Earl Krueger on mon 5 apr 04
I love stories, therefore I like the CM cover. It speaks to me. It
tells me a story. A story so grand in scale and complexity that
humankind has only recently begun to understand the simplest of its
inner workings.
Others have said:
"Take that texture and show us a figure- perhaps a torso of a man ...
show us how we emerged from harsh, cold broken rock to be the warm,
breathing, living beings we are .... art makes a statement beyond the
obvious that relates to the viewer as a human being"
and
"Then we make stuff that expresses our feelings. That ain't nature.
That's human. That's a thinking, feeling being aware of its thought
and feelings. We are of nature, and immersed, to greater or lesser
degree, in it. But we are more than it in some ways".
I have seen no pot, seen no painting, heard no symphony produced by
humankind greater in beauty than the beauty routinely produced by
Mother Nature. Examine a plant stem, in cross section, under a
microscope and your first impression will be of exquisite symmetry.
But look a little longer, a little closer, and you will see that it is
fraught with imperfections. No two cells are exactly the same or
exactly in the location that would make perfect symmetry. The same
asymmetric symmetry and imperfections that humans work so hard to
produce in Japanese Tea Bowls the lowly plants produce by the billions
every day with no more than sunlight, a little air and a few minerals.
The more one studies nature the more it becomes apparent that humans
are not really that exceptional. The only trait that makes us unusual
is that we are sentient. But the Redwood is the tallest; the cheetah
the fastest; the whale the most massive. Is it only because we _can_
think that we think we are exceptional?
The Homo-centric attitude, as put forth by previous posters, is
dangerous to all of nature, including mankind. It is this same
attitude in others that allow them to destroy a wetland with their
ATV's, or cut down trees because they are "messy" or mow a meadow to
make it "neater". Unless we respect our environment and understand
that we are dependent on the rest of nature our, and other life forms,
food supply, clean air and water will diminish and we will all perish.
Kelly wrote most eloquently in presenting the case for Earth Day.
However, she missed one very important point. When I was a youngster
in school the estimated population of the world was 3.5 billion people.
It is very likely that in my lifetime that number will be doubled.
Kelley's children will likely see that number double again. In order
for human survival population growth must be checked. Unless we do it
voluntarily Mother Nature will step in and do it for us, in one way or
another. But it will certainly be in a most unpleasant way. So, the
point Kelly missed was to teach our children to limit their
reproduction to levels that will allow wetlands, forests and meadows to
exist.
Only if we recognize that we are part of and dependent on nature will
our children and their children be able to make and appreciate art.
Earl K...
Bothell, WA, USA
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