Friday, October 16, 2009

The Search for Schroedinger's Kid

Yes, like the rest of America, I became reluctantly aware of Falcon the Balloon Boy yesterday, although since we don't have cable I was able to stay out of the high drama. I mostly followed it via this thread on Metafilter. One of the major themes in the thread regarded the parents and their hobbies, especially the rock-star wannabe mom.

As one commenter put it,

"The problem is that they participate in the hobby in such a way that the purpose is to project their fantasy to us as a reality. They aren't simply playing guitar. They are showing us that they play guitar in a home studio to convince us that they are not merely hobbyist guitarists, but serious guitarists, the proof of which is the studio."


Where does one draw this line? I do this. I have this "fancy" studio, with easels and expensive paper, and for god's sake, I've started blogging the stuff. So is someone like me simply trying to convince the world, or herself, that she is a serious artist, and the proof is the studio and the blog?

It's a feedback loop. I am an artist because I have a studio because I am an artist ad infinitum.

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