at all,
It's turned away from the door to wander some more
Or put up against the wall.
We live in apolitical world
Everything is hers or his,
Climb into the frame and shout God's name
But you're never sure what it is.
Eventually, you do have to 'take sides', either by action or inaction, but make no mistake about it - inaction is a political act.
Reader Comments (4)
Oh Mercy Mark!! Let's add "Everything is Broken" and "Disease of Conceit" and we'll have a great Dylan triptych to go along with your series. I just about drove off the road during a recent listen of this CD....
Mark,
I find it ironic that you're using Bob Dylan lyrics to support your claim that "all art, as all of life, is political" when Dylan has never considered himself to be at all political. I think you're misreading his intent with those lyrics.
But forget about that. Let's talk about what "political" actually means. While the word generally applies to the existing structure of governments, political parties, and states, that's obviously not what you're referring to. What you're talking about is the meaning that generally shows up last in the dictionary for this word, and that goes something like this: "Based on or motivated by partisan or self-serving objectives".
Now, if that's what you mean by "political", then I find it hard to believe that you could state flatly that "all life is political". If that's not the meaning you're referring to, then I can only suggest that you find a new term to describe what you actually are talking about.
When you do something for your wife or son, is that political? Is there some self - serving objective in there? When you offered to take readers on a trip in the Adirondacks, was that political? How many things in the course of a day do you do without thinking of how it will serve your personal interests?
So why is it impossible to believe that art need not be "political"? I would suggest that most art has no artist's agenda attached, no self - serving objective built in.
Yes, as you pointed out, all actions do have consequences, no matter how insignificant. But that's not the same as saying that they are politically motivated. The two ideas are miles and miles apart.
I tend to think of my art as therapy. As a recovering alkie (15 years dry, thanks), and a high-functioning schizophrenic with ongoing active symptoms, my photography is my pressure valve.
The inside of my head is dark and twisted 24/7. Going out and forcing myself to find beauty and then share it with others -- well, that's what keeps me from sliding into the abyss.
Politics? Honestly couldn't care less. I moved to the middle of nowhere to get away from that crap.
Paul, I think you are seriously mistaken if you believe that actions - even the most personal - do not stem from personal motivations. Even the striving Saint is not devoid of desire. It is the nature of being human to consider the self first, in relation to others. Elsewise, how do we know who we are? Hence, we become political beings. Unless we are hermits who have no interactions with other humans.