Pigeonholes
February 23, 2004
Man, the name-giving animal, is in rare form these days. We're just stalking the planet, hell-bent on slapping labels on others, stuffing them into compartments, and spewing vast generalities about things we don't understand well enough.
Religion is dividing the world and our country like it hasn't since the Dark Ages. The promise of immigration on which America is founded has become an evil tangle of anxiety and finger pointing as broad swaths of our neighbors are labeled and fingerprinted, then shown the door or locked up without due process. The media pundits have been wrong time and again throughout this presidential election, as they have tried to adhere dusty nameplates and bankrupt maxims on phase after phase of the campaign. Instead of observing wisely, they insist on prognosticating and tripping over their mike cables.
For a while it seemed like the forces of globalization would push down the walls that subdivide the planet, providing a global culture of inclusion, one huge Benetton ad. Instead, we've been given too many McDonalds outlets, too many Nike logos. Instead of religions and nation states, the folks in Davos wanted to give us all SKUs, compartmentalizing everything to fit neatly into Walmart's inventory.
The Internet was another beacon of hope, connecting us all, one to one, allowing us to found and find our own communities of interest. We'd have labels but at least we got to put them on ourselves by signing up for this chat group or the other. But the anonymity and lack of accountability that rules the ether has made it hard for people to translate their keystrokes into action. Howard Dean showed us that. We can connect and agree, slapping each other on the back and exchanging wild emoticons, but the results are amorphous and hard to turn into anything concrete and enduring.
Among creative people we find similar divides and so many of them are self imposed. Aesthetics are ruled by professionalism. Be an actor but you can't then be a writer too. You can act on TV but not in movies. You can write comedy but can't paint murals. You can be a rocker but don't expect to be taken seriously as a composer.
Sure, some people climb over a wall here or there, the Sean Jean/P Diddys, the Will Smith/ Fresh Princes, the Carrie Fishers, the J-Los.
But we much prefer to know which section of the bookstore to find our favorite authors and the more they repeat themselves - the John Grishams, the Tom Clancys, the James Pattersons - the more we will reward them. The same goes for bands and movie stars and fashion designers and chefs. " Be consistent. Let people know what to expect. Be a brand"
And how we draw those barriers through our own lives too, imposing restrictions often through sheer inertia. "I don't eat Indian food. I don't read mysteries. I hate French wine. I'm not into documentaries. I don't look good in red. I hate history. I never go to the opera. Blah, blah, blah."
And then, deeper still, we carve labels on our very Selves: "I'm not talented. I'm an amateur. I can't draw. I've got two left feet. I'll never make it. I don't have a degree. My whole family is tone deaf. I never read. I'm a woman. I'm too old. I have to make a living. I never finish things. Blah, blah, blech."
Spare me.
Can't we all be a litter more subtle, a little more aware, a little more creative, and start seeing the world in all its shades of grey, and all the hues of the spectrum?
We don't live in a box. We live on a ball, always revolving, always changing, moving ahead, never in the same place for more than a moment. That's the nature of the universe. That's the true nature of man. And that, my label hungry friends, is what Art is all about.
Comments
go danny! and, thank you. xo, your fan
Posted by: jane | February 23, 2004 12:02 AM
Boy, I really struggle with this too, Danny. Why aren’t people more willing to step outside of the little cages they’ve built for themselves — or worse yet, let popular culture build for them? I hate feeling like a snob because I don’t watch hours of network television or love whatever music is being pushed on commercial radio. More often than not, when I bring up something I’ve watched or read, I get blank looks, and the comment “how do you *know* about that?” And I’m not even trying that hard to veer out of the mainstream.
It’s our job, yours, mine, anyone reading this, to help chip away at the ignorance that fuels label-slapping and over-generalization — and also to be willing to have our own ignorance pointed out to us. We can only do this if we are willing to encourage one another to think more carefully, more rigorously about what we see, hear and say, rather than living in fear of offending one another.
Around the time the Beatles crested their first wave of popularity with songs like “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” and “Love Me Do,” Bob Dylan told a shocked John Lennon, “I like your music, but you don’t really have anything to *say*.” I for one am glad Dylan was willing to challenge Lennon; who knows if we would have gotten “Yesterday” or “Nowhere Man” if he hadn’t. I hope I can be bold enough to challenge myself and others this way. Frankly, I think it's one of the ways we can show real love to our fellow man.
I am off the soapbox now. Next?
Posted by: Jessica | February 23, 2004 12:44 AM
great writing i so agree, but everyone around me is saying
'be realistic, become a professional. forget your dreams, earn more money, leave your projects in the cupboard, teach people who dont want to learn, administer stuctures that self perpetuate"
aarghhh.
safety, stucture and survival or "selfish drifting"?
Posted by: Marian | February 23, 2004 03:56 AM
Danny,
My comment isn't profound- I just wanted to say thankyou, in particular for the last paragraph- I have printed it out and stuck it on my wall.
Thanks partly to your blog and writings, I'm embracing my passion for art and writing a lot more.
And gosh, it feels wonderful.
