What you see is not necessarily what you get! Images, information, fashion, media are all complicit in the surfaces that you see. The world of the flattened image is mistaken for reality. Much like the facades of Hollywood's old Western sets, the full view is determined by your vantage point. It looks great from the street but not so believable from the back.
In truth, as our lives become more complex and we are increasingly bombarded by information, it becomes more difficult to get three dimensional perspective. There is not enough time to explore anything in detail. Everything becomes a Wikipedia entry culminating in an increased quantity of information but with a distinct lack of awareness. Taste is subsumed in the flavour of the day. Last months fad is so dated compared to this months fad. At some point you have to ask, 'what is the value of this?"
I can see in the near future that there is the potential for a backlash. One can already see it in the "slow movement" and other similar social movements that seek to question our current social situation. These movements stem initially from a crisis of authenticity. There is so much information that it clogs the drain and it becomes problematic to separate the wheat from the chaff. One has to step back, take a deep breath, establish what one values and throw the rest away. It is necessary to create subjective clarity as well as objective clarity.
I have used the notion of surface metaphorically but if you think of the reality, we are bombarded by the surface in its most literal sense. TV, computer, and even wall paper are all deceptions or masks of the reality. I was reading an article in an Interior Design magazine forecasting what the hot new colours are going to be this year. When you think about it, it is not quite like the weather! There is no legitimate fact to base an assumption on. Hot colours can only be analyzed after the fact as a cultural phenomenon. What is the weatherman of colour basing his analysis on?
The truth is lost in opinion. So lets collectively get up and push a quantity of infomation aside and apply some quality judgement to our situation. Learn to appreciate what is important to you and follow your creed. Use that unlimited source of information wisely and try and do something positive with it!
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