This recent article says: - The problem with most Americans is that they have no soul...He means that people so comfortable materially can easily lose sight of anything other than the maintenance of that level of comfort. Without even thinking about it they trade their souls for affluence.
http://www.bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=135&ArticleID=3775 3&TM=43682.89 > Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 15:59:24 -0700 > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [6] Re: "The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves > To: [email protected] > > Responding to Mike Mallory; > > > Your elegant defense of kitsch confirms my fears. > When the essence of a person is conflated to "American > Culture"and that to mass produced commercial or > entertainment icons, something is very wrong. > > I suppose the knee jerk reaction is to blame the > people for their addiction to kitsch. But delight in > the symbols of mass consumer culture does not outline > the whole terrain of American Culture. > > I do agree that those symbols can reveal a deep sense > of who Americans are, if one assumes an elitist > overview, as in "poor dopes, they are as they use". > That's the disagreeable academic undertone of the > Cultural Theory explainers. They can explain the > mystery of human psychology by means of simple signs > and received opinion, as if each individual is not > immersed in abstract and strange currents running > deep. > > Oh, a pop up memory from Joyce: > "I hear the noise of many waters making moan, > Sad as the seabird is when flying forth alone." > > I am reminded of Robert Frank's book, the Americans, > as one of the first instances where the everyday also > revealed an amazingly complex and rich, difficult, > demanding sense of Americans. That was the fifties, > my coming of age era, and where is that depth and > gravitas now? It is gone from everyday culture, > replaced, as you say. by the icons of Americanism, but > these are uniformly the cheery, bright, playful, > entertaining, fully democratic images we see > everywhere. They were invented by advertisers who > rightly sought to extend the blessings of a great > technological free enterprise market to all. It has a > moral foundation in that aim to further justice and > access through commodities and the better life they > provide. > > This is where I have trouble with your view. It seems > to ignore what I regard as the most fundamental trait > of American Culture. Justice and fair play. > > From the Mayflower Compact, to the Declaration of > Independence, The Constitution and the Bill of Rights, > (and even back to the Magna Carta as a model) > Americans have been preoccupied with the quest for > justice and fair play. It is the constant national > debate, a contentious debate to be sure, often tipped > toward self-interest, violence and just plain > wrongheadedness and yet it is a moral and worthy > endeavor and most Americans, whatever their > limitations or abundances, believe that to the depths > of their being. > > Americans have the consciousness for wanting to do > the right thing. It is a profound quest. It has made > America the greatest nation ever in the world, many > times greater than any of the past. Not a hundred > Romes can match it. Not a thousand Renaissances or any > other civilization has ever devoted so much struggle > for human rights and none has excelled as America has. > Yes, it is a flawed endeavor, tragic beyond compare in > many ways. What postmodern art can symbolize this > euphoric and tragic paradox? > > Jeff Koons' work is now being exhibited on the roof of > MOMA in NYC. MOMA is to contemporary art as our > Capitol in D.C. is to America. To think of that great > museum, the standard of modernist quality, being > capped by Koons' Platinum Balloons is like seeing the > U.S. President wearing a balloon party hat when > delivering a State of The Union address. > > It's very difficult for me to criticize Jeff Koons. I > have spent time with him. We shared a podium and a > dinner. He is a fine person, decent, smart, not at > all cynical and he truly seeks beauty in his art. He > takes from life, yes, but he also digs into > autobiographical "icons". Yes, I do think he makes > important celebratory art and, yes, it's certainly > true that American Culture is celebratory, even > reverently celebratory as evidenced by mainstream > American religions. But it takes more to symbolize > the joy-angst of our time than brilliant, loving, > innocent celebration. > > Because it's Veterans Day and I'm a vet, I can be > excused for proclaiming my deep patriotism and faith > in the American sensibility -- preoccupied by justice > and fair play; that is, I mean human rights. > Americans care about justice and doing the right thing > and they are deeply and consistently engaged in a 300 > year conversation about human rights. It's tough > talk, troubling, dangerous, complicated and much more. > It's not pop art. It's not kitsch. It's not > cynical, ironic, goofy, cheap or demeaning. It's full > of torment and hope, trying, trying again. It exposes > the real culture. There's been more progress in > that in America, by common-sense folk figuring it out > the hard way, than anywhere else, ever. Ever! > > My family has been in America for 13 generations, from > 150 yrs. before the Revolution and I know much about > my ancestors. Some of them died in our wars. For > some of them I have a scattering of their objects, > their papers, their ephemera. Their individual > histories tell the story of America perhaps as well as > any. Some were good, some bad, some successful, some > failed. > > Mostly they were ordinary people and they did their > best. A few were in government. One way or another > they represented the ongoing crisis of the pursuit for > justice in the way Tocqueville summarized: The > protection of minority rights assuming that the > majority in a democracy can always attain its self > interest. Can you tell me that's not the inner voice > of every American, and the deep, profound > consciousness that permeates every page of American > history? Is that kitsch? Is that a flower doggie? > No, Americans are not the One Dimensional Man. Who > has shown the truth of our society in postmodern art? > > > I'm old enough to have touched the hands of pioneers. > Perhaps I belong to the last generation who did. > These were people who bumped their way to the Dakotas > in wagons. These were funny people. They had their > kitsch. They were full of optimism. But they worked > in dirt, out in nowhere, and lived among sickness and > death. Tragedy was up close and personal. I have > enormous respect for these people. They had a long > view of life and for most of them it was a short time > living it. I feel responsibility to them. I can't > forget how hard they tried and how deeply they cared > for justice and fair play. All thirteen generations > did the same. And what of later immigrants? Were > they defined by kitsch imagery? Were their deepest > feelings sucked up and bounced back to them by a > roadside sign, a glittery window display? > > I've been to the European cities you mention. I've > been all over America. I've traced my ancestors' > paths, their land, their endeavors and those of > others. I can't make fun of them by trivializing my > own life as an artist through silly art puns and > sloppy work. > > I think a real modernism in art is interested in the > fullest symbols of the human spirit. It is melacholy > in the true sense of the term, meaning a sympathy for > the tragic that underlies formation of moral > aspiration. Good art springs from the tragic. It
