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It's been now 31/2 years since I started blogging. I am very happy to say that I have absolutely kept to my original mandate. I never wanted this to be a "diary" blog, but one which tries to record social and cultural issues through a somewhat "artistic" lens. It was also meant as a record of my ideas, an evolution from the kernels of my first thoughts to their later developments. In fact, some of these ideas have generated into full-blown articles, which have been getting published online.
I started blogging because there was no way for me to develop some thoughts I had without appearing like a slightly wacky guest (or friend). I remember talking to a Jamaican woman about the Amhara, and inadvertently I said, "well, they're different from other Africans." This set off a sarcastic (as only Jamaicans can do it) comment, and she was actually being kind to me. Another time, a black friend said that his black (literally black colored) car was called Cleopatra. And of course I said "Cleopatra wasn't black!" At another moment, I tried to make a point that the Ethiopian religious art was successful because it tried to emulate Western art, which it borrowed from some few icons available, or through "ambassadorial" visits (which were coerced into years) of Italian painters at the Kings' courts. This was very badly taken by those around me.
And these were just "social" commentaries. Think of what I went through with the infinitely more difficult environment where I voiced my artistic viewpoints; difficult since it is "experts" who are always called upon, and anyone not voicing the current beliefs is no expert.
So, I was already developing a thesis of the particularity of culture, and the importance of preserving the Western culture, which was getting chipped from all sides - by blacks, whites, multiculturalists, liberals, you name it.
I tried to make the tone of this blog a moderate one. After all, those who advocate the superiority of their choices have a right to do so, and in some ways, it was understandable. So, I wasn't going to berate anyone. And in fact, I like and respect some of these people on many other levels. Plus, I didn't want to lose all my energy decrying them, when I needed all that I had to try and come up with solutions and exits to this horrible problem.
I think the arts are perhaps one of the most revealing aspects of our societies: our buildings, our literature, our paintings and fine arts, and of course our movies. Even the most atrocious of attempts can be model works, telling us not only the time-old preoccupations of mankind (life, death, love, happiness), but also the directions in which we are going. They become records and prophecies, all in one. So, I actually think there is a reason why we reached this strange impasse. And I don't necessarily think it was a malicious strategy, only a misdirected on. Certainly there are monsters - my favorite one is Daniel Libeskind, who designed the atrocious Royal Ontario Museum extension. But for the most part, people are led, down that proverbial cliff. And some of us have to guide them away from there.
So here are some of my three-year revelations, and modest guides to slowly extract us from our condition. I have linked each of the headings to the series of posts that come under that category in my blog.
Architecture
How architecture has become the final frontier in modernism. The Damien Hirst "art" atrocities in practice affect only the few fools who spend millions on that "art. But architecture is out there in the public sphere, the final vanity of the "artist". It is there for all to see, and to be affected by. Libeskind does more damage per square foot than Damien Hirst ever could per $1 Million.
Books , Multiculturalism
Post 1960s multicultural and ethnic literature , after generations of "assimilated" and even highly educated authors, still is full of alienation and lack of belonging. Second or third generation Indians, Chinese, Africans have not found their place in Canada and the US.
Islam - under the sister blog "Our Changing Landscape"
Islam, which seems like any other religion, is actually going through a stealthy, covert, cultural take-over of the West. Not only that, it is parasitically using Western traditions to make its headway.
Film
Post 1960s (again! Is there a trend here?) films are often a disappointment. Their overarching desire to please rather than to tell the truth (as all serious art should aspire to do), deflates their messages, makes bad actors out of their stars, and always leave us wanting more.
Multiculturalism, Immigration
Urban landscapes (and even suburban ones) are increasingly being defined by immigrants. This might be a good thing, but what if small stores are now brazenly emitting Arabic music (full of Allahs and Habibis?) Or Somali restaurants are being searched for illegal drugs such chat, a common herb in Somalia but illegal in Toronto? Or we have the "Summers of the Guns", where black Caribbean youth wreck havoc and death through gang-related gun fires? Or our TV shows are beginning to succumb to the bullying of special-interest immigrant groups?
Design
Design, the fundamental point of communication of cultures, is becoming obscured and illegible. The recent Olympics Team uniform was so convoluted - having a myriad of Chinese symbols (on Canadian athletes!) that I am sure it contributed to a psychical withdrawal of the athletes. The problem was actually very logical: the designers who took over the project were both of East Asian origin.
Music
I started a youtube music site, Cameramusica, where I upload some of my favorites, or music that has affected me one way or the other. They are mostly classical, although I will start putting up non-classical as well. Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, I think could be considered a classical piece. He certainly wrote it as an opera. Here is one realm, music, where I tried to be not too critical!
You can read full entries on these topics, and many more, by linking to the side-panel of "Topics". For articles, you can link directly to the online publications, also on the left panel.
So, what are my solutions? Well, one way is of course this blog.
The other way is to promote my work, my designs, as careful processes which take into consideration the culture, landscape, design and art traditions of my own environment. It is a difficult task I've given myself. But, the whimsical, abstracted, internalized, "ethnic" and remotely-referenced works wont part of my palate make. At times, yes, of course, and certainly. But, that will not be my modus operandi.
So, having given myself a lofty task, I think I have borne it reasonably well over these years, with some ups and downs, but always walking down the course.