Artspeak

       Transcendence: There is nothing like regret to remind you you're alive.
June 1, 2006

     Regret seems to be a sign of our times and our Art. Much of the mire in which we wallow comes from our inability to manage regret. We tend to fear regret and either avoid it, compartmentalize it, or declare War on it.
     There is a transcendent catalyst Contemporary Art can reap by managing regret differently than society has chosen. On Memorial Day, I reflected on the following anecdote which is demonstrative of a more exhilarating coping strategy:

     Yavapai County is amongst the most conservative of America's more conservative states, Arizona. It was with trepidation I decided to hang my piece Coalition of the Willing in a gallery there. I was not sure how fifty flag draped coffins would be received.
     To my amazement, the piece evoked deep emotions from a wide bandwidth of patrons. Veteran's in their insignia laden ball caps would tell me through tear stained eyes that they appreciated the recognition of the contributions so many take for granted. The other side of the spectrum were brought to tears for uncovering an imagery of coffins and sacrifice the Pentagon had heretofore censored.

     My intentions aside, I witnessed the piece was a mirror into which patrons would reflect their perspectives, and by embracing emotion, regret would metamorphose into a positive. I was surprised that I never received a negative comment. I had succumbed to the preconception that coping with regret by placing it on a placard for others to rally is an unenlightened path to "Mission Accomplished." You see, placards never carry you where you want them to, they leave you standing there within your transcendental blues.