Perspective: David Letterman would have had a hay-day.....



So, there have been a few "running gags" over the past few years of late-night television that I have really loved. For awhile Late Night with David Letterman took to throwing things out windows and would show their slow motion replays of these things smashing on the cement below, the object that sticks out in my memory was a 25-gallon aquarium filled with guacamole.

Conan O'Brian's long running "in the year 2000" will always be a favorite, as well as his having a man dressed in black t-shirt and sweatpants (emblazoned with the word "pubes") standing in random public places saying the word "pubes" in an un-embellished tone.

David Letterman also had a gig for awhile called "Is This Anything?"

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I visited "The MCA" (Museum of Contemporary Art) a couple days ago and I believe that Dave and Paul Shaffer would have been knee-deep in debatable "things" with this museum. I mean, I don't really know the distinction between "contemporary art" and "modern art", but I have heard modern art described as "Weird for the sake of weird." (-Moe, The Simpsons)

The most impressive part of the museum for me was a fish tank built into the archtecture of the building.

As I sat on the edge of this almond shaped pond and watched the five or six Koi fish slowly swim around in relatively erratic, yet methodical patterns. They appeared to be heavily involved in their goings on, whether it was nibbling some crumb off the pond bottom, or swimming mindlessly from end to end. I wondered whether or not they were aware of their existence. I wondered if by the time they got to one end of the 10 foot pond, they'd forgotten about the other end and were then in a hurry to get back, or check it out. I wondered if they were aware of my existence. From time to time one of them seemed to look up, but it seems impossible to tell.




I wondered if my constant dashings from end-to-end of my own "pool" were just as inane, just as meaningless. I wondered if I would be aware of anyone looking down on me. I wonder if I am aware of God, and to what extent we can be. As I walked away from the pond it seemed to become even more complicated. The pond is built into the bottom of the eye-shaped stairwell. So from every point on the stairs you could look down and see the fish. From every new height a new perspective on the same thing.



I made note to myself that much "contemporary art is heavily, if not wholly interested in the process of the creation of said piece." Many of the artist's descriptions next to each piece began with; "I feel...", or "I felt..." or "I thought..." Self-involvement? Narcissism?


The other piece that most caught my mind was one titled "The Other Vietnam Memorial."



Although, the picture is a bit blurry, this is a floor-to-ceiling, Rolodex style installation with the names of the dead from the Vietnam war. Much like its better known counterpart in our nations capital, this exhibit carried the names of the nearly 3 million who died in the conflict, from their country. White gloves were provided so one could "touch" the exhibit, like one would at the wall in D.C. The overwhelming difference here was the font size - much smaller than it's "more important" relative in Washington.

Walking up the staircase, and out the door of the museum I had to pause for a moment to rest. Sometimes your mind will do that to you. Sometimes when you can't force all of the correct answers to be in the forefront of your brain at one time you get over-whelmed. But then again didn't the writer of Ecclesiastes say something about a "chasing after the wind."