Re: >H KICK IN THE ASS and KICK OFF!

Natasha Vita More (natasha@natasha.cc)
Thu, 16 Apr 1998 20:36:46 -0500


At 10:23 AM 4/15/98 +0200, Anders Sandberg wrote:

>(a very readable posting; I enjoy this kind of mini-reviews of
>subjects I don't know much about)

>One problem I see in presenting transhumanist art is the resistance to
>optimism in current culture; anything too optimistic is regarded as
>shallow because it ignores the "reality" of suffering (a way of
>thinking which I must admit I have never understood but seems to be
>popular). How do we circumvent that?

By being daring athletic mental champions of optimism! Suffering in itself
comes off as shallow when standing next to it is candor and valor.

We must ask for what we want and do it with clear vision and commitment.
The art world - in all its excitement and PCisms - is a very tough nut to
crack. It's self-perpetuating indulgences usually falls short of
imagination. (I won't get started on the internationally recognized
collaborative performance I saw last night by Philip Glass and Robert
Wilson ... -:)

Natasha