There is Irony in the Air

There is irony in the air. Those that understand how we got here are people who have learned that these are immutable truths; that evolution is the way we got here. Period. To call it a theory is misleading to the doubters. It has been proven. Creation theory is not proven, in any sense of the word, as the “word” relates to truth. The irony is that the creationists espouse, more often than not, and without realizing it, what is called “vulgar social darwinism” which is a wordy way of saying that they believe in a spin off notion of “survival of the fittest” as embodied by many conservative notions such as: “freedom” means “unfettered capitalism”, capitalism means survival of the fittest, “socialism” mean “communism” which means that the wealth must stay in the hands of the wealthy or else we are communists, “communism means the devil”, capitalism means survival of the strongest and no government, globalism, corporate strength, freedom to accumulate wealth however you see fit, be the world’s “superpower” (junk yard dog, my way or the highway) and let the weaker amongst us slip off the boat,. It is called “vulgar” social darwinism because it is not only a misinterpretation of Darwin, but a less than pretty way of doing it. Social darwinism relates to the fact that these people have applied to a scientific theory of evolution and mating systems a context that was never intended or talked about by applying “survival of the fittest” across the board into financial, economic and social applications that have no bearing on evolution; in fact, clearly may damage it. The reason why this has become a part of our culture in general and pounded by the right wing (who , again, ironically espouse fundamentalist Christianity...an irony within an irony; Jesus being the blessed are the meek and turn the other cheek and the rich man going to heaven is like the camel going through the eye of a needle sort of guy)..... in such a fundamental way) is that during the Cold War when everything about communism was battled, we became brainwashed (a term usually referring to communism, by the way) by the corporate, capitalist, greedy and selfish Reaganesque people that trickle down was the way to go, that corporations needed to be promoted and that freedom meant capitalism and......yes......Survival of the Fittest. Anything other than this was heading straight for the dreaded communism. So, to reiterate: the GOP and TEA have become, on the whole, the proponents of a vulgar notion of Darwin’s theory, twisting it and corrupting it, but they do not believe in evolution as it conflicts with Christian fundamentalist religion. These are the people that kill people fairly easily (in wars, in the justice system, with lots of handguns, etc.) but would deny a woman’s right to control her body (thus her life). So, to go further, it is clear that fundamentalists want survival of the fittest (men) to control as much as they can (kind of like the islamic fundamentalists,terrorists, with no regulations to stop their free capitalist progress to the top of the economic ladder or their male dominance (quite Darwinian sounding, isn’t it) . If only the irony stopped here, but it does not; the soon to be largest economy and economic strength in the world and to whom we have been borrowing from and buying from and hiring is a godless communist country, China, which has done a great job of learning how to take care of themselves and make things and better themselves (with no help from us to begin with). Ha ha, the joke is on us. And on a less hysterical note; it is becoming more and more clear that non-zero sum actions and realities such as natural and cultural altruism in many realms of biology, including humans; have propelled the most important contributions to civilization so far. So better get with it, ya’ll. You might get left behind, because, like the Neanderthals, you just don’t seem smart enough or well educated enough or kind enough to be a fruitful part of our lives as we work towards a fundamentally sound and balanced understanding of the world around us! The final irony, of course, is that these people will never read this ! They have god and air conditioning and a fascistic government and glocks to take care of any problems that might come their way, like the theory of global warming (which, like evolution is far beyond a theory). Sorry to be so hard on you, folks, but it is time to wake up.

