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Weighing
the World
by Skrubly
There
was a part in that movie Smoke, about the cigar store, where
the guy tells the story about how Sir Walter Raliegh won
a bet way back when. The bet was that he could weigh the
amount of smoke that a cigar produces while you smoke it;
of course, he weighed the cigar, smoked it, and did some
basic substraction and voila - you have the weight of smoke.
I'm sure that's not completely accurate, but fuck, it was
a movie.
So my
question is, how do you weigh the world?
It's
rhetorical, of course, but it kind of makes me wonder if
we have to
smoke the world to find out how much it weighs in the end.
How
utterly profound. And all this on a Sunday night.
Perspective
is something that people who draw pictures are very very
concerned with - in a sense, it defines the entire piece.
You can argue about artistic elements until the sun goes
down, but how is the global perspective of online culture
affecting the art that we produce? This is all beginning
to sound like WIRED-influenced running off at the mouth,
with glib statements from old men who have shed their suits
in the hope of plugging in to the next level of commerce.
But seriously, where does perspective come into all of this?
A slight
digression. I work a day job, and when I'm at work I typically
idle on irc in various channels. During my day, I get to
talk to people from Sweden, Israel, Russia, Canada, and
all parts of the United States. Which results in a hell
of a lot of perspectives (and languages, for that matter)
being heard. Where does this fit in with the art scene?
Well,
to come to my point, which has been stated by other people
long ago, is that we all have our own perspective. Where
I live, what I work at, who I talk to both online and off
influence my view of the world. And I feel less provincial
because of it; I'm not bound by the borders of my country
as much as others might be. Pundits have commented that
the web and irc derivatives are like CB radio; everyone
has the ability to say things, but in actuality have nothing
of substance to say. I hope through my writing that I can
communicate my point of view, and incorporate others - I
think everyone who draws feels this as well. And the result
of it all is a style that is unique, not only to the person,
but to our entire scene as a whole.
So we've
got the world here, and all sorts of people in it. Cross-contient
groups, people from all over the place getting together
to do something. We all have our own reasons for being here,
but in the end I think we really are pushing towards something
that hasn't been seen in art history ever. I'm not attempting
to come off as someone who thinks that "we" made
the internet what it is; we're here at the right time.
So let's
enjoy it, because I think it's only going to get better
and more exciting from here.
Discussion
Topic this month:
How has the Internet, and indeed cross-culture contact changed
the perspectives of people drawing art? Indeed, has it changed
the way people approach art? Think about joints and cross-country
art as well..
>> discussions
(General Art Discussion)
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