An American Self-Portrait

I.m.Still.Alive

Welcome to the world's greatest nation!
http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7

THC

I.m.Still.Alive wrote:

Welcome to the world's greatest nation!
http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7

interesting. just goes to show how much we've become consumer's over human beings of late.

Alex_Coe

Yowch. I'm an American so this really weighs on my conscience. I should just commit suicide right now.

It's too bad I don't live in Europe where they all have clean consciences. If only I lived in China or India or Mexico where there is no pollution to speak of. Then I could feel better about my country...

I.m.Still.Alive

Alex_Coe wrote:

I should just commit suicide right now.

It's too bad I don't live in Europe where they all have clean consciences. If only I lived in China or India or Mexico where there is no pollution to speak of. Then I could feel better about my country...

Don't! If you feel that way you probably don't contribute to the statistics. And if you do, you should try... not to!
And people in Europe aren't that perfect. They're not perfect at all. And at least you live in a country where you can have a proper diet, education, access to hospitals etc. that most of those countries can't provide their citizens...

Alex_Coe

I.m.Still.Alive wrote:

Don't! If you feel that way you probably don't contribute to the statistics. And if you do, you should try... not to!
And people in Europe aren't that perfect. They're not perfect at all. And at least you live in a country where you can have a proper diet, education, access to hospitals etc. that most of those countries can't provide their citizens...

Sarcasm, bitch!

polaris

Alex_Coe wrote:

Yowch. I'm an American so this really weighs on my conscience. I should just commit suicide right now.

It's too bad I don't live in Europe where they all have clean consciences. If only I lived in China or India or Mexico where there is no pollution to speak of. Then I could feel better about my country...

way to follow it up with a typical american response!

Alex_Coe

I try!

ProvidenceHunter

Thats pretty sweet. America the land of plenty. I did my part today with 2 plastic bottles and a can of soda. But I did not use much paper. Better have another soda to make up for the lack of paper use.

I got a new car in December but it wasn't and SUV so I don't know if that is good or bad. Probable bad because it is not a hybrid.

THC wrote:

interesting. just goes to show how much we've become consumer's over human beings of late.

Fuck its so hard to tell what makes me more of a consumer and less of a human being.

THC could you help me out? I am going to be making a couple purchases this summer and I don't want to become less of a human being, so if you could just give me a yes or no that would be great.

A new recliner?
A couch?
Some kitchen stuff, like plates and pans?
A new charcoal grill?
Madden 2008 for the PS3
An old beat up pickup truck?

Or what if I bought all of these things them promised to feel guilty about it? Would I still be a human being?

gue_barium

ProvidenceHunter wrote:

Thats pretty sweet. America the land of plenty. I did my part today with 2 plastic bottles and a can of soda. But I did not use much paper. Better have another soda to make up for the lack of paper use.

I got a new car in December but it wasn't and SUV so I don't know if that is good or bad. Probable bad because it is not a hybrid.



Fuck its so hard to tell what makes me more of a consumer and less of a human being.

THC could you help me out? I am going to be making a couple purchases this summer and I don't want to become less of a human being, so if you could just give me a yes or no that would be great.

A new recliner?
A couch?
Some kitchen stuff, like plates and pans?
A new charcoal grill?
Madden 2008 for the PS3
An old beat up pickup truck?

Or what if I bought all of these things them promised to feel guilty about it? Would I still be a human being?

Just stay in Texas. That's the most patriotic and human thing you can do.

PJ_Saluki

I used a plastic bag and drank a can of Pepsi today.

Smellyman2

I know it is fun to make fun of Americans, I do and I am one. But it would be interesting to compare the numbers between the US (pop. 300m) and Europe (pop. 730m!).

PaperPlates

Smellyman wrote:

I know it is fun to make fun of Americans, I do and I am one. But it would be interesting to compare the numbers between the US (pop. 300m) and Europe (pop. 730m!).

itd be interesting, but a lot less fun for a lot of posters here.

RyeGuy

don't all those cans and bottles get recycled? and why was the prision thing put there? what significance did that have?

You can make those little statistics to look good or bad by not giving any further information behind them.

For example:
how much of those bottles, cans, papers are being recyled.
How many prisioners are imprisioned per capita and how does that match up with other countries.
How all those crates comming into U.S. ports are helping fuel the world economy.

Cosmo

Are we missing the point here? I mean... it's art. Which ever side you are on... do you find the visuals interesting? It doesn't have to 'Mean' anything... and it doesn't have to 'State' anything. It is Art.
...
What I got out of the whole thing... the visuals are a hell of a lot more interesting than the numbers that represent them.
...
That... and I would like to bring those plastic bottles and cans to the recycling center in Stanton. I bet they are worth at least enough to get a taco plate at 'Albertacos'.
...
Oh... and having those Franklins would be nice, too.

