Dynamism

Cultures are controlled and manipulated, but this need not be the case.

Under normal conditions, culture and the arts function interactively. When developments in one or the other are brought to a standstill, both succumb to a state of stasis that is ideal for the impress of any form of totalitarian, centralized, collective control.

The critical element that must be reigned in is information, but this cannot be done through direct, visible, means, or contention will ensue. Yet it is a simple matter to narrow the focus of the public discourse to a few vexing issues, and to make those appear to be the central facts of social reality, removing the creative impetus from the cultural setting-- to a great extent, if not altogether.

The result is darkness, and its perpetual increase, unless the visionary rise up against the benighted.

Changing Tide

Action leads to more action; control, to more control.

The necessity of both is obvious, and more necessary than these is balance.

Upend

Predictability reflects both expectations and the opposite of those expectations.

The act of genius, in its most elevated sense of reaching beyond the known, reflects neither.

Foreseen

No narrative replaces experience; it is without substance.

No ideology is a substitute for knowledge and wisdom; it always forms an untenable perspective.

Critical Mass

Knowledgeable, critical thought is one thing; ignorance is another.

Simply put, it is no longer possible to accept or tolerate inferior perspectives on art and culture. All these stultify vision and promote complacency, regardless of their origins.

The artist is urged to action; the supercilious and benighted, to silence.

Rising Tide

Give attention to the social, cultural, academic, and political norms of the present day.

It is the totalitarian culture and society that suppresses expression, artistic and otherwise.

The Sudden and Unexpected

While cultural progress typically moves slowly, it does, from time to time, evolve rapidly.

Regardless of the cultural catalyst, change is always subject to forces of history as well as those unforeseen events that come about in the present.  At such times, one may look to the arts for insights, and, not surprisingly, lies and absurdities.

Thus the essential nature of the aesthetic sense is empowered by the force of reason.