Vispo: Invention

RTomens, 2022

Artists constantly invent in the moment but it's hard to imagine anyone actually inventing their 'path'. Too many other factors influence the 'route'. But what made Jean-Paul Sartre (the source of the quote in the piece) so popular in the post-war world was not only his 'new' philosophy but the promise it held; the idea that, yes, despite everything, you could 'invent' yourself, your path, your 'freedom'. I think. I don't know. I don't read philosophers other than in snippets from flicking through books. 

Pop stars invent themselves but I'm not sure people often do. Still, it's tempting to believe it's possible; to fight the idea that destiny and circumstance(s) are determining how we live, what we are. The internet has enabled millions of people to reinvent themselves, as more beautiful or successful than they actually are. Success and beauty being relative. In a sense we are all inventions on the internet. It's a medium which, like TV and Film, creates the illusion of reality. It cannot present the reality of a person. 

Invention was typed this morning.