2008-08-28T14:03:00Z http://justanotherculturalvisionary.com/comments/atom.aspx Quick Blog tag:justanotherculturalvisionary.com,2008-08-24:1307244 Jambontoo 2008-08-24T11:39:03Z 2008-08-24T11:07:14Z tag:justanotherculturalvisionary.com,2008-04-04:943304 Suzie http://suzemusic.net/ 2008-04-04T10:17:36Z 2008-04-04T04:01:05Z tag:justanotherculturalvisionary.com,2008-02-25:853658 Will http://www.williamderaymond.net 2008-02-25T14:13:50Z 2008-02-25T14:13:50Z tag:justanotherculturalvisionary.com,2008-02-22:849105 Suzie 2008-02-22T18:26:10Z 2008-02-22T18:26:10Z tag:justanotherculturalvisionary.com,2008-02-15:832601 LIZ 2008-02-15T14:00:53Z 2008-02-15T14:00:53Z tag:justanotherculturalvisionary.com,2008-02-11:823888 Liz 2008-02-11T13:20:03Z 2008-02-11T13:20:03Z tag:justanotherculturalvisionary.com,2008-02-05:812645 Johanna 2008-02-05T19:06:26Z 2008-02-05T19:06:26Z tag:justanotherculturalvisionary.com,2007-11-16:662248 Jeremy 2007-11-16T07:35:32Z 2007-11-16T07:35:32Z Rereading and sitting with this almost sets me dreaming. It sounds harsher than I intented, but I wouldn't change it. But I read a blog piece by Dick Cavett in the Times about a late night show he did with Mailer, Vidal and Flanner and I start to remember the 60's in terms of that weird 50's energy that not only spilled out of the 50's but also really defined the 60's.

If everyone pretends that everything is hunky-dwinky long enough, pretty soon you get this crazed angst energy, because the world is never basically OK. Maybe we're back there now. It's not just everyone saying it's AOK, but having some oppressive force and then coming out of it saying things are alright -- like the Depression and WW II for the 50's. Now it's the 'war on terror' and no real philosophy. At the moment, that real anxiety vibration is still a very low tone from where I sit -- maybe it's more forceful for the kids. But, in any case, it's got to come out at some point.

Cavett's thing reminds us of how television once had a legitimate intellectual dimension. As much as I whack Mailer for his posturing about philosophy when he really didn't have a clue, the fact that he postured says something telling about then and now.

And Mailer DID give us a voice for that crazy angst energy that came out of the 50's and propelled and defined so much of what happened in the 60's.

It almost makes me want to write something larger.]]> tag:justanotherculturalvisionary.com,2007-10-28:619122 will http://www.williamderaymond.net 2007-10-28T11:21:55Z 2007-10-28T11:21:55Z tag:justanotherculturalvisionary.com,2007-10-25:613798 Jeremy 2007-10-25T17:09:38Z 2007-10-25T17:09:38Z
But the neo-classical is a special case. Since neo-classicism at this point is the minority view, I assume anyone who overtly or covertly espouses it must resort to the peculiar technique you describe.

Neo-classicism, in the sense of gathering the values out of tradition, is the only solution to the contemporary dilemma. But the same word or phrase covers some of the worst aspects of the contemporary arts. We have neo-classical versions of almost every 'radical' departure in the last hundred plus years. Fauvism, German Expressionism, Abstract Expressionism, all have had their 'neo-classical' reinterpretations.

One would have thought that the presumption that we could dump tradition would have exhausted itself by now. But the inertial force of the market apparently depends on it. Billions in investments cannot be gainsaid.

The only answer is Cezanne. To continue to gather values with an open heart and a clear mind wherever one finds them, is the only answer to the self-inflating puffery of fools.

Tony's work is the perfect response.]]>