ETEWAF now, ETEWAF forever!

[jchance]

I am a dedicated reader of World Wide Words, and last week's update tossed a new buzzword up into my eye-line. "ETEWAF", the emerging state of "Everything That Ever Was, Available Forever" as the Internet removes the barriers of obscurity and limited availability from, well, everything. And true to concept, the source of the term was only a

Comments

[swordianmaster]

One has to wonder if he even knew what pop culture was in the art world. Case in point being Andy Warhol; most of his well-known body of work was basically the canvas-equivalent of 'remix culture'. And yet here he is, still nearly a household name, one of the big 'giants' of art in the 20th century.

The only way I could see the internet ruining art is that there is a tenuous link (one being researched to this day, if I recall) between overuse of computers and clinical depression. And maybe it's just me talking out my ass, but I'd rather envision that most prolific artists are far more manic-depressive than pure depressed. Otherwise they wouldn't produce a single painting, as it would seem like too much effort.

[eibii]

... will not tweet this URL to his Twitter acct. Will not. Promise.

[jchance]

Up to you. Yes, I _do_ call him an asshole. But I had some genuine anger here. It takes real chutzpah to value your reverse-hipster pride over all the ways people have found to be less isolated, and almost as much to handwave away the biggest art boom in centuries as nothing but sterile gimmicks. Maybe he should see it.

Yes, it's taken me this long to read and respond...

[cressida0201]

Such is my life at this time of year, sadly. But, great essay. I had some comments brewing in my head as I read the early parts, only to discover that you made most of my points for me by the end of the post! I only have a couple of small thoughts to add.

I do think that there's a grain of accuracy in the idea that pop culture right now consists largely of "recutting, repurposing, and manipulation"--not to mention remakes, reboots, in-jokes, and mashing of existing genres. While it's true that art is referential and equally true that there's nothing new under the sun, I have been thinking for a while that we're living in an unusually referential era for pop/geek culture. But if I want to go out on a limb, I'd attribute it to the relative stability of American culture since World War II. By this I mean that trends have mostly had the chance to develop gradually and organically rather than being yanked by overnight developments.

Still, I would be very surprised to see the the amount of anything--truly inspired remixes, more