Saturday, December 22, 2007

The creator as consumer

N.B., It is my intention to edit/elaborate on this entry as I have more time to consider it. Whenever available, I will repost edits as new posts.

Let me start by saying that the creator is the ultimate consumer, as the consumer/ed unites in this creator, forging a greater depth of consumption (or consumerifficness) than what we traditionally think of as "consumer" i.e., the mere consumer of the work (in this case, poetry, or broader, art), the viewer/listener/reader.

When creators busy themselves in the creation method -- the word 'creation' isn't enough, as more of a function procedure is in action....we know what we do and how we get to do it through method, a rhythm method -- the consumption-work takes form as (1) idea, then (2) writing, (3) composing, then (4) editing, and finally, as (5) offering, or an end result. We consume the idea when/as we commodify it, writing it down, making it 'useful', inasmuch as in written form it can then be implemented. It becomes instrument. We consume it on each of these levels. [Therefore] by the time our book comes out, we've consumed in four or five different fields before freeing the result. Calling the simple act of standing in front of an art piece "consumption" then seems somewhat ridiculous or, at best, tritely inaccurate.

Let me finish by saying that the creator is the greatest of all consumers. Let me finish by saying that space exploration is possible.

2 comments:

Stanley Bishop Burhans said...

Nice one.

I look forward to coming back here later and consuming this post again.

Thank God that, unlike cheeseburgers, words do not disappear after we consume them the first time. Language is like a pizza whose leftovers are inexhaustible, like a cold pizza in the fridge that never goes away.

Imagine the librarians as the defenders of an immense very old cold pizza, and the true drama of culture becomes apparent.

Ryan said...

"...in the fridge that never goes away."

Ah, the endless breadbasket. Great line.

So when burning the pizza, the library at Alexandria.