serious | un-serious

It has been a long time since I wrote seriously. I have written "un-seriously" for years. The last serious writing I did? Was it in graduate school? Art reviews I wrote? Essays I wrote in college? I know that my radio spots about art were a lot of fun to do, and they brought lots of art and artists to the attention of the general public. But I also know that I am articulate & speak easily. Was I rigorous? No. Did I contradict myself? Probably.

Then again, why is a stream of consciousness "unserious" and rigorously structured, considered, and crafted prose "serious?" (Yeah, who am I kidding here?) Duh.

It is funny. My art straddles representation and abstraction (or/and non-representation). In material, I straddle hands-on and digital. In "painting," I actually straddle drawing and painting. In teaching, I straddle design and fine art. In my life, I feel like I straddle several worlds—the Los Angeles art world, the Jewish art community, the world of my family and friends, the world of Landmark friends.

Straddle straddle.
Straddle straddle.

I never want to pin myself down. I insist on having the freedom to play on both sides of every fence—or perhaps to expose the fence as having a lot of holes and being completely permeable. Where does the fence come from? Who put the fence up?

Two sides of a fence.
Interesting metaphor causing our societal thought processes here.
Hmmmmmm.
(I am reading "Metaphors We Live By," by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. Google this baby. It's worth it.)

I guess my writing will straddle "serious and un-serious."