I'm currently re-watching "Rivers and Tides", the documentary on artist Andy Goldsworthy. I'm planning to use a segment of it in class tomorrow because his profound connection with the land echoes the connection ancient cultures had with the land (the class is studying the Kush and Nok cultures at the moment). It has been a while since I last watched this film, so I was amazed to hear him echo exactly the same sentiments that Rob Miller from Amebix spoke of during the interview of a couple of weeks ago (the one I just mentioned in a post yesterday, as a matter of fact). The sentiment they share is a dislike for traveling because it makes them feel dislocated and uprooted. In our current society, this is something that many of us never think of, especially since many of our families have only been in their current locations for a few generations. Add to this the fact that everything from our architecture to our consumer practices emphasizes disconnection and compartmentalization.

I just went out to get the mail and found myself jarred by the way the landscaping was bisected by walkways, and by the fact that everything exists in unnnatural squares and rectangles. There is no flow. Everything is so artificial... so blocky. Of course, I'm not even going to get into the fact that the landscaping is all non-native plants...

Maybe if we all operated under the influence of art, things would improve.