(Disclaimer: in this little story, all characters are cast as male. This in no way indicates anything but the fact that, in English, there is no gender-neutral pronoun and I did not want to muddy the waters by casting some characters as male and some as female in order to avoid implying any masculine or feminine attributes to the academic disciplines. If you like, please read this with entirely female characters—it won’t make a difference.)
In University City, Art lives on one side of the quad formed by Knowledge, Theory, Skill and Creativity Boulevards, close to the intersection of Skill and Creativity. Art is very busy in his studio, but doesn’t often venture outside. Philosophy, History, Sociology-Epistemology and many of their friends live across the way. Sometimes they see each other in passing and pause to have a conversation, but they don’t usually go to the same classes.
One day they were all out in the quad when Art emerged from his studio carrying a large cardboard chair. The others gathered around to look at it. “Cool,” said Engineering, “we do something similar with trying to invent new designs for shipping containers.”
“Uh huh,” said Art.
“What is it that you’re trying to say with this piece?” asked Philosophy. “Is it a commentary on the nature of sitting? On the ephemeral nature of rest and relaxation? Why build a chair out of cardboard?”
“Ummmm….,” said Art. “I had a lot of cardboard.”
“If you painted it,” said Business, “and made it more eye-catching, I could help you sell it. You could make more and maybe even start your own factory for making cardboard chairs.”
“No, thanks,” said Art. “This is an original. Besides, I have another project I want to do.”
With that, Art left the chair outside and went back into his studio. The others admired the chair for a while longer and took turns sitting in it, but eventually wandered back across the Quad.
That night there was a torrential rainstorm. In the morning, the chair was a squashy, soggy lump of wet cardboard.
“See, I told you!” said Philosophy. “It was a commentary about the ephemeral nature of created objects.”
“No,” said Engineering, “it was just a poor design—a more durable material like corrugated plastic would have withstood the elements better.”
Art came outside carrying a shovel. He looked down at the remains of his chair. After sighing deeply and shaking his head, he walked a few paces away and began to dig. He dug, and dug, and dug. Finally, satisfied with the large, deep hole, Art went inside and re-emerged with a large metal cube. The others came across the Quad to investigate.
“What’s that?” asked several of his neighbors.
“A cube,” replied Art. He proceeded to put it in the hole and began to cover it with dirt.
“Why are you burying it? Did it not turn out the way you wanted it to?” asked Psychology.
“No. It’s just fine. This is what I planned to do with it,” said Art.
“But…why? What good does it do buried under your front yard? Isn’t the purpose of a work of art to be seen?” asked Philosophy.
“Yes, and what social value is there in an artwork that’s not on display?” asked Sociology.
“I’ll know it’s here. You’ll know it’s here. You’ve already seen it. I’ll put up a little sign telling people it’s under the ground,” replied Art.
“I don’t understand,” said Business.
“That’s okay,” said Art. “Your understanding is not my concern.” He finished refilling the hole, then laid a small metal sign on top of the dirt. The sign read: “Earth Cube. Hollow Anodized Aluminum, 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot.”
“So, did you bury the cube as a contrast to leaving the chair out in the open air where it was eventually destroyed? Are you making a statement of oppositional interrelatedness?” asked Psychology.
“Yeah, the chair. I wish I’d remembered to bring it in last night. I’m bummed about that,” replied Art.
“So, are you saying that the two sculptures bear no relationship to one another? It seems that the metal and cardboard demonstrate a juxtaposition of intriguing materiality and insubstantiality that you are allowing to remain unanswered,” proposed Philosophy.
“Interesting,” said Art. “I don’t want to talk about the chair. But, the cube is about the idea of cube-ness. The concept of cubistry. The essence of cubiosity. But the idea of cubistry is more important than the cube itself, so if it’s removed from view, then you have to think about cubistry instead of the cube-ness of the actual object. The artwork is the idea, not the object.”
“I don’t get it,” said Business.
“I know,” said Art.
