Culture
Went to New York last weekend, so no lofty cultural events. But I did go to an awesome party on a boat. There were togas - nuff said.
I stayed with a friend of mine in Williamsburg, and I was frankly surprised by the amount of plaid on display. I really thought that hipsters had either moved on with their fashion choices or that there would be fewer of them, but no. Williamsburg is still the capital, it seems (Portland can give it a run for its money, though). My friend tells me that these are faux-hipsters, that one needs a lot of money to live in W-burg these days. I kind of think that hipster-ism always had a whiff of privilege. I don't think hipsters are really about creating art, but if they were, I don't think having a lot of money would be an impediment to that. I don't believe that artists have to be suffering and starving to create. Everyone has something that can inspire them to express themselves. But whatever hipsters do do, and it seems to be an entire sub-culture of critics, I think they've always been somewhat elite, 1%-ish kind of people. Their clothes are a commentary on class, perhaps, but not a very deep or incisive one. And having the time and money to spend on consuming culture, even if it's just to spit it back out in a cock-eyed way, does put one into a small select group.
I think this is kind of the thing that grates on me about Burning Man. I really appreciate it for its large-scale art and expressiveness, and even a little for the supposed freedom that it offers. But again, something rubs me the wrong way about people who have the time and money to go party in the desert for a week. There's something there that's not only about freedom and the joy of expressing oneself, but also about privilege and priorities, something that doesn't quite agree with me. I can't really put my finger on it. People should certainly be free to spend their time and money how they wish. But my obsessive analysis makes me dwell on those niggling little doubts. Someone asked me if I was going to Burning Man and my initial reaction is always a vehement "No." And while I may say it's because I really don't want to camp in the desert, it's the other parts of Burning Man that bother me just as much. Oh well, I'll have to consume my art in more main-stream ways.
I stayed with a friend of mine in Williamsburg, and I was frankly surprised by the amount of plaid on display. I really thought that hipsters had either moved on with their fashion choices or that there would be fewer of them, but no. Williamsburg is still the capital, it seems (Portland can give it a run for its money, though). My friend tells me that these are faux-hipsters, that one needs a lot of money to live in W-burg these days. I kind of think that hipster-ism always had a whiff of privilege. I don't think hipsters are really about creating art, but if they were, I don't think having a lot of money would be an impediment to that. I don't believe that artists have to be suffering and starving to create. Everyone has something that can inspire them to express themselves. But whatever hipsters do do, and it seems to be an entire sub-culture of critics, I think they've always been somewhat elite, 1%-ish kind of people. Their clothes are a commentary on class, perhaps, but not a very deep or incisive one. And having the time and money to spend on consuming culture, even if it's just to spit it back out in a cock-eyed way, does put one into a small select group.
I think this is kind of the thing that grates on me about Burning Man. I really appreciate it for its large-scale art and expressiveness, and even a little for the supposed freedom that it offers. But again, something rubs me the wrong way about people who have the time and money to go party in the desert for a week. There's something there that's not only about freedom and the joy of expressing oneself, but also about privilege and priorities, something that doesn't quite agree with me. I can't really put my finger on it. People should certainly be free to spend their time and money how they wish. But my obsessive analysis makes me dwell on those niggling little doubts. Someone asked me if I was going to Burning Man and my initial reaction is always a vehement "No." And while I may say it's because I really don't want to camp in the desert, it's the other parts of Burning Man that bother me just as much. Oh well, I'll have to consume my art in more main-stream ways.