Chapter 22 – Can you elaborate on the need for diversity?

You seem to no longer want to know how to enjoy art? What’s the rush now, wanderer? It could have been a straightforward answer, like the one I have been hammering you during our discussion: time – but with some twists. Not that I mind this question, but one of us has to remain focused, I can’t be the only one drifting away.

Joke aside, the topic of diversity requires indeed a deeper scrutiny than the one offered to you so far. It stands at the crossroads of everything The Blue Neon believes in terms of values and it also highlights one of a sentient being’s core ability, curiosity. Curiosity aka the utmost evolution skill, the only reason that explains where you are right now, engaging with me. You decided to explore outside your world, reaching out to the diversity of the possible.

Pushing the boundaries shouldn’t only mean stepping out of our/your comfort zone from a physical perspective, but embracing as well the whole range of options life offers us/you. Don’t make everything a challenge to overcome. Quick digression: now using indistinctly the pronouns I, me, you, she, he, we, us, as it no longer matters at this stage, we all have embarked on this together and I’m too tired to dissociate; end of the digression.

The Blue Neon takes into account the laziness that drives us all when it comes to arts in general, as it seems very difficult to be able to step out of a trend we have enjoyed for years. Attaching yourself to what you assume constitutes your entire personality is depressing as this negates your possibility to evolve over time. What a shame! Yet who would be ludicrous enough to give a shot at an Indonesian artsy movie about 2 sisters discussing death (it doesn’t exist as far as we know) when you tend to prefer a Scandinavian thriller and only have a 2 hours window per week for this kind of entertainement? So after the shame comes the conundrum.

Invoke your memory, do you remember the elation you felt while stumbling upon an unexpected artwork at an unexpected time, making it later a cornerstone of your new personality. Would this have happened should you have remained in your little bubble, afraid? While there’s nothing to overcome here, there’s at least everything to discover. The concept of diversity we propose encourages the wanderer – you (me, her…) – to open new horizons that would have probably remained unknown otherwise. Uncharted territory for a thrilling time. As counterintuitive as it appears, we reckon diversity works better when forced upon, while pairing it with a limited offer, or else it’s suicide.

Here we loathe the concept of FOMO – fear of missing out – when applied to the realm of social events or ‘fun’ in general as this deprives us from the time with our own thoughts. But, I would like to make an exception and consider it relevant should it not be circumscribed to these elements and shifted to the art world specifically. Fear of artistic novelty not revealing itself to you and hence not revealing yourself at the same time. Please do fear this, as this constitutes your only hope here. Yes, it sounds pretty dramatic, but that’s for the best, trust me. Do fear being stuck in an artistic echo chamber, whether for cinema, fine arts, music etc etc.

This unintentional predicament most of us inflict on ourselves happens even before the rise of algorithms who bring an unlimited offer and indefinite scrolling, thus reinforcing the belief our tastes are exquisite. Not to mention the shrinkage of our attention span, turning you into a goldfish – I assume that, this in itself, will be the subject of one of our next discussion/debate, as you don’t like this comparison. I hope I have convinced you even further of the pertinence of this universe’s design, the necessity to pursue with me by your side and the importance of diversity.

Reject the status-quo, be afraid of your laziness, embrace your curiosity.

Yours Sincerely,

BLUE