fragilekeys

Rocking chair is still without a rocker but it’s still a chair. –Bibio

I

Art… over? — Hegel first proclaimed “the end of art,” and in the two centuries since, we have seen this prophecy come true. Of course, one will immediately object: but art is everywhere! Not only Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, Fluxus, Pop Art, Happenings, and all the other movements– everything you find in the museum and art history– but the graffiti and the fashion on the streets, new digital media, graphic design, installations, etc. What’s more, Dick Blick is still open, along with the Art Departments and the galleries. Indeed, this seems to contradict poor Hegel’s claim. But first we have to ask: which “art,” exactly, did he see coming to an “end”? Perhaps this diversification, proliferation, and expansion of the “arts” has something to do with the “end of art” after all– that is, with the opening of art beyond the art of former times, beyond a certain type of art that has ended. Or again: perhaps it is a matter of rethinking “art” from the very beginning. Continue reading →

The music of sense– and not, “the sense of music.” Continue reading →

We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. –Barack Obama

The events that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School last week were unspeakable. Nothing could be more obvious. But when it comes to unspeakable things, we have to talk and keep talking. Not necessarily about the “issues” that are at stake here, at least not only about them. Not firstly about gun control, violence in the media and video games, the failure of our mental health and penal system, among other important issues. Of course they must be discussed and are gravely important. Obviously changes in these areas must be made and, I hope, eventually will. But what this tragedy has shown us, it seems more than others, is that what matters first of all is to talk about and to share something more basic: the pain of the event itself. Even if, in the process of trying to speak about it, we are reduced to tears and shuddering. Even if we have no clue what to say. Continue reading →