I cannot shake the apparent and obvious realization that we are living through an era of decline. The evidence of decay in virtually all of the institutions is overwhelming. A look at the drop in quality in the arts most reflect this but the same creep has metastasized with rapidity and now permeates most of the social sciences.
While original thoughts may exist they lack quality, people break parameters of excellence for the wrong reason without truly understanding what those parameters are. Modern Art nauseates more than it inspires as does the musical equivalent that substitutes technological fuzz for original brilliance.
The trend is not new but it is more difficult to obfuscate than it was earlier on. There is a destructive nihilism that has produced a paradigm that loathes the core of Western civilization and it is given cover by a screen of cynicism that gives no heed to value.
Art in its essence reflects the zeitgeist of the day. It externalizes the soul of the culture unveiling its spirit. At times during the turbulence of the human struggle this bestows a bleakness as it rightfully should. However even then, in previous times of much hardship, it has sought to elevate.
This is rarely the case now despite our submergence in an era of material wealth. Desperation, alienation and negativity abound. The light has been dimmed with the artist all too often suffusing a desperation with a poverty of technique. They should do better but they don't. A mentality of decay pervades the discipline qualifying greater concerns that exist elsewhere.
FROM THIS
source: news.psu.edu
TO THIS...
Source: Garbage Easter Drawing source: saatchiart.com
AND THIS
source: kmccrusade.com
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