Social media has had its hand in art’s destruction in a more devastating fashion than any other tool in our history. Although I do believe that social media can be held responsible for the birth of many vices, it is ultimately a tool. The negative effects that come from it are done from the humans using it. We must ask ourselves if social media did this to us or it is what has revealed the ugly part of who we are. Simply put, art is in a dire state. The current environment of the digital realm has rewarded those willing to play its game. Those who are willing to compromise quality for quantity, conviction for convenience, depth for hashtags, and ultimately ourselves to be seen. Now of course, I am never speaking in absolutes and do not believe that anything popular is the result of one selling their soul nor that nobody with a pure heart is able to rise to the top. Rather, my point is that social media breeds and rewards that which is, in its essence, contrary to art in its true form. Listen to the artists who take their craft seriously and how upset they are with the expectation in the consistency on which their fans believe they need to release music. Their response is often rooted in the truth that nothing worth being put out in the world can be as available as we’d like. Food, clothing, supplies, or anything that becomes easily replaceable becomes easily replaceable and oftentimes not because that is their natural state but rather because we have made them that way. Stores needed to be filled and stocked at all times not because of the good of the person, but the good of the owner’s pockets. Creating at the demand of our consumption and attention span today necessitates poor quality. I believe that to be a truth we fail to realize or do realize and fail to care. I hear of so many in the church who complain of our places of worship in comparison to that which came before us without realizing that every decision they make in their day to day lives is what has led to the hideous building in which we now gather. Unfortunately, we cannot have both. We cannot have the intention of the past and the apathy of today.
If I hope to do anything with PPK, it is to fight back against the current iteration of art and the culture of death we have constructed. Perhaps, and more than likely, we will never be anything other than a few passionate people hoping to share our passions with those willing to listen. Perhaps this account and website never grows as much as I would like. And perhaps that is because I never played the game I should have. Not enough reels or hashtags, I didn’t post daily, fabricate comments on my photos, or share what I knew would get the most traction. If I were so lucky to find myself in such a position, I would be more free than any famous artist you know. Because I am not doing this to express myself. I am only here to illuminate that which came long before me and will be present long after me. The irrelevant is me, the relevant is the message.
September 25, 2024