by Caio Fern
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Isn’t incredible the fact today we have all over the world hundreds of thousands of people thinking about design, creation and aesthetical in general?
What are they proposing?
What moves then to do it?
I believe today we are living the greatest technical moment of the story so far. Never in the entire world had in only one moment so many great technical professionals in all areas. So many musicians with such high level of ability, so many good writers that are fantastic about “how” to tell you a story, so many great painters, so many great photographers, so many creative architects, so many innovative designers in all areas.
The world became very technical about all areas of human knowledge. I see 14 years old kids today playing guitars or painting better than the great composers of few decades ago. When we think about technology we only imagine digital goods…. but no, all hand made work is technological too, and all areas of art are included in this concept. What a great time of techniques we are living now !
But……… oh Caio, you annoying bastard, here comes the “but”:
I wonder why with so many people all over the world working hard and submitting their entire lives as slaves to develop new aesthetical values, new ideas, new solutions, and with so many great technical in all areas…. why among all the hundreds of pieces of works I discover everyday nothing is able to touch me deeply, to tease me, to amaze me, to push my boundaries.. or just to become relevant in my life ?
So many great professionals, so many great tools, so many brilliant minds, so many access to everything, so many effort to produce something cool, interesting and impressive… and I don’t think anything really great.
Is it me or there is something wrong with the whole civilization now? Oh Caio, I am pretty sure it is just you.
So let’s go to the theory I develop between green tea and poo.
The problem is the fact today has this belief that art will save your life, and your soul. All the trust is put on art and design in general. Art will offer life quality, art is the truth, art is sincere, art makes the world better, art is essential to human being in all its forms and moments.
And this is it, art by the art.
I remember when I started to have interest by art and used to go to all art exhibition happening at the moment, one of the things that annoyed me most was the fact all artwork only existed to illustrate a statement and the statement was only an excuse to a cheap crappy art work. Nothing could more more sterile and boring. I was wrong. Today is worst. Art is only an excuse to art itself , aesthetical is only an excuse for aesthetical itself and all turns around references that lead to nothing. Two decades ago at least had the concern to pretend that the crappy piece of work was supposed to mean something, now it isn’t even necessary. Art is an excuse of itself and done, live with it.
Sure, what else could I expect? If art is the answer to all the problems faced in life, so art doesn’t need to mean anything, only needs to exist, be present and make it noticed as much as possible.
Other characteristic is the fact art and pure design all of sudden have no difference anymore, they serve for the same purpose, it is, they are aesthetical solutions for the human conditions, and not any kind of human expression. All is design, nothing is art. Art as it has existed is dead… or at least it is the real proposal of the minds creating and present at the self proclaimed art market.
This is what I believe is the huge difference between this beginning of 21st century and 18th 19th and 20th centuries.
Since 18th century God was discard by civilization and substituted for the logic. The logic was supposed to save the humanity and bring the solution to all problems. Logic came as philosophy, politic and science, these 3 heads proposing over and over again all that was necessary of public happiness and safety. We know it all was only able to lead to illogical results and new kind of problems, the civilization at the end of 20th century got a huge disillusion about all this and had to turn its head towards to something that could bring any satisfaction: beauty.
Beauty about everything, body, urbanism, architecture, clothes, furniture, and this current plastic concept now named new contemporary art, taught at colleges all over the world as the new dogma to be followed.
Well, aesthetical as the solution for life became the greatest dogma of the History, even bigger than religion was in the past… as now this aesthetical doesn’t share is power with anything else, even religious dogmas of the past used and adopted other areas of human nature and human knowledge to improve itself . But why would a such convincing concept as the new aesthetical share its power, you don’t even need to believe on this, it is right in front of you, pleasing you, convincing you that you are living better because of its beauty.
So all the time you say you love art ( or any kind of design ) more than anything else and it is the most important thing in your life, you are as a matter behaving as a volunteer slave worshiping a god of ancient times.
What is very funny because it is supposed to convince people they are very sophisticated but it makes then even more primitive that the human being used to be few centuries ago.
Again, with so many production and quality ideas all over the world why can’t I like this? At the end, it has been produced good and interesting things.
The problem is the fact it has believed that aesthetical values are the solution , the so valued and desired “new” will come exclusively by the aesthetical manipulation. Art generates art by itself and isn’t necessary to have anything behind.
So we have now great musicians that are empty composers and only compose the obvious, we have great story tellers that have no story to tell, we have great painters , photographers, printers, and all the medias that have nothing to show. Sure, it makes sense, if you believe all the solution of your life depends of the taste of the food you eat, the design of the cloth you wear, the beauty of the furniture you sit, the sophistication of the building you frequent, the level of entertainment of the movies you watch…. why when you are going to produce something by your own you would be concern to express any human quality…. all your personal qualities were substituted by design and design has being only a way to express technical quality, so all you will express is design by itself, technique by itself…. what makes all of us one step beyond the 18th-20th century mentality that says logic is the solution for everything. The difference is that before only God was discarded and placed by human logic, nature and capacity … but now even human values were discarded. Aesthetical by itself is believed to be the Saviour of civilization because at the end it excludes all the human values.
So when you say that you believe in art to improve your life quality, you are as a matter of fact saying that you accept the new world system, that you accept the fact art is dead and the new art is only an aesthetical excuse for itself and the fact that the only solution for human being is its own extinction by its own technical knowledge.
What is funny, because art lovers are self clamed very sophisticated and smart people. You are all digging your own grave. Art lovers are today the most manipulated kind of people of the world. There is no freedom in the art world even because there is no art world, only a market with hundreds of arms and links that sells convenient aesthetical excuses wearing irreverent and subversive costumes. It is as cheap and crappy and conformist as Brazil’s carnaval, where people celebrate what they think it is freedom but is only imposition of values.
Some people just want to see the world burning . I do. I DO I DO I DO !!!!!!!
Come Armageddon, come apocalypse, come come come.
hahaha, so… go to celebrate your “artistic appreciation in this world, your very smart opinions about everything, go to be clever and smart without being intelligent. You are sophisticated, do what you want, buy this aesthetical lifestyle and start to hate me now. ”
