more notes on the peculiar position of modern man

I was thinking about the internet dating schemes that have seemed to become so popular these days with 8 million kinds of compatibility and so on and so forth.Match.com, Eharmony.com, and I got to thinking. I believe that the match.coms and the eharmony.coms of the world could pose a much more sinister threat and be much more corrosive to society as a whole. Online dating sites may not even be the whole problem. social networks (Myspace, Facebook), MMORPG's (Everquest, World of Warcraft). Do all of these things trivialize the benefit of real face to face interaction? I mean for all the good that they do and I have heard of people finding real happiness with another human being on the internet, they kind of take the guess work out of what we call "romance". They are the fast food of the dating world, and could they do to human interaction what McDonalds and Burger King have done to nutrition in this country? Sure I could go on match.com and put in my order and it would give me a virtual menu and I could start ordering up my favorites. Is that a cop out though? Do people who find love over the internet unknowingly cheat themselves out of the experience of dating, or meeting people for that matter? For one they will never have a great story to tell their grandchildren about how they met and fell in love. About how the stars aligned and all these little things fell into place and for one moment love seemed possible. Instead they'll be able to proudly declare, "I filled out an application and got your grandmother, it was so romantic". With all it's rejection self-doubt, heartbreak and the crying jags, let's not forget the crying jags. Is there truth to Friedrich Nietzsche's famous quote "that which does not kill us makes us stronger"? And what's more, should we heed that advice now? Is the value of the dating scene that which is merely procreational, or does dating serve a higher purpose in out civilized society? Can fine art exist in a world without the basest of human interaction? The visual arts may be able to sustain themselves in this world of post-modern minimalism and appropriation. Post-Modern art has, for the most part diverted from the idea of the heroic and the romantic that had influenced icons throughout art history. The idea, has become much more important, and as a result the pool of ideas and concepts has grown to be quite diverse. But in the same respect the visual arts still need human interaction to exist, art needs to be talked about by real people, in real places, with real passion, a message board cannot give art the intimacy it truly needs to thrive. And what about music? Literally, millions, of songs have been written about heartbreak and love lost. Elton John says "sad songs say so much," and they do, they truly do. What would Film be like without the one that got away? What could be said about love if every love story started "well we met on the internet, and she was perfect for me, we had dinner, got married and had kids. Would any of a number of songs have been written, or a slew of movies been made, or a million different works of art ever even been completed if these artists could go on a website and dial up their dream girl, or meet friends that share the same views and interests? Or does the culture of rejection and the act of meeting somebody new in a way that defies all logic foster these art forms that society holds so dear? If we get rid of romance do we also lose a part of ourselves? I know this is an extreme situation, and quite possibly, a scenario that will never play out. But it is something I believe people do need to think about in this, a world of short-term thinking and instant gratification. I'll quote Booker T. Washington because he's said it better than I ever could myself. "Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work". This is an concept that we all, i think, need to take a look at.

Heart of Darkness
Vernon Fisher
Sep 7 - Oct 7, 2007

Opening Reception
For the Artist
Friday, Sep 7
6:00 - 8:00 pm

DUNN AND BROWN CONTEMPORARY 5020 Tracy Street Dallas TX 75205

Vernon Fisher has another show up at the Dunn and Brown Contemporary, and always it's really good. I Studied under this guy at UNT and to this day it still blows me away how fresh and relevant his work is. The way he takes these disparate elements and marries them together using composition and juxtaposition still really speaks to me. Of course I may be biased seeing as though I build images in a very similar way but this guy is really at the top of his game and never ceases to amaze me if you're in Dallas it's worth a look-see.