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| Break Down The Barriers, RTomens, 2025 |
An A5-sized piece for a change. I haven't worked this small for a while. One obvious advantage is that density in type can be achieved more quickly than in a larger space. You may notice that the black is heavier due to a new ribbon. This makes me ponder how much use I should try to get out of a ribbon. Perhaps I should change them more frequently. Then again, I've seen many pieces in books which are light in terms of blackness and it doesn't harm the overall effect. The temptation is always to get as much out of a ribbon as is possible before weakening the impact too much.
'Normal thought' has to be placed in context, of course. I just liked the phrase when it leapt out of a short story. Normal thinking in one context may be abnormal in another. Normal is subjective, I suppose. Making visual poetry isn't 'normal', but does that make it abnormal? Artists like to think of themselves as not normal compared to those who don't make art. The romantic notion of the artists as 'crazy' outsider on the fringes of a 'straight' society dominated by common people who do normal jobs and rot their brains consuming normal entertainment - hah!
Scratch the surface of some artists though and you'll find they think very normally about certain things. Normal, that is, for the arts. Yes, there are supposedly 'proper' ways of thinking regarding some subjects in the arts community and woe betide anyone who thinks differently. Thinking outside the designated box could get you blacklisted. Ironic, eh? These people pride themselves in being 'individuals', not boring 'normal' people, yet they hold common beliefs that are the expected norm when you're an artist. There are rules in this world of 'rebels', you know. Don't break them!
It's impossible to avoid groupthink, of course. Unless you're worldview is one-in-a-million on every subject you will find people for whom your ideas are normal. Yet to me, it is still unhealthy for groupthink to exists in the arts. Are artists not individuals? Do they not hold a diverse array of opinions on various subjects, just like non-artists? In my experience, no. Or rather, they may not dare reveal their thoughts on certain subjects for fear of being cast out.
Breaking down the barriers of 'normal thought' as imposed on us by others, be they ultra-conservative or 'radical', can only be healthy for society and us as individuals.
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