Blog: Object Culture Part XIII

Featured image: Plums

Freedom – Choices We Make

“Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty I am free at last.” Martin Luther King

The concept of freedom is part of my code of ethics. It is difficult to talk about ethics because I think that it’s a personal individual choice, not a group think, collective or part of an object culture thinking choice.

When we judge, “ I don’t like her hair,” or more relevant, “I don’t like that artwork.” We, whether we like it or not, are making an ethical choice. A choice that involves a “yes” or “no” answer or a correction of action, a choice that involves a good or bad evaluation.

What are the principles linked to the choices we are making? Are they ours or are they part of the choices you need to make to be part of a group? Being an artist and developing a style, more often than not, involves being part of a group.

Many of us, as artists, call ourselves different thinkers, creatives. This is our ethical choice as to what makes up a good artist versus a bad artist. Many of us think we are outstanding realistic painters, and we are good at it. After all, many have told us that we are. That is an ethical choice. It makes no difference whether we are good or bad. It is subjective.

Ninety times out of a hundred, ethical choices are personal and subjective. For the most part, only 10% of them are objective. Ask yourself when you judge something as good or bad where did this ethical choice come from? Was it from my personal subjective preference? my personal objective preference, or my group subjective preference? And before you answer that question, ask yourself if you really believe that. Can you respect others who think differently?

If you can answer that question yes, then you know you are on the right path when you make an ethical judgement on something, be it art or another person.

This freedom that comes with that yes answer does not fit in all situations because as I have said before, a group always needs direction and a minimal amount of governance. Like rules of harming another, rules of breaking the rules, what is acceptable and what is not? But, it needs only to be minimal.

When asking yourself if you are free at last you need to be able to answer philosophical questions about 1. Ethics, 2. Reality or metaphysics, 3. How you know things or epistemology and 4. What your politics are – what is the foundation for how you think about the notion, the concept of freedom. Are you an object, part of the object culture of others or of yourself?