Hope as slogan, hope as navigation
[ by Charles Cameron — a visual DoubleQuote on the difference between artist and politician ]
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As you may have gathered, I’m an admirer of the artist Alyce Santoro‘s work, and yesterday I came across her Existential Navigational Chart, with its little note in the bottom left corner:
Soundings in the Unfathomable at Mean Low Water (MLW)
In any case, it reminded me of the enormous difference between a political slogan and an artist’s insight.
Obama‘s HOPE (upper panel, below) was a lure, an appeal to an ideal in the sea of practical politics — and opinions are divided as to how well he managed to fulfill that one-word promise:
Alyce‘s navigational mapping of area surrounding the the Hope Islands (lower panel, above) on the other hand, is both more fanciful and more realistic — a wonderful combination if you think about it. Notice the nuance she manages to pack into her map, with Inner Hope Island, Little Hope Island, Hope Island, and on southwards to Lost Hope Island, False Hope Island, and Hope Ledge — and all so close to both Little Despair Island, and Love Rocks —
Who, truly alive, has not been stranded on one or more of those islands, nor dashed against Love Rocks?
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You can download a print quality, high resolution file of Alyce’s chart without cost, or click through to her Philosoprop shop to purchase a signed copy.
August 18th, 2016 at 12:35 am
love this existential navigational chart!
August 18th, 2016 at 4:18 am
Yup!