I've noticed in the last months that the former 'arts district' of culver city is slowly drying up with a large number of the local galleries and independent shops being forced to close their doors due to the struggling economy. It got me thinking about when times get difficult, the arts are the first flesh to be severed from the bone as unnecessary. Wealth aside, what if the pizza hut, or the car dealership, or the gentleman's club went belly up instead? It seems that art is really viewed outside of the core ideals of the general public; as something that's decadent, superfluously commodified, and easily jettisoned. A spectacle to be viewed and sometimes appreciated in conversation, but not something that could alter one's perception, elevate one's senses, or actually be a force in changing reality. It just feels right now that art is packaged up and is in storage; until there is a surplus of time, money, or the desire for difference again...
Quite lonely then.
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