It is a basic human impulse to make things: the basic and poignant idea of surrounding oneself with plenitude, making it harder for death to penetrate. Connecting the great arc of maker and collector/consumer, no one is spared this inevitability. It is crucial that we see ourselves in what we make, the third-person surrogate, the objective representation of the intangibility of existence. The activity of “making” does not really provide any answers, but it does keep presenting questions. We keep at it, making and depicting, almost without choice. The constructed depiction of our identity tells us that we are here and that this is what we look like, what we think and what we aspire to be, have and what we believe. So goes an African saying: “One should not have to live without things so fine,” even if comprehension isn’t part of the equation.
Dear Roy,
I love this “statement” of the state of things…and couldn’t agree more. You have given an eloquent and concise voice to thoughts I’ve had as well. Especially the idea that making does not provide answers …as perhaps we unconsciously desire…but continually provides more questions which beckon us on.
Thanks for this!