Weighing the World
by Skrubly

There was a part in that movie Smoke, about the cigar store, where the guy tells the story about how Sir Walter Raliegh won a bet way back when. The bet was that he could weigh the amount of smoke that a cigar produces while you smoke it; of course, he weighed the cigar, smoked it, and did some basic substraction and voila - you have the weight of smoke. I'm sure that's not completely accurate, but fuck, it was a movie.

So my question is, how do you weigh the world?

It's rhetorical, of course, but it kind of makes me wonder if we have to
smoke the world to find out how much it weighs in the end.

How utterly profound. And all this on a Sunday night.

Perspective is something that people who draw pictures are very very concerned with - in a sense, it defines the entire piece. You can argue about artistic elements until the sun goes down, but how is the global perspective of online culture affecting the art that we produce? This is all beginning to sound like WIRED-influenced running off at the mouth, with glib statements from old men who have shed their suits in the hope of plugging in to the next level of commerce. But seriously, where does perspective come into all of this?

A slight digression. I work a day job, and when I'm at work I typically idle on irc in various channels. During my day, I get to talk to people from Sweden, Israel, Russia, Canada, and all parts of the United States. Which results in a hell of a lot of perspectives (and languages, for that matter) being heard. Where does this fit in with the art scene?

Well, to come to my point, which has been stated by other people long ago, is that we all have our own perspective. Where I live, what I work at, who I talk to both online and off influence my view of the world. And I feel less provincial because of it; I'm not bound by the borders of my country as much as others might be. Pundits have commented that the web and irc derivatives are like CB radio; everyone has the ability to say things, but in actuality have nothing of substance to say. I hope through my writing that I can communicate my point of view, and incorporate others - I think everyone who draws feels this as well. And the result of it all is a style that is unique, not only to the person, but to our entire scene as a whole.

So we've got the world here, and all sorts of people in it. Cross-contient groups, people from all over the place getting together to do something. We all have our own reasons for being here, but in the end I think we really are pushing towards something that hasn't been seen in art history ever. I'm not attempting to come off as someone who thinks that "we" made the internet what it is; we're here at the right time.

So let's enjoy it, because I think it's only going to get better and more exciting from here.

Discussion Topic this month:
How has the Internet, and indeed cross-culture contact changed the perspectives of people drawing art? Indeed, has it changed the way people approach art? Think about joints and cross-country art as well..

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