Outsiders and Atheists

The line between “outsider” art and the rest of the art world is often quite blurred; no obvious distinction between them, often. This was the case at the SOFA art show in Santa Fe this year. They were kind enough and thoughtful enough to include outsider art this year, for the first time. I was fascinated to see that there was not a clear delineation of the “rows” and that I was not really able to tell the difference between the two at that time. Of course, there were some clear indications such as using recycled materials and such, but even some of the participants even agreed that it was difficult to see the line between the two. Being something of an outsider myself, I was, of course, deeply interested. Like my father quips, “I am self educated, myself”. Having thoroughly enjoyed the Meow Wolf installations over the years, I know that there is a tendency for me to appreciate outsider art. My opinion is like my opinion of a dancer; if they have the guts to get out there and make a fool of themselves, sometimes; they get my vote. Being a custom furniture maker, builder and outsider architect, I know that making those distinctions between craft and art are often very difficult to do. I was taking bronze foundry classes at Highlands University a while back and vividly remember a crazy old woman, retired art teacher who wandered around the studios in sheer see through blouse and odd attire and thinking, “Is she art?” and another professor (“teacher” to me, “tutor” to St. Johns ) overheard me talking about snagging some roots or sticks for my artwork from somewhere that was “forbidden” to remove such things and I invoked “Artist’s License” and he cryptically asked if I had a license. I didn’t like his attitude or that of many artists from academia as they often think they do have a more important license to practice and judge art. Now anyone with any sense in the real world should know that this is ridiculous and propped up chauvinism. Many children do better artwork than most adults, even professionals, naturally; for reasons that are beyond my understanding, but suggest that a license is not required. For someone with decades of personal discipline, attention to detail and countless hours of thought as to the form and shape and function and finish of a piece of furniture or a house to contemplate these questions is natural. Of course, a professional builder of things cannot really slide through their careers, as money is always involved; the success of the piece is always judged promptly. And we all know that in this particular trade, the amount of effort to create the pieces is often not commensurate with the cost to the customer. I know it is important for an “educated” person to use their training and papers to further their careers and do not ridicule this by any means. I honor them and also wish to keep things the right size so that a clear picture is in front of us by honoring also those that did not sit behind a desk and possibly kowtow to a narcissistic, politically tenured or possibly sadistic teacher or institution. This whole situation is a little like coming out as an atheist but still wanting to go to church to talk about deeply important spiritual truths and keep those friends that have shared so much with you over the years; not minding hearing or using the term “god” and also knowing that, in your heart and mind, you know there is none. You still want to play with them and suspect that many of them agree with you but are afraid to admit it. The penalty for being “outsider” does not seem fair, right sized or appropriate. So, as we pass through Santa Fe; noticing Indian Market, Spanish Market and Sofa show and the free music on the Plaza and walk together with each other, I think it is worth thinking about all this. My friends and I recently did a bronze pour together and decided to experiment pouring bronze into a green gambrel oak post carved out with our very first bronze “Artist Licenses”. What fun! Don’t you wonder how they came out?

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"Art Brut", or "outsider art", consists of works produced by people who for various reasons have not been culturally indocrinated or socially conditioned. ...

The Wrong Worries

It was an awakening when I read about the history of the “Great “ Depression recently and that Franklin D Roosevelt (famous for setting up the CCC camps, the WPA and other major jobs programs for the country) had begun to cut back on many programs and reduced spending and the depression was, again, in trouble, just like it is now.  Then WW II set in and the country was mobilized to all get to work, set up plane and munitions factories, create new technologies etc.  etc.  and  that is why people say that “wars are good for the economy” (which that one was)  etc. etc.  Our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have not been good for the economy, in fact have created a huge deficit only to benefit a few rich corporations like Haliburton and Blackwater and  a relative  few  young people.  The reason why is that the country was not mobilized to fight a war (not that we should have) which involved sacrifices of all sorts; belt tightening, rationing of gas, corporate support, etc. etc.  So killing people is not the solution.  But it does suggest what needs to be done; discover what the needs of the people and the planet are : alternative fuels, solar energy and clean energy, education to support all of that, debt reduction…bank sacrifices (remember those corporate sacrifices)….new jobs in biomass and forest management (remember those forest fires) in all sorts of new and exciting places (teachers aids for millions of teachers), new sources of revenue (look at the 1% of population who have been getting richer and richer every year…on our backs…trickle up …well, er,  not really a trickle, really; more like a flood) !  And how about soil building (the backbone of everything), grey water treatment, water catchment, organic farming, etc..  The GOP  and the others who are bickering got it wrong all along and it is time to wake up and see this; this is the time for the government to step in and help out big time (not with bank bail outs this time, but jobs programs and boot-strap support…..on our new war …..to support the people who need help the most right now and not after the economy has begun to (don’t make me laugh) “trickle down” again.  Houses need to be solarized and sealed and insulated and set up for water harvesting.   Wow, everybody….let’s have a war…….ON POVERTY and ECONOMIC ABUSE and POOR MANAGEMENT (gotta keep those unions, folks, to keep the working people’s rights supported).  Gotta have regulations to keep people from ripping each other off in a myriad of ways; the big economic crisis was caused by lack of regulation and proper support of the people’s needs.    In Germany (recently when the economic collapse hit) they made sure that people were not laid off, but they (mostly) all kept their jobs and reduced their hours so that people shared in the economic situation (no zero sum games being played).  No offence to Barak Obama but he needs to get out of that “preppy” world of his and start listening to people with dirt under their fingernails for a change; there is no place for people who are not attached to the earth anymore, because it is in saving the earth (and not the way the litigious enviros and greenies have been thinking and doing) that we will save ourselves. 

Here is a link: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/05/opinion/the-wrong-worries.html