ku # 623 ~ the one-eyed man
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 10:06AM 
Beaver pond with fallen trees • click to embiggenOn the whole Americans are intellectually a rather lazy bunch. We love and clamor for easy answers - it doesn't matter if the "answers" actually make any sense, it only seems to matter that, right or wrong, they be easy to understand.
Whether or not this propensity for easy answers is the result of decades of the dumbing down of the American public by the mass media and advertising industry, I'll leave for others to debate/decide. But, that said, those in the dumbing-down business have done their job well - they have managed to turn most of us into spodas, as in, what I spoda do, massa?
It has been stated that the purpose of the mass media is to "sell soap". The best way to sell soap is to attract as many moths (consumers) to the flame (the purveyors of desire) as you can. And the best way to attract moths is to pander to the lowest common denominator.
Is there anyone in the room that doesn't think that mass media has sunk into the abyss of the lowest common denominator when it comes to what they feed the public?
And, is there anyone in the room who doesn't think that the result of all of this is moths buying soap by the truck load?
Except, or course, what never seems to dawn on the spodas is that the real bill of goods that they have been sold is the notion that a good economy is one that is based on consumption and not production.
What got me to thinking along these lines today were 2 statements by Robert Frank:
To produce an authentic contemporary document, the visual impact should be such as will nullify explanation.
and
When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.
I'll let you draw your own conclusions regarding those statements and my short bit on selling soap. But, that said, I'll leave you with this:
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. - Lycon - Seller of Black Inhalers / Blind drug-dealer in Minority Report
PS - it's all about pictures.
Reader Comments (9)
Love it.
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When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.
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Dang. That's good.
Ooops. I read that the first time and thought it said Robert Adams. I wasn't expecting it from Robert Frank. Where is the quote from?
Mark, this is very interesting. When I first viewed the image in todays post I was drawn to the center where the two trees meet. I then read your post and readers comments. I then thought I have to go back and look again because I missed the rest of the image. I knew I could never describe the pisture is asked.
My question to you is this, what is the average time a viewer looks at a picture such as in National Geographic or even on-line as compared to someone viewing at a gallery?
That should have said "picture if asked"
How on earth did you dig up that Minority Report quote? That's a gem for sure. As I see it, there is art and there is Art. The latter the valuable kind that teach us about ourselves, our culture and society at large. The former, the decorative kind which I find funny at best. To quote David Hurn: "...work displaying visual pyrotechniques but of dubious depth and resonance".
Sadly though, in the real world the one-eyed man wouldn't be king. He would be ridiculed, demonized and most likely killed (killing the messenger so to speak). Stupid people elect stupid leaders and create stupid societies. People have drowned in soap a long time ago buying the whole myth of progress. For the intellectual person it is easier to see past the lies, but being in touch with the truth doesn't really change anything. There are too many profiting from letting the blind stay blind, and as an artist, intellectual or king, you'll eventually end up preaching only for the choir, and what's the point with that?
That second quote by Robert Frank is great. I know exactly what he means. Compare that to the type of picture that reads like a sentence that you feel no need to finish before turning the page.
Svein-Frode,
I'll agree with much of what you have said, except
"…you'll eventually end up preaching only for the choir, and what's the point with that?"
There all always a few in the congregation listening to songs and wanting to add their voice to the music. So they join the choir. They may sing off key at first and may not know all of the lyrics, but after some rehearsal their voice adds to the music.
Nuffin' Ventured, Nuffin' Gained.
"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king" - 'minority report' seems to be not the origin of this proverb. If I understood the sources right, this sentence was written down by King Friedrich the Great of Prussia (1712 - 1786) in his poem "La guerre des confederes".
That out of the way, this quote seems to be more true today than ever. But it does not help to deplore that state. Art as a verb is a way of fighting this, and I do support your point of view that collecting even those voices that are weak at first and add them to the music.