Jann Moon
Art, life, our physical and constructed world are inseparable and intertwined in new ways I notice daily, equally inspiring and horrifying I deny any ascribed value and purpose and consequently, any special role to humanity Like emotions, value and purpose are human judgments which do not exist in the outside world This forces me to see physical reality as a mechanical process in which humanity’s part is small When we are walking in winter, falling snow appears to be coming toward us, but in reality we are moving forward as it falls Reality is a design that encourages adaptation to the complex systems we have built Values and purpose are human inventions designed to be shared between us Like language, values and purpose only work if we all know and agree on what they mean The truth is that many have manipulated and corrupted these concepts, through selfishness, envy, shame, ignorance and more, though often beneath a deceptive veil of altruism The signs of civilization’s death throes have developed into reminders of our past and present A civilization that breeds minds that equate success with money and fame cannot survive for long Social cohesion has declined greatly, people today have 20% as many close friends as those fifty years ago We are destined to collapse from creating societies and jobs cater to the lowest common denominator, fueling the lapse into a utilitarian modernism that produces ugly architecture, mind-numbingly micromanaged tasks, disorder and dysfunction. A culture based on individual desires makes it easy to manipulate one another, but produces no great art, and leaves us with commerce and political dogma that constrain not liberate us We compensate for a failing civilization through surrogate activities These are ineffectual symbolic acts that we do not expect to make change, but they “uplift” us for a few moments so we feel better about ourselves From the day a civilization is founded, it drifts farther from reality and further into the world of appearance People manipulate each other to get ahead, and the side effect is a corrupted image of reality People use wishful thinking to manipulate each other Wishful thinking pretends that humans are omniscient and not part of nature It avoids all mention of death, conflict, unequal abilities or eventually, reality itself When you expect more than decoration, you move up the ladder of evolution and transcend the mass of lifestyle choicers who will never contribute anything to civilization (but will gladly enjoy its comfortable, reality-free lifestyle) Art isn’t “whatever you want it to be”; like philosophy and science, but in a different form, it discusses the issues that give our lives meaning. Meaning makes for a bad product; you can’t mass produce and sell it in a range of pastel colors This alone is reason to adore it While everyone else anaesthesizes themselves with the unreal, you can choose art over decoration, and be stronger for it
Thanks for reading! Culture over commerce!
