When Hermes, the messenger god, discovered language and writing and gave it to humans, he invited us to engage in the process of translating our experience and perception into words; in short, he gave us the gift of interpretation. In homage to Hermes, the Greek word for interpret (hermeneuō) focuses on the role of language: how we use it to organize our sense of the world by linking words into structures of thought; how those structures express, intend and signify other structures of thought … [Read more...]
The Problem of Taste
January 23, 2012 by
As Michael frames it, the question on the table is whether arts workers (my term for artists, presenters, producers, educators, funder and commentators) should lead “taste” rather than follow it. But there’s a fundamental problem here, one that needs to be explored before I can take a side. What exactly do we mean when we use the word “taste?” The elite has always told the public what to value when it comes to the arts, of course, and gatekeepers have always been concerned with identifying … [Read more...]
