"Underneath it there is a secret that nobody can reveal." - Jimmy Cliff, Wonderful World, Beautiful People
December 4 – Wonder.
How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
(Author:Jeffrey Davis)
I thought a lot about this prompt as the same day it came up, I tumblred this quote:
I realize with a sense of dread that one grows numb with regard to even the most wonderful things when they become part of one’s daily interactions and surroundings. - Rainer Maria Rilke
I was convinced all weekend that I was going to write something contrarian that would get into the semantics of "wonder" and whether or not it should be cultivated but as I sat down to write, I realized that was all...mishigas.
Straight bullshit.
I saw a giant cherry on a spoon in Minnesota this year. I saw statues from an ancient time at LACMA this year. I was inspired by the use of hip hop in visual art this year.
Every time I went to a museum, particularly contemporary ones, I was awed and inspired. I'm always amazed by the creativity and crazy of the artists of the last century. My mind is set ablaze by what's possible in the world when I consider what kind of skill and determination it must've taken to create amazing works prior to the industrial revolution.
Louis C.K. has a joke about time travel and Black people and how we'd never want to go back before 1980 and while that's true, if all things were equal, I'd love to go back and see the kind of dedication, passion, and commitment it must've taken a Mayan to carve stone without the benefit of paper to sketch out a plan before hand or precision tools. I'd love to see an ancient Indian sculpt an intricate Ganesha. I'd love to eavesdrop on an Andy Warhol conversation about pop art.
I cultivated wonder this year by being cultured. I visited and supported institutions of Art history, archival, curation, and collection whenever I could.
More of that in 2011 for sure. Perhaps in a different country, too. That would be nice.
