Re[purpose]d

By Pam Hadder

Purpose, purposeful – these words suggest a gentle-but-firm nudge in a planned direction.  When we lack purpose we drift in limbo versus living – most of us realize that when we reach personal crossroads.  Lately I have been thinking a lot about consumerism, commerce and capitalism – or the Big Cs, as I call them!  The Big Cs are weeds with lovely flowers – in moderation they are good for all (employment, diversity, opportunity, growth etc.), but if left unchecked we become overrun.  Unchecked capitalism results in the poor being exploited to make the rich richer, and a 2015 report by Oxfam suggests that we have reached an almost incomprehensible extreme.  According to their report, approximately 80 people are controlling half of the Earth’s wealth. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/19/global-wealth-oxfam-inequality-davos-economic-summit-switzerland

A friend of mine recently scanned a handful of old photo prints to share with a long-time pal. Her pal was delighted to receive the vintage images, and remarked that these few images meant so much to her amid a huge personal stockpile of electronic photos.  The woman felt that she used to live more and take fewer pictures, and she also wondered what would happen to all of the stuff she had saved on jump drives, disks etc?  Would anyone care; who would ever have time to go through her thousands and thousands of digital images? 

I appreciated and understood this woman’s viewpoint, but as a trained photographer I must confess I love image making.  In recent years, I have had to be satisfied with the typical Mommy’s “goof proof” camera and smart phone pics – I have settled for the ease and immediacy of digital image making.  Long gone are the hours spent shooting, developing, printing and (in some cases) hand retouching or colourizing my prints.  I fondly recall the complete experience, however, including the pungent aromas of the darkroom – developer and fixer.  Those hours passed like seconds – I was completely immersed in the flow of creating and experimenting.  I never yearned to generate MORE at a FASTER rate, nor did I foresee that digital image-making would surpass and overtake film photography – the sense back then was that digital would never match the QUALITY of film.

Technology has made it increasingly easy to create, share and publish images – this too has both positive and negative implications. The aforementioned anecdote explores our relationships with images and image making, and it is just one small taste of a complex situation. Access to technology has given voice to the voiceless, has broadened potential experiences, and has allowed for real-time remote global connections – but it has also allowed for exploitation à la cyber bullying, false presentation of person and value; and theft/misappropriation of material and ideas.  We have also been pressured to evaluate, respond and produce material at an increasingly rapid pace. So is there a connection between global trends favouring extreme capitalism, consumerism and commerce and how we interact and share information – even on a personal basis? I think so – technology does not allow for pause, reflection and human contact.  We are duped into believing that a frenetic pace with incredible potential volume is meaningful. Further, we are expected to trust in statistics measuring electronic “engagement,” while eschewing opportunities for real, in-person connection and seeing traditional methods as dated or low value.  

As an artist I find pleasure in creation, and immersion in technology can be stimulating for a time, but one also risks becoming soul-less, isolated/isolating and reactionary. Are we making meaning or just making more stuff?  Who are we really talking to, sharing with, and to what end?  If you are like me, you are hopeful that our actions mean more; that they constitute more than an elaborate fantasy or, worse yet, meaningless busy-work. For creative people that resist the tech push, there is a risk of “not existing” in modern terms – traditional means of expression get overrun with technological volume and perceived value.  Furthermore, if commerce is king, and you aren’t financially well-heeled, you are considered a failure, and your existence, as well as your credibility may be questioned (are you feeling the Big Cs here?).

That grim realization pushes my thoughts of purpose and purposeful toward “re-purposed.” Kudos to those enterprising types that reduce, reuse, recycle and even make a living selling art, clothing, décor items, furniture, and so on, all made from materials that might have ended up in landfill sites. It’s hardly new – the hippies fighting for the environment in the 70s understood the importance of environmental stewardship and equitable use of resources. Although technology has helped many of these small companies engage and find customers, most of them are not getting rich doing quality work that is good for the planet.  I am wondering if we were able to balance capitalism if we might see simplicity as success and that we might enjoy LIFE more?

How has humanity allowed 1% of the planet to control half its wealth?  Imagine if governments stopped allowing so much foreign investment, urban sprawl, urbanization, gentrification, and so on – what if we carefully managed our resources and infrastructure, taking care to repurpose buildings, to protect green space and natural space; to ensure that good homes were affordable for all, to consider the needs of all citizens when making decisions, and to allow small business enterprises to thrive?  Perhaps we need to unplug, disconnect, and physically survey how much we are producing, consuming and holding on to; to take stock of what really matters and how we can do our part to ensure this world is a fairer, better place for all. Ultimately it is a value assessment - what really is necessary for our wellness and the sustainability of the planet. And at what point do our actions cross the boundaries of necessity and become driven by greed?  

Sailing With Tess

By Pam Hadder

We all do it – at least at some point – we set sail with the firm belief we are the master of our destiny.  When things go awry, we push on – ignoring the small signs and the huge, rolling swells that signify “dangerous waters ahead.”  But how much control do we ultimately have?  Is it truly mind and muscle over matter?  Modern self-improvement gurus might witness our floundering and hypothesize that we are not immersed in self-belief or believing, period –  à la Deepak Chopra, or the Secret.

On the other hand, consider Thomas Hardy’s classic tale, Tess of the d’ Urbervilles – it is likely that you had to slog through and analyze the beans out of this novel in high school!  What has stayed with me post high school is my frustration with the ludicrous limitations placed upon the protagonist, Tess.   Tess has an opportunity to escape with her true love, Angel, but instead she succumbs to fatalistic views and fulfills the tragic heroine outcome.   Consider when the search party finds her sleeping on the altar at Stonehenge – woman as sacrifice; a human offering for a twisted world that frames the feminine as unstable, promiscuous, consumable, and as object – she is a stripped down caricature, devoid of agency.  

The novel’s ending was so aggravating to me as a young woman – I mean, what the hell, I would have fought a lot harder that!  I didn't have the critical awareness or the language to articulate my frustration at that time. Furthermore, the subject of sexism was not addressed by my teachers.  I now see that the book was a complete set-up of the female gender, a damnation of women as irrational temptresses, incapable of forging a worthwhile path in the world; keep those XXs on a short leash or goodness knows they’ll stab you in the heart – literally the message served up by Hardy in his characterization of Tess.

So what is it – mind over matter or wildly surfing the whims of fate?  As much as I have battled the naysayers, the misogynists, and the structures that limit womanhood, and it pains me to admit there have been too many times that I sailed with Tess, forgetting my dreams and allowing opinions and social pressures to alter my course.  I recall being very small and building a sand castle by the lake shore – as soon as I would make a little headway – whoosh another wave would arrive to dash my hopes and remind me of inadequacies I had already begun to feel; inadequacies I resisted but which my socialization reinforced as being attributed to my girlhood.  How many times have you heard “take it like a man” or “run like a girl” etc. – associations with the feminine are too often framed as the incapable, the weak, and the laughable “other.”  

It seems to me that the perils of young dreamers are very real; particularly if the  person is a girl, a woman, or identifies as “feminine.”  Rather than accepting what others frame for us as "suitable for women,"  we need to persist, follow our personal passions and interests, and we must insist upon equal treatment in all areas of life - and we must encourage and inspire others to  understand that women's rights are basic human rights.