"Automatic"

 

                                                            “Automatic”

            My mother says something constantly to my siblings and I and it goes something like this, “you guys just think sh*t is automatic!”. She says that because we all can sometimes take advantage (not in a good way) of all the good we have around us. Food, water, a roof over our heads, good health, etc. and when we’re showered with these things every day, we can lose sight of how precious they are, and they can feel almost “automatic”. I say this to point out that we constantly indulging in consumption and that may be the case because we all may feel that sh*t is automatic! We have food delivery apps, grocery delivery apps, apps for all our needs and especially our wants. Visiting the art gallery made me ponder on the whole idea of overconsumption and how I partake in it every day.

            I could identify a piece of me in almost each piece of art at the gallery whether it be something I witnessed or personally engage in. The show was very eye-opening and informative, connecting overconsumption to plastic waste, pollution, and other global issues as well as political issues. One of the projects that I found especially joyous was made by Maggie Ens and her pieces named “GAIA Calls Us to Healing” and “Bench For the New American Renaissance”. Maggie says in artists’ statement “GAIA, our Mother Earth, is increasingly challenged by humanity’s misuse of her riches.” Basic consumption must take place in some form to make this world of ours operate every day, but overconsumption is where we go wrong and cause conflict for ourselves and our planet. But how has it gotten this way? Ens expresses how her muse helps her address overconsumption by saying “My Muse nudges me to address the cycle of capitalism’s destructive power to overly produce, endlessly consume and thoughtlessly squander Nature’s gifts.” I couldn’t help but think about John Berger’s writing on publicity and how society is trained, or some may say, brain-washed to seeing things in a specific way helping us gravitate toward overconsumption. Why do we have publicity? Publicity exists so that manufacturers can continue to produce and make money which entails us, consumers, to over consume. Maggie Ens’ inspiration, execution, and the materials used by her all express her want for healing and restoration of balance to our home.

            Bringing the light of overconsumption to not just an object but a living human being was one subject that I never had deeply thought about before. The subject is multi-layered and as I began to read Mollie Thonneson’s artist statement, I couldn’t help but to dive deep into the subject. Thonneson’s project included pieces made from recycled lingerie and party dresses portrays the “narrative about abusive relationships and what role our consumer society plays in perpetuating that aggressive behavior”. Mollie’s pieces not only talk about sexual abuse, but child sexual abuse presenting a piece called “Just Close Your Eyes” which uses recycled lingerie fit for children. I began thinking about patriarchy and the possibility of an overconsumption of that belief. Can one believe that the consumption of people is acceptable because they feel more dominant than them? The answer to this question has portrayed itself through history and present-day that they most definitely can. We live in a system of patriarchy “that insists males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain the dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence”. If one is consumed by the thoughts and/or feelings that they can and must express dominance over the weaker can quickly poison them into consuming that being. Mollie Thonneson refers to our culture and economy as “a culture obsessed with self-gratification and power, and an economy fueled on appealing to our base instincts as sexual beings” and this statement cannot be any less from the truth. A culture concerned with power instead of building each other up. We’re all concerned for our personal success and happiness all the time that we’re less interested about what gets damaged along the way.

            I’ve began to think about overconsumption differently these last few days mostly because of my current mental state. I began to tie in overconsumption to my personal and questioning if whether I am a part of the cause and ones of the effects. Up until the middle of my senior year, I would be awakened by my parents for school in the mornings. Taken to school