03/04/02
Confidence in the Arts
One of the most dangerous trends of the past half-century has been the schism of the arts into either superficial mass-consumables or indecipherable highbrow nonsense. Didactic art that falls somewhere in-between, while certainly being created, has neither the broad appeal to attract the investments of capitalists nor the rote message to gain the support of the predominantly Left-leaning art-world establishment. Whether taken literally or figuratively, such a confluence of circumstances seems to constitute a deliberately corrupting force. The influence of this force — even if seen as chance and circumstance — is difficult to express in theoretical or practical terms because it is so complexly intertwined with the structure of society that it must be felt rather than reasoned.
This essay has been published in Just Thinking: Volume I, 10/29/01–10/21/02 and is available in Confidence Place: The Timshel Arts Store.
02/25/02 Balance and Capitalists’ Sporsmanship (Society)
02/18/02 Better than Varsity: Will Adversity Ensure Diversity at the University? (Society)
02/11/02 Choice Means Considering Benefits and Costs (Abortion)
02/04/02 Parenthood: Making the World a Better Place (Family)
01/21/02 & 01/28/02 Off Sides in the Culture War: Islam and Affirmative Action (Society)
10/29/01 through 01/14/02 Archives