Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Post-Omega!

Just exited a bruising battle with a fellow creator over what started as a simple disagreement over an unfortunate circumstance, that devolved into a really ugly confrontation over life, art, creativity and happiness.  It was kind of unfortunate, and also very instructive.


So yes, post-Omega (see previous post), I think it's true we live in a era where science and art have demolished all of our certainties.  Blame it on the Enlightenment.  We killed off the Kings, we dismantled the Churches, and we put our eggs in the scientific paradigm basket, and were carried away by an "art" that declared that art was pretty much anything, and nothing, and everything in between.


We live in a post-Apocalypse age, and we didn't even need atomic explosions, or world-wide viral infestations to devastate us.  Blame it on the memes. Blame it on R&R too.


Now I happen to think all this is for the good.  Yes, we live with the "uncertainty principle," we can't cling to musty old books that tell what is good and bad; and everything is "relative," and "subjective," and in turmoil.  And there is no going back.  The scales have fallen from our eyes, and yes, we did murder our fathers, and screwed our mothers... and we are the measure of ourselves.


And how do we measure creativity, and imagination, and how do we know what's good, and what's worthwhile, and what's beautiful, and ugly, and how come it sometimes seems like a moving target, and not only is the target moving, but so is the Marksman, and the bullets, or arrows, or whatever, are shaky, and malleable, and, man, why is it, when it comes down to it, that we can't really count on anything?  

Except maybe our own ingenuity, and sense of humor, and sense of "fun," and "play," and our curiosity, and imaginations, and well damn the torpedoes, they are coming for us anyway, so in the meantime we have to live, with gusto and class and grace and  whatever that all means... and we must keep our eyes open, and wonder... about it all...