Thankyou
Posted by: Emily | February 23, 2004 04:04 AM
Danny, You made me re-think about why art is eternally in-the-moment. The real artists can't stop themselves. And they can't force themselves to appear to express something they haven't really felt. Our cultural screening device (ie.pigeonholes), I suppose is the great divide among artists.
Art Critic is kind of an oxymoron, I guess some people need it.
Posted by: patti Gregory | February 23, 2004 08:29 AM
Danny,
Thanks for the reminder. Labels can be safe and simple, but it's a pretty boring way to live.
Posted by: Kim | February 23, 2004 09:57 AM
hello danny
*waves*
my friend discovered you thru the artiology yahoo group, and we read you every morning at work!! art is our passion and our hobby, and you are so inspiring to us!!
i don't know what prompted this post, but these are issues i observe and get frustrated with as well, and you managed to cram them all so eloquently together into this entry! *mini bow* ;) the author comment struck me; i read 2 of dan brown's earlier books and the writing style and plot development are so similar that i am now not looking that forward to reading the da vinci code. when i was
to marian above: there is balance to be found in both supporting yourself and manifesting your dreams. be creative in how you generate income, i have finally found happiness with that balance by breaking away from traditional structures, and it is worth the monetary struggle to be tapping into my passions and what's important to me everyday. not all compromise is bad, if it leads you in the direction of manifesting your dreams.
danny, you might want to check out livejournal.com for keeping your blog. it is a wonderful community, some great artists and writers to be found, and people can post replies in a more bulletin-board fashion. and you can link to it from your website, and link to your website from your lj home page. if you go there, check out artists verian, lisalemonjello, blueframmento and moderngypsy. :)
TTFN!
-v :)
Posted by: vicki | February 23, 2004 10:50 AM
p.s. ooh, and "realitysandwich" on livejournal.com is a fanTAStic photographer! :)
Posted by: vicki | February 23, 2004 11:34 AM
I most heartily agree with you! People tend to want to label everyone...to fit us into a box. I live in a purple , chartreuse and magenta house that sports a dragonfly on the front. I live on a very conservative street and i'm sure my neighbours aren't too excited to have me there. Sometimes i think its good to shake things up....to be the change that you wish to see in the world. The only problem is that sometimes you are ridiculed for being a maverick and that can be difficult and painful. The alternative however is WAY worse.....so i'll just keep on being the eccentric little artist that lives in the purple house and drives the funky painted van!
Violette :)
Posted by: violette | February 23, 2004 12:02 PM
Isn't it funny how when you starting thinking about something new, you start noticing it more and more? I've been thinking about labels--particularly all the ones i've applied to myself. i read this at http://www.dailyzen.com the other day:
Because you grasp labels and slogans,
You are hindered by
Those labels and slogans,
Both those used in Ordinary life and those
Considered sacred.
Thus they obstruct your
Perception of objective truth,
And you cannot understand clearly.
-Linji (d. 867)
Exactly what I needed to read (hear) at that moment.
Peace,
Athena :-)
Posted by: athena | February 23, 2004 05:28 PM
Hi Danny,
I have decided that my new favorite color is grey, which is so approriate for your post! Seeing the grey, looking at our fellow earth dwellers and seeing their beauty instead of thier negative aspect is so very rewarding and so difficult, all at once. Walking softly, living and allowing others to live. JUST PLAIN EXPERIENCING instead of judging, labeling, containing.
Thank you!
Melly
Posted by: Melly | February 23, 2004 09:29 PM
Danny, Thanks for the essay! It was very inspiring. I really like the reminder that we're on this huge ball that keeps rotating. Ever changing, why can't humans accept that? I like it.
Thanks,
the coop
Posted by: cooper | February 23, 2004 10:14 PM
I use labels too often as well. Yet I am always telling myself that I do my best work when I'm not trying to fit into any category..just creating naturally!
I agree that the world is really too quick to judge based on labels! Imagine if each person were to be looked at individually..what forms a human being?.. what motivates that person? Hundreds of generations, localities, environments of all sorts, teachings, beliefs, experiences, preferences..the list is endless. Which is why we are all unique! Our leaders ought to think a little about that!
Athena, thanks for the quote from Linji..that's new to me, but it reminds me of a favourite poet of mine, Rumi. Such beautiful, simple and true words.
Posted by: Amy | February 24, 2004 09:06 AM
p.s. Danny, "perfect" is often admonished as a description for artwork, but dayamn, that piece up there looks pretty perfect to me!! Love the subtle touch at the end;-)
Posted by: Amy | February 24, 2004 09:11 AM
how true. it's like cate blanchett said in an interview "how can you say you'll never do somthing in your life? how can you know?"
Posted by: anke | February 25, 2004 05:48 PM
Danny, you are right. It's the same old story that's been going on probably since man's beginning. That is, seeing the world is a dualistic way (us/them, hero/villain, good/bad, faithful/infidel, patriot/traitor and so on.) When we can look at the world holistically our carefully guarded boundaries will dissolve and we will truly be able to call ourselves an evolved species.
Posted by: Karen Winters | February 26, 2004 12:55 AM
Cool!
I'm so pleased when I friend sent me your blog!
Very, very cool!
I'm a brazilian illustrator.
bye bye
Mariana
Posted by: mariana | March 24, 2004 06:32 AM