RyeGuy

Cosmo wrote:

Are we missing the point here? I mean... it's art. Which ever side you are on... do you find the visuals interesting? It doesn't have to 'Mean' anything... and it doesn't have to 'State' anything. It is Art.

I find it hard to look at this as simply being "art". Instead of making changes to your lifestyle in your own country it is much easier to bash someone elses. Why accept your own baseball teams short commings when you can just blame the yankees.(maybe not this year but you get the point)

Cosmo

RockMan wrote:

I find it hard to look at this as simply being "art". Instead of making changes to your lifestyle in your own country it is much easier to bash someone elses. Why accept your own baseball teams short commings when you can just blame the yankees.(maybe not this year but you get the point)

...
That is why Art is subjective. We get out of it what we add to it.
...
I see it as a different way of presenting statistics. Like, the 426,000 cell phones retired every day in America looks a lot different in the picture than looking at the number '426,000'. It takes an abstract (the number 426,0000) and presents it in a form that we can more easily relate to.
From THAT... the visual expression... you can either say, 'Wow... what a massive waste' or 'Wow... what a massive money maker'. Depending on which side you are standing on.

El_Kabong

RockMan wrote:

How all those crates comming into U.S. ports are helping fuel the world economy.

and widens our huuuuuge trade deficit

polaris

Cosmo wrote:

...
That is why Art is subjective. We get out of it what we add to it.
...
I see it as a different way of presenting statistics. Like, the 426,000 cell phones retired every day in America looks a lot different in the picture than looking at the number '426,000'. It takes an abstract (the number 426,0000) and presents it in a form that we can more easily relate to.
From THAT... the visual expression... you can either say, 'Wow... what a massive waste' or 'Wow... what a massive money maker'. Depending on which side you are standing on.

yes and no ...

this art definitely has a purpose - it's been made to make people confront their behaviours ... we are a visual breed - i can tell you that x number of kids die every day from land mines and it probably won't mean as much as seeing one with their limbs torn off in a picture ...

but i do love the responses here from people - it kinda shows why we are where we are ...

THC

ProvidenceHunter wrote:

THC could you help me out? I am going to be making a couple purchases this summer and I don't want to become less of a human being, so if you could just give me a yes or no that would be great.

A new recliner?
A couch?
Some kitchen stuff, like plates and pans?
A new charcoal grill?
Madden 2008 for the PS3
An old beat up pickup truck?

Or what if I bought all of these things them promised to feel guilty about it? Would I still be a human being?

We wouldn't want you to feel guilty now would we! I mean...the planet is sick...but there shouldn't be any blame to go around, right?
(and the point wasn't that we aren't 'human beings' anymore...but rather...we are treated like...and many times act like pure 'consumers' instead.)

You're from Texas....Wierd....lol
(and i hope your grandchildren can read your post of apathy when they're using sunblock 360, having constant hurricane's and tornadoes, and dealing w/ the rising ocean levels that will be taking land away and forcing people to fight w/ eachother for resources).

Cosmo

polaris wrote:

yes and no ...

this art definitely has a purpose - it's been made to make people confront their behaviours ... we are a visual breed - i can tell you that x number of kids die every day from land mines and it probably won't mean as much as seeing one with their limbs torn off in a picture ...

but i do love the responses here from people - it kinda shows why we are where we are ...

...
I agree. I believe it is an interesting commentary... albeit, a bit one-sided.
How about a visual depiction of the amount of food that America ships over seas to feed people? Or the amount of goods and/or money America had given to the tsunami victims.
Afterall... a self-portrait is supposed to be a full depiction of who we are, right? We are both good and evil in this world... both greedy and charitable.

polaris

Cosmo wrote:

...
I agree. I believe it is an interesting commentary... albeit, a bit one-sided.
How about a visual depiction of the amount of food that America ships over seas to feed people? Or the amount of goods and/or money America had given to the tsunami victims.
Afterall... a self-portrait is supposed to be a full depiction of who we are, right? We are both good and evil in this world... both greedy and charitable.

what kind of political correctness would that be? ... wouldn't it further just allow the viewer to not look at themselves and their ways of life? ... there are plenty of avenues by which one can feel good about their homeland ...

juxtaposing the two would make it seem like they offset each other ... the reality is our appetite for goods far outweighs necessity by a long shot ... it's a ticking time bomb ... it needs to be curbed ...

Cosmo

polaris wrote:

what kind of political correctness would that be? ... wouldn't it further just allow the viewer to not look at themselves and their ways of life? ... there are plenty of avenues by which one can feel good about their homeland ...

juxtaposing the two would make it seem like they offset each other ... the reality is our appetite for goods far outweighs necessity by a long shot ... it's a ticking time bomb ... it needs to be curbed ...

