Saturday, January 09, 2016

Less and Excess

Impression is foundation; expression is judgement.


If the artist expresses sagacity, the work confirms clarity of perspective.

Friday, January 08, 2016

Thursday, January 07, 2016

By Now

Cultural progress is in difficult straits.


Everywhere cultural expression is superseded by grasping ideology, and the loss to forward thinking is substantial.  A kind of socially-engineered suspension of intellectual risk that stultifies critical thought has generated, over time, a lack of vigor, even a dazed timidity, in the arts.

In every form and manner, give voice to truth. To deny the existence of truth is to deny life, and to know nothing.

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Attention and Immersion

What most consider to be "culture" is, plainly stated, too easily grasped.


The fact that one experiences does not necessarily mean that one comprehends.

Tuesday, January 05, 2016

Listen, Hear, Know

Art in any medium conveys ideas. In a word, art speaks.


Denial of objective meaning does not change facts. Art confirms when all else fails or falsifies.

Monday, January 04, 2016

Beleaguered

From any perspective, the persistence of failed ideas is truly insufferable.


Neither artist nor culture can thrive is an atmosphere poisoned by absurd ideologies and dogmatic denial of the fundamental right to call into question what one collective or another asserts to be "settled issues". Clearly, these are viewpoints that operate to the advantage of one at the expense of another. Expression will be free, and if not, it will be pointless.

Sunday, January 03, 2016

All Costs

One critical cliché suggests that, at one time or another, society is "ready" for certain works of art.


This suggests a belief that human character is infinitely malleable, a common error among political ideologues who would define and limit culture.  The idea is not without some merit, but it fails to take into account individual force of will. It is the nature of rebellion to find its expression in those who will bear the yoke of responsibility, but who cannot tolerate the idea of any form of subjection to a mindless conformity.