The Beauty Myth

"At the high speeds of electric communication, purely visual means of apprehending the world are no longer possible; they are just too slow to be relevant or effective."

Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore, The Medium is the Massage.

In the Industrial Age, cause and effect could be divided.
Black and white.
This and that.
Classify the boxes into separate categories.
Control the printing press, control the taste.
Architecture was different from mere building.
Beauty and emotion was the departure point.
Beyond the utilitarian.
An admirable pursuit elevating mere building to mere architecture.

In the Information Age there is no beginning or end.
No printing press to control.
In a sea of opinions who cares how you feel.
Mere patterns of recognition or not recognition.
The sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
The utilitarian is all there is - we'll add our emotions anyway.
Beauty is like a rainbow, it only exists in the mind of the observer.
A haphazard pursuit to cause.
The uncontrollable eyes of the beholder reign supreme.
Reality occurs in your head.
Welcome to your real world.


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