...
I understand that... that is the statement the artist is making. you look at the picture and you see yourself and what you can do about it, right?
Like, that picture of the telephones. To me, I see a massive waste.... probably because I really don't care for cell phones... sure, they come in handy at times, but I'm not one that always has to be in a phone conversation. But, to the guy that sells cell phone at the Costco... it looks like money. I can only control what I can control... so, that is what I do. i try to make sure I'm doing my part to keep my little square in this world nice.

polaris

Cosmo wrote:

...
I understand that... that is the statement the artist is making. you look at the picture and you see yourself and what you can do about it, right?
Like, that picture of the telephones. To me, I see a massive waste.... probably because I really don't care for cell phones... sure, they come in handy at times, but I'm not one that always has to be in a phone conversation. But, to the guy that sells cell phone at the Costco... it looks like money. I can only control what I can control... so, that is what I do. i try to make sure I'm doing my part to keep my little square in this world nice.

absolutely ... if we all had that attitude - maybe we wouldn't be so fucked ... but the reality is that there are many who live lives of excess and sorry to say - north americans lead the way ...

Cosmo

polaris wrote:

absolutely ... if we all had that attitude - maybe we wouldn't be so fucked ... but the reality is that there are many who live lives of excess and sorry to say - north americans lead the way ...

...
Completely agree with you here.

Alex_Coe

THC wrote:

interesting. just goes to show how much we've become consumer's over human beings of late.

Then I guess you don't create any garbage at all, do you?

Cosmo

Alex_Coe wrote:

Then I guess you don't create any garbage at all, do you?

...
We all do. The point is excess. The question should be... How much excess garbage do you generate?

callen

polaris wrote:

absolutely ... if we all had that attitude - maybe we wouldn't be so fucked ... but the reality is that there are many who live lives of excess and sorry to say - north americans lead the way ...

Its easy to blame Americans...but I think its more of a human thing....and the resources that are available. Humans are simply "its all about me"....Americans, Europeans, Asians...Arabs...in general we're all the same. Some will think of this wonderful planet we live on...but most are concerned for themselves. If and when I see a vehicle with a "D" or a "GB" or an "I" white oval sticker on the back of their cars in the US, good chance they're in a large SUV. Why???? well here they can afford the gas, the cost of the vehicle, corresponding taxes......its not because they're Eurpeans..its because they can. Do Europeans bring they're own bags to the grocery stores in the US. No, do they refrain from drinking water out of plastic bottles..no.........we're all simply selfish human animals that adapt to our environment and will consume what we can.

polaris

callen wrote:

Its easy to blame Americans...but I think its more of a human thing....and the resources that are available. Humans are simply "its all about me"....Americans, Europeans, Asians...Arabs...in general we're all the same. Some will think of this wonderful planet we live on...but most are concerned for themselves. If and when I see a vehicle with a "D" or a "GB" or an "I" white oval sticker on the back of their cars in the US, good chance they're in a large SUV. Why???? well here they can afford the gas, the cost of the vehicle, corresponding taxes......its not because they're Eurpeans..its because they can. Do Europeans bring they're own bags to the grocery stores in the US. No, do they refrain from drinking water out of plastic bottles..no.........we're all simply selfish human animals that adapt to our environment and will consume what we can.

you're right for the most part ... but if we are going to generalize which is what we are doing - then americans are by far the worst ... i've been all over the world and there is no comparison ...

in many countries in europe they mandate the amount of garbage you can produce ... here - people will cry bloody murder and that it's your inhibiting their freedoms if you do that ... the mentality is completely different ...

SUV's would be a great example ... look at the model popularity vs. those living outside the US ...

Alex_Coe

Cosmo wrote:

...
We all do. The point is excess. The question should be... How much excess garbage do you generate?

I hope you're not talking to me personally, because my recycling habits pwn you. My mulch can bitch-slap your mulch.

Cosmo

Alex_Coe wrote:

I hope you're not talking to me personally, because my recycling habits pwn you. My mulch can bitch-slap your mulch.

...
No... it was a general you.. as in how much garbage do you (American person) generate?
But, I'm glad to hear you mulch. And you're right... your mulch beats my mulch... if I mulched, because i live in a condo and i don't have room in my living room for a mulch barrel.
...
P.S. Just a note... 'Own' is spelled with an 'O'.

callen

polaris wrote:

you're right for the most part ... but if we are going to generalize which is what we are doing - then americans are by far the worst ... i've been all over the world and there is no comparison ...

in many countries in europe they mandate the amount of garbage you can produce ... here - people will cry bloody murder and that it's your inhibiting their freedoms if you do that ... the mentality is completely different ...

SUV's would be a great example ... look at the model popularity vs. those living outside the US ...

once we run out of room like in europe it will be the same way here......just not the case..hence the government is not forced to inact such legistlations.......
we're all humans, have the same motivations/fears...its easy to blame Americans...but again put a European in the US and they act just like another American....

now don't get me wrong...I'd love to see gas go to $6.00 a gallon, ban plastic bags etc etc....just won't happen for a while in the US...thats all. Plus does it really matter.....till we stop breeding as a species this planets fked anyway.