It's terrible when what you thought was lofty and noble turns out to be cheap and tawdry, but that's what happens to art.
We're told to dream of the lofty pines as an antidote to the heat, and we envision them in an idealized form, tall, cool, and sure. It's tempting to consider some other well-known pines: Tom Thomson's The Jack Pine and The West Wind, for example. This could be Canada idealized, or art idealized.
But actually, we're dreaming of a motel, one with a seedy logo. Presumably, there are no idealized pines there, just another variety of heat. The idea of the lofty pines has been cheapened and commercialized.
And our editor, who we (foolishly?) pitch the idea of a series on culture, doesn't much care about this dilemma. She has no need to dream of the lofty pines. She was born for the heat, and besides, there's nothing you can do about it in any case. Regardless, we keep on dreaming.
It's terrible when what you thought was lofty and noble turns out to be cheap and tawdry, but that's what happens to art.
We're told to dream of the lofty pines as an antidote to the heat, and we envision them in an idealized form, tall, cool, and sure. It's tempting to consider some other well-known pines: Tom Thomson's The Jack Pine and The West Wind, for example. This could be Canada idealized, or art idealized.
But actually, we're dreaming of a motel, one with a seedy logo. Presumably, there are no idealized pines there, just another variety of heat. The idea of the lofty pines has been cheapened and commercialized.
And our editor, who we (foolishly?) pitch the idea of a series on culture, doesn't much care about this dilemma. She has no need to dream of the lofty pines. She was born for the heat, and besides, there's nothing you can do about it in any case. Regardless, we keep on dreaming.