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Looper's Delight
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This is a response to Rick's reflections on self esteem ,attention spans and creativity from my friend Steven Rosenthal,who invents instruments and tunings,does large (150' diameter)interactive musical sculptures,and was, with Darrell DeVore ,a founding member of the original Future Primitive Ensemble in the early 70s. " I agree with the premise, but I think I have drawn different conclusions. I'll start with the introductory line of my bio: "The emerging global culture is an outgrowth of a more global use of the mind..." I have encountered pretty much all the behaviors mentioned below and, looking at them on the surface, think the same things; "these kids (under about 35) can't concentrate, they're unfocused, under educated, uninformed, disinterested, etc. But then I have to wonder, maybe they are prepared, or preparing, for a very different world. In the latter part of the 20th century we witnessed the dissolution and gradual reforming of many of our core definitions. It seemed to me in the late 80's early 90's that relativism neutralized many denotations, critical theory, radical feminism, certain schools of psychology, and other approaches elevated connotation above concrete definition. Since then denotations have seemed to come back into focus albeit transformed to accommodate, I believe, the reality of the holistic quantum world over the more linear Newtonian/Cartesian paradigm. Back to the point; we are living in a world where the notion of too much information isn't an apathetic complaint, it's a reality. I was raised in a time where a basic educational premise was that it was possible to learn everything there was to know about something. This is simply not true anymore, furthermore, we are continually finding that much of what we do "know" is fundamentally flawed. I find in many young people a sort of naiveté coupled with a deep cynicism. Given the fact that they had baby boomers for parents, grew up with a remote control in their hands, in a world where sex could kill you, and bombarded with 100 years of recorded media (which is an environment totally alien to that which most traditional art forms evolved in); their attitude and inability or disinterest in methodical linear processes kind of makes sense. Turn-tableism makes sense, club scenes in which music that is not the focus but an element of a multimedia social banquet makes sense, as does rap in which only occasional phrases pop out of a blur of words. So, before we make pronouncements such as "there is a lack of creativity" we have to check our definitions in the contemporary context. I'm not talking about relativism, I'm talking about how to describe a world (view) that is in the middle of profound transition. Whereas in traditional cultures, change occasionally occurred against a backdrop of continuity, the only continuity we may look for now is in the rate of change. The Balinese example cited below is a good example. I had the good fortune to live and work on Bali in 1995 for about 7 weeks. I found that the statement below "…the vastly creative Balinese culture don't even have words for Art in their vocabulary, simply because everyone in (sic) the artist goes home after work and does something creative." is both true and false by American definitions of "art" and "creativity". I spent time with carvers, painters, and dancers both young and old (mostly male), and found little interest in doing something new or inventive. I got the feeling that left to their own devices, they would much prefer to paint or dance scenes from the Ramayana in the traditional ways. I learned that many, if not most, of what we see of contemporary Balinese arts and crafts were originally designed or requested by Westerners looking for products for export. Its my understanding that even the Kachak, or Monkey Chant, was originally created by a Westerner in the 20th century. In America novelty and innovation are highly valued, perhaps the current youth culture is so awash in it that they take it for granted. Also, in general, I would disagree that there is any shortage of creativity in America today. But much of it is directed towards commercial ends; follow the money. It is common for Westerners to visit non-western societies and come away with the impression that the locals are lazy and apathetic, largely because of their lack of "yankee hustle" or misunderstood behavior. Perhaps American youth have already changed so much that we misread their behavior. Is it lack of self esteem or a profoundly different sense of self (and the world)? "