<documenta X><blast> <DocumentaX><Blast>Naked Truth
Jaakko Hucklebee (jessec@zipnet.net)
Fri, 22 Aug 1997 02:02:02 -0400
Jose Ortega y Gasset credited Thales, the first philosopher, the first
person to have a real thought, with the origin of the desire to look at
the naked truth of reality. No myths, no
religions, no legends, no quotes of authority figures, simply the
frightening--he would be considered terrifying because he would not let
others live (believe)--reality of taking things as they are. And what
happens when I look at the naked truth. May I please? May I paint it?
Ok, I'll take off my own clothing. Hang it in the naked space of
the night. Take things as they are or take the desire away in favor of
fear, this is my choice. The ancient discourse, now twenty-five hundred
years since, continues: Is there really a "way things are?"
Now postmodern, post-structural and multicultural, there are good
reasons to think that there isn't a "way things are." There are aspects,
perspectives of our vision and the thing's look, that I must believe are
more than merely a take. (I mean first I "take" it to be a cat on the
roof, then I "believe"--as I come nearer--that it is a dog on the roof,
so I stop the car and get out to have a look for sure before I say that
I "know" there was a dog on the roof) And I say that I didn't think that
dogs walked on roofs, but I know they do, because I was able to "see"
it.
Now, I've said only that space in the night is naked after I have
removed my clothing. If I put my clothing back on, will the space be
less naked? Am I still after the naked truth, or have I overcome the
truth-universal in favor of the "will" or "the being of being" or "the
aspects of the thing?" Don't even ask. Ask only for the use, not the
"why" or the "truth." The use will not lie to you! The "truth" has
always been a lie. The "why" has always been wrong. I'll be naked for
you to use to understand space, it's perspectives and modalities, why
not? I take it we are corroborating rather than engaged in mimetic
rivalry? (So foolish of me, friendly really)
Of course, as George Santayana wrote, as was once valid, in the
olden days, there have been those good people who did not care to look
at the way things really existed. The early Christians wanted nothing
to do with reality as we know it, with life on earth with other people.
Perhaps ancient believers in God or Buddha understood very well the
thoughtful mind of an atheist such as Santayana or Plato and chose not
to see their scientific reality or decided that they too wanted nothing
to do with reality, with the naked truth, with people like William S.
Burroughs or Laurie Anderson.
I still work from nudes but I need some proof of naked truth, I
won't will it. And is it really very wise to look at the naked truth? Is
there any survival value? If one crosses religious people, (and
Scientologists too) they will putdown the scientist or nonbeliever as
completely as they can. These putdown/support groups are, and Horkheimer
would agree with me, the foundations of human of social origins. The
Scapegoaters. The common enemy was the only glue of the Republican
Party, and their enemy went from Communism to Welfare Mothers and,
finally, to artists. Say "naked" truth on a website and robots will make
sure no American child sees that artsite.
If Jesus was alive today and trying to do some poetry on the web,
he would be saying to Peter: "Not being hypocrites, we don't have a
religion, and we don't have any jobs, and we don't have a society online
at this point. So I'll be the scapegoat and you all can just Eat Me!"
Hucklebee
--
?_
-------------------------------------------------------------
a forum on spatial articulations, perspectives, and procedures
texts are the property of individual authors
for information, email majordomo@forum.documenta.de with
the following line in the message body: info blast
archive at http://www.documenta.de/english/blasta.htm
or http://www.documenta.de/deutsch/blasta.htm
documenta X Kassel and http://www.documenta.de 1997
-------------------------------------------------------------