pre’posterous by Leanne

Observations from Leanne:

All of this HAD to be said. We all need to quit prancing around the edges of what is going on in our world... NOT just artists but every soul on the planet. I am not surprised to read this, coming from a creative, however. I have always felt that those of us with the creative edge are a bit - to a LOT - closer to the heart of things. We see the invisible along with the invisible. We more deeply understand thoughts, feelings, and emotion, while much of the world seems inured to the things swirling around them.

Amy Wilson states, "The recession isn't 'all in our heads;' it's not a matter of just cheering up and thinking optimistically and it will all go away." Listen up folks, it is NOT going away. At least for a period of time, what we are experiencing is "The Way We Are," and not "The Way We Were." (1973 Streisand flick)

This article is absolutely packed with good advice. It's somewhat dismal, but agonizingly realistic. Amy goes on, "What's happening in the world right now is scary. And like the saying goes: if you're not scared, you're not paying attention." Here is THE place to start: "Admit that things are bad – really, really bad. The only way we're going to ever overcome what the hell is going on is if we take a moment and really acknowledge what's happening. You can't really understand the problem if you keep telling yourself that it's over or it's not as bad as absolutely everyone around you is assuring you it is."

Can you control your situation? It is MY belief that there are things you can control. You can control, somewhat to mostly, your reaction to things. You can choose to remain calm, which is the only setting that will allow you to think and to plan. Amy Wilson states, "Know that you are not in control. We have no idea what is going to happen in the next few years. Really. I feel pretty confident in saying that the art world is going to look quite different in about five years than it does right now..." I agree, the creative world will look different, but only in keeping with what the rest of the world will look like. Again, you CAN control your thought patterns, and your reactions to the whirling chaos.

Amy's next statement mirrors my own, in my experience in teaching art online. Any parent will agree... any thinking human being will echo these thoughts... The next generations have inherited ALL of the history of humankind. "The one thing I feel pretty good about predicting is that when the smoke all clears, who is going to be in control of it is that new generation that I've been so worried about giving bad advice to. They're the ones who are going to solve all the problems dumped on them, because they have to – they have no choice."

If we can keep enough perspective, if we can take our collective knowledge and really BE a support to our young people... we have a chance.

Amy gives solid thought and advice in her concluding points:

1. "I have no idea what the future holds, and I just really needed to say that. (Nobody else knows, either, and run away from those who say they do.)"

2. "We're all pretty terrified. Some people are terrified-optimistic and others terrified-pessimistic, but overall we share the same base emotion."

3. "It's going to be ok, because it has to be ok. There is no other choice."

Yes, our choices are very limited.

Wake up call! No use in kicking dead dogs. We must nurture the puppies.

It is now finally the time that I've seen since 1989 and entering the computing world from the Art world. Science and Art can be wonderful bedfellows. Da Vinci was ever clear about that. All the greatest writings of the world have reference to that. Poets have seen it. Scientists have searched cell to heaven to show the affinity of the two.

It is finally time - We must use both science and art, the technical and the creative heart of things - to cure a planet.