“You know,” said English, “that was a lousy explanation. Didn’t you ever take a writing or rhetoric class? Your use of the English language is awful.”
“Un-huh,” said Art. “whatever.”
In University City, Art lives on one side of the quad formed by Knowledge, Theory, Skill and Creativity Boulevards, close to the intersection of Skill and Creativity. Art is very busy in his studio, but doesn’t often venture outside. Philosophy, History, Sociology-Epistemology and many of their friends live across the way. Sometimes they see each other in passing and pause to have a conversation, but they don’t usually go to the same classes.
One day they were all out in the quad when Art emerged from his studio carrying a large cardboard chair. The others gathered around to look at it. “Cool,” said Engineering, “we do something similar with trying to invent new designs for shipping containers.”
“Uh huh,” said Art.
“What is it that you’re trying to say with this piece?” asked Philosophy. “Is it a commentary on the nature of sitting? On the ephemeral nature of rest and relaxation? Why build a chair out of cardboard?”
“Ummmm….,” said Art. “I had a lot of cardboard.”
“If you painted it,” said Business, “and made it more eye-catching, I could help you sell it. You could make more and maybe even start your own factory for making cardboard chairs.”
“No, thanks,” said Art. “This is an original. Besides, I have another project I want to do.”
With that, Art left the chair outside and went back into his studio. The others admired the chair for a while longer and took turns sitting in it, but eventually wandered back across the Quad.
That night there was a torrential rainstorm. In the morning, the chair was a squashy, soggy lump of wet cardboard.
“See, I told you!” said Philosophy. “It was a commentary about the ephemeral nature of created objects.”
“No,” said Engineering, “it was just a poor design—a more durable material like corrugated plastic would have withstood the elements better.”
Art came outside carrying a shovel. He looked down at the remains of his chair. After sighing deeply and shaking his head, he walked a few paces away and began to dig. He dug, and dug, and dug. Finally, satisfied with the large, deep hole, Art went inside and re-emerged with a large metal cube. The others came across the Quad to investigate.
“What’s that?” asked several of his neighbors.
“A cube,” replied Art. He proceeded to put it in the hole and began to cover it with dirt.
“Why are you burying it? Did it not turn out the way you wanted it to?” asked Psychology.
“No. It’s just fine. This is what I planned to do with it,” said Art.
“But…why? What good does it do buried under your front yard? Isn’t the purpose of a work of art to be seen?” asked Philosophy.
“Yes, and what social value is there in an artwork that’s not on display?” asked Sociology.
“I’ll know it’s here. You’ll know it’s here. You’ve already seen it. I’ll put up a little sign telling people it’s under the ground,” replied Art.
“I don’t understand,” said Business.
“That’s okay,” said Art. “Your understanding is not my concern.” He finished refilling the hole, then laid a small metal sign on top of the dirt. The sign read: “Earth Cube. Hollow Anodized Aluminum, 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot.”
“So, did you bury the cube as a contrast to leaving the chair out in the open air where it was eventually destroyed? Are you making a statement of oppositional interrelatedness?” asked Psychology.
“Yeah, the chair. I wish I’d remembered to bring it in last night. I’m bummed about that,” replied Art.
“So, are you saying that the two sculptures bear no relationship to one another? It seems that the metal and cardboard demonstrate a juxtaposition of intriguing materiality and insubstantiality that you are allowing to remain unanswered,” proposed Philosophy.
“Interesting,” said Art. “I don’t want to talk about the chair. But, the cube is about the idea of cube-ness. The concept of cubistry. The essence of cubiosity. But the idea of cubistry is more important than the cube itself, so if it’s removed from view, then you have to think about cubistry instead of the cube-ness of the actual object. The artwork is the idea, not the object.”
“I don’t get it,” said Business.
“I know,” said Art.
“You know,” said English, “that was a lousy explanation. Didn’t you ever take a writing or rhetoric class? Your use of the English language is awful.”
“Un-huh,” said Art. “whatever.”