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The Grit in the Oyster
Art depends on life’s dissonance and suffering
Yesterday I was watching the mini series based the novel, Childhood’s End by Arthur C Clarke. The storyline concerns a group of aliens of advanced intelligence and their benign invasion of Earth. Their purported aim is to facilitate the next evolutionary leap of the human race. After many years their devil like appearance is revealed, having all and sundry reaching for their Bibles. An early part of their seemingly benevolent influence is to eradicate all forms of suffering, conflict and injustice. Even work and employment are no longer necessary. The world unites under the gleaming banner of a new utopia.
Yet within this new perfect world something gives. And it is our art. All forms of culture and creativity vanish. Art, in all its myriad forms, dies. Without the conflict, the injustices, the suffering, we cease to exist as creators of art. The grit contained in the DNA of society is what produces art, our cultural pearls. Through dissonance and disorder we give birth to beauty and great works of art. It is the stuff that elevates humanity to another level of being, another level of consciousness.
There is only one place left on Earth that remains independent of alien influence and management. One place where the trials and tribulations of life continue and,therefore, art…
