Subject:
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Re: Art? (was Re: LEGO as Art)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 30 Sep 1999 19:14:28 GMT
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Reply-To:
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jsproat@SPAMCAKEio.com
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Viewed:
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475 times
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Craig Hamilton wrote:
> i have lego creations of my own that i myself find "offensive". (the dark
> horror page of transy-lego-vania) elizabeth bathory is right up there with
> the worst nazi, and jack the ripper started a serial killer craze that has
> snowballed for over a hundred years. i haven't caused a scandal with these
> pieces, and although they're not everybody's cup of tea, no one has
> expressed any offense.
The key difference here is that the Holocaust, as bad things go, is pretty
much the tops. You can't get badder than that. It's a plateau of
nightmares -- once you're at the summit no one can out-climb you.
The Holocaust is an event that touches many people on a very personal
level. The victims of Jack the Ripper were mostly prostitutes, so his
crimes' severity may be dimished in the eyes of some. Besides, he was never
caught (1), so he must've been doing something right, right?. Liz
Batheroy's crimes were so long ago, and in such an exotic part of the world,
and so incredibly outrageous, that her story can be reduced to fairy tale
status for some people.
But with the Holocaust, you can talk to survivors. You can touch their
number tattoos. You can walk into the camps and observe the terrible
efficiency of the gas chambers. You most likely live on the same block as a
descendant of a Holocaust victim or someone who personally knows one. You
can visit parts of the world whose daily life is still affected by it. It's
still *fresh*.
Plus, the Holocaust was an action ordered and blessed by the state. Most of
the victims were selected not because of their actions, but because of their
heritage. Bystanders of the horror had few options to counter it. How can
you defend against something like that? At least with a serial killer, you
have some hope of being alive next year, you can stand up against him in a
court of law and demand justice.
Furthermore, it's impossible to make a complete account of everyone involved
with the Holocaust. Even figuring out who was committing the crime and who
was an ignorant plebe has proven to be difficult. And how many people can
actually count to one million, let alone seven million? Its very scale
makes the Holocaust a most terrible event.
Finally, the Holocaust serves as a very real lesson of modern-day world
politics. Hatred-driven totalitarianism hasn't died own, but just the
opposite: it has thrived, having taken on new forms. Genocide happens on a
regular basis, and continues to touch our lives. The events that led to the
cause of the Holocaust are still present in modern-day society. It could
happen in your own country, in your own city, within your home, if you're
not careful.
Cheers,
- jsproat
1. Or if he was, it was kept silent to protect someone...
--
Jeremy H. Sproat <jsproat@io.com> ~~~ http://www.io.com/~jsproat/
"I've spent the past few years building up an immunity to bullets."
- Angus McGuire
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Art? (was Re: LEGO as Art)
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| (...) i haven't been able to stop thinking about the issues presented in this debate, as it concerns the 2 great passsions of my life. i'd like to clarify another term and pose a question. art and illustation are separate things. illustation is a (...) (25 years ago, 30-Sep-99, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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