Stuck In A Warhole?
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We have entered a new era in which sincerity is a social handicap. Taking this to the extreme we can conclude that irony has replaced meaning and that substance has turned into a joke.
It is easy to blame Postmodernism but we must remember that Postmodernism evolved through Deconstructionism. It is actually the abuse of Postmodernism that has brought forth the collapse of the genuine.
One may argue that there is no longer anything genuine and state that zombie flash mobs are a reflection of modern day society. Bearing resemblance to an Onion article we are socialized into meta-commentary that is unaware of its own pop-irony and vapid attempt at subversion.
I like to call this phenomena “being stuck in a warhole” giving a nod to Andy Warhol and his social experiments. Warhol was a pioneer in the instigation of humans-as-art. People who do not realize that they are merely a piece in a puzzle of social art are stuck in the warhole of pop-irony. They are the grand entertainment and have not become aware of this.
Rather than viewing a club night as a club night people have come to view club nights as canvases that collectively paint themselves into a hilarious joke. It is reality television without the television show being official.
Nothing upsets me more than to see a passionate artist stuck in a warhole because they are so focused on their work that they don’t realize they are merely a subject for jaded intellectuals.
Let sincerity become the new irony. It is time to climb out of our collective warhole.
By Angela Adams, June 4, 2012 @ 4:09 am
Warhol was a practicing Ruthenian Rite Catholic. He regularly volunteered at homeless shelters in New York, particularly during the busier times of the year, and described himself as a religious person.[90] Many of Warhol’s later works depicted religious subjects, including two series, Details of Renaissance Paintings (1984) and The Last Supper (1986). In addition, a body of religious-themed works was found posthumously in his estate.[90]
During his life, Warhol regularly attended Mass, and the priest at Warhol’s church, Saint Vincent Ferrer, said that the artist went there almost daily,[90] although he was not observed taking communion or going to confession and sat or knelt in the pews at the back”.[82] The priest thought he was afraid of being recognized; Warhol said he was self-conscious about being seen in a Latin Rite church crossing himself “in the Orthodox way” (right to left instead of the reverse).[82]
His art is noticeably influenced by the eastern Christian iconographic tradition which was so evident in his places of worship.[90]
Warhol’s brother has described the artist as “really religious, but he didn’t want people to know about that because [it was] private”. Despite the private nature of his faith, in Warhol’s eulogy John Richardson depicted it as devout: “To my certain knowledge, he was responsible for at least one conversion. He took considerable pride in financing his nephew’s studies for the priesthood”.
By A.Lizard, June 4, 2012 @ 6:04 pm
We live in an era of declining attention spans. It’s time for people to get bored with irony. I suppose this means creating a trend and accelerating its spread.
By Moot, June 5, 2012 @ 12:29 pm
Whether it is or isn’t ingenuous I don’t care for Tom Waits’ music for just that reason.