sorry for the length of this-- i have been away lately and just returned.. and am filled with words at the moment, and am very inspired in this topic because of the feelings i have been having lately regarding my decision to be here in florida.
vox populi.
it is a hard thing, trying to be all-ecompassing, all-embracing.
vox populi often becomes a muddled mass of confusion. 'bad taste' is generally what we do not like, but when i use the term 'we' the definition of 'bad taste' can vary dramatically based on what group i am involving myself with.
when i am with my parents, our opinion of bad taste resides amidst certain parameters, when i am with my younger brother, or you and jane, or elliot, or my cousins in southern illinois, or my fellow floridians, the overall sense of what we collectively consider bad taste can be a million different things. do i include myself in seemingly contradictory opinions? i am often forced to. i suspect that all of are forced to.
if i was hanging out on a back porch with my cousins of southern illinois, i would have to agree that the barbiedoll jumpsuit from walmart that they've dressed their newborn daughter in makes her look beautiful. i would be caught between social obligation and my overwhelming desire to find beauty in all humans. although i have very strong feelings about walmart, i would rather be supportive of them (realizing that walmart is the best thing they know to buy for their baby) instead of secretly sighing in anguish.
it is difficult though, because i would love to surround myself in a world of distinctive aesthetic adventures and beauties, and be surrounded by those with whom i can converse freely and appreciate their choice in sweaters and a lifestyle that revolves around good food, contra dancing, etc.
and yet being so distinguishing sometimes creates walls. so i'm trying to love living down the road from a permanent yard sale filled with rusting appliances and hideous lounge sets, recently soaked from the summery, afternoon rain. i'm trying to not miss the humans for the giant trucks, beer bottles, and barbwire tattoos.
in high school, i loved reading martha stewart magazines, because things seemed so ordered and delicate in the worlds and gardens she created (a marked escape from the feeling i get while being in garish, gaudy florida. now i've moved on to a love for urban design magazines. but as much as i love the beauty, there is little life to be found in the realms of those perfect pages. it will do me some good, i think, if i do get a job here in FL, and embrace the fact that i know no one here who is my age and understands why i don't wear make-up and shop at the mall every weekend, and why i don't drink beer and smoke or have tattoos or multiple piercings in my ears.
it is so easy for me to alienate and deride these sorts of people from my life, but right now i am trying to realize that we are all part of this vox populi. i liked 4th of july- though i had to overcome my "damn american patriotism that turns a blind eye to the issues of the world and its own country" and just realize how beautiful it was for a bunch of people to be hanging out on a beach celebrating and setting off fireworks. i think fireworks are the closest type of art that i've experienced in the past while that could sort of represent a voice of common people..
Wow, that's crazy, the fireworks as the vox populi? What a thought. I wonder what that would say about us...? That definitely seems to jive with the feeling I was having at that point--being totally exasperated with elitism and looking for something more, something actually human. Fireworks are so crude in a way--Bing! BANG explosions and whatnot. Just a lot of light and sound and smoke...there's something so innocently human about that, you know? Bing! Bang! Poof!
5 comments:
vox populi—the voice of the people.
what the?
where the?
who the?
HOW the?
sorry for the length of this-- i have been away lately and just returned.. and am filled with words at the moment, and am very inspired in this topic because of the feelings i have been having lately regarding my decision to be here in florida.
vox populi.
it is a hard thing, trying to be all-ecompassing, all-embracing.
vox populi often becomes a muddled mass of confusion. 'bad taste' is generally what we do not like, but when i use the term 'we' the definition of 'bad taste' can vary dramatically based on what group i am involving myself with.
when i am with my parents, our opinion of bad taste resides amidst certain parameters, when i am with my younger brother, or you and jane, or elliot, or my cousins in southern illinois, or my fellow floridians, the overall sense of what we collectively consider bad taste can be a million different things. do i include myself in seemingly contradictory opinions? i am often forced to. i suspect that all of are forced to.
if i was hanging out on a back porch with my cousins of southern illinois, i would have to agree that the barbiedoll jumpsuit from walmart that they've dressed their newborn daughter in makes her look beautiful. i would be caught between social obligation and my overwhelming desire to find beauty in all humans. although i have very strong feelings about walmart, i would rather be supportive of them (realizing that walmart is the best thing they know to buy for their baby) instead of secretly sighing in anguish.
it is difficult though, because i would love to surround myself in a world of distinctive aesthetic adventures and beauties, and be surrounded by those with whom i can converse freely and appreciate their choice in sweaters and a lifestyle that revolves around good food, contra dancing, etc.
and yet being so distinguishing sometimes creates walls. so i'm trying to love living down the road from a permanent yard sale filled with rusting appliances and hideous lounge sets, recently soaked from the summery, afternoon rain. i'm trying to not miss the humans for the giant trucks, beer bottles, and barbwire tattoos.
in high school, i loved reading martha stewart magazines, because things seemed so ordered and delicate in the worlds and gardens she created (a marked escape from the feeling i get while being in garish, gaudy florida. now i've moved on to a love for urban design magazines. but as much as i love the beauty, there is little life to be found in the realms of those perfect pages. it will do me some good, i think, if i do get a job here in FL, and embrace the fact that i know no one here who is my age and understands why i don't wear make-up and shop at the mall every weekend, and why i don't drink beer and smoke or have tattoos or multiple piercings in my ears.
it is so easy for me to alienate and deride these sorts of people from my life, but right now i am trying to realize that we are all part of this vox populi. i liked 4th of july- though i had to overcome my "damn american patriotism that turns a blind eye to the issues of the world and its own country" and just realize how beautiful it was for a bunch of people to be hanging out on a beach celebrating and setting off fireworks. i think fireworks are the closest type of art that i've experienced in the past while that could sort of represent a voice of common people..
Wow, that's crazy, the fireworks as the vox populi? What a thought. I wonder what that would say about us...? That definitely seems to jive with the feeling I was having at that point--being totally exasperated with elitism and looking for something more, something actually human. Fireworks are so crude in a way--Bing! BANG explosions and whatnot. Just a lot of light and sound and smoke...there's something so innocently human about that, you know? Bing! Bang! Poof!
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