veil #24 ...
i’m always more than a little surprised by the discrepancies in communication between web space and real space - and people i talk to usually have reasonable explanations that enlighten me in ways that help me feel too dumb to live in their world - or maybe its just some kind of pride thing - anyway, the loop begins ...
i see art -
[galleries, museums, windows, billboards, tv, print adverts, the web, etc...]
i respond - give off some evidence of cognition -
[double-take - gasp - sigh - shake my head - gesture, speak aloud - invite conversation - dialogue - monologue - write in my journal or the margins of pages, comment on sites, etc...]
i see others see -
i know they’re looking -
[by watching them, catching a reflection in a window, mirror, or traffic analysis programs, etc...]
in the real world i can usually gauge audience response; visually or audibly ...
statistical analysis of sales as a result of pedestrian and print advertising is measurable ...
popularity of institutional art[museums, galleries, brokers, etc...] is defined by attendance, reviews, purchasing, trickle-down fashion, and street buzz, ...
site ‘hits’ are countable ...
so in this world of connectivity, interactivity, and fingertip availability - what are all the anonymous visitors thinking that pass by - and often spend considerable time looking at or reading what i and millions others post ...
is it a matter of not caring - desensitization ...
casual browsing without thinking or response - careless or clueless ...
some odd satisfaction of being able to get something without investing anything of your self ...
a new form of disrespect or hybrid narcissism that is disengaging and dismissive ...
the pleasures of anonymous voyeurism ...
do the operational mechanics of response make it too cumbersome to leave comments ...
are we afraid to be judged by our response [more so than in the ‘real’ world] ...
is a written word more of a commitment than other methods of reaction ...
have our thoughts become currency - what is the going rate for a plot of intellectual property ...
are we too busy to be bothered - and if so, doesn’t that beg a little assessment ...
or is it really like surfing - where the act requires an attentiveness that precludes other involvement ...
like most people, i don’t take a lack of ‘comments’ personally - its not like i’m distributing lifesaving commodities [?] - i’m just curious when i evaluate the ratios between site visitors and comments - totally disproportionate ...
imagine an audience leaving an art gallery, poetry reading, scientific symposium, or political rally blank faced and speechless - kinda spooky ...
what do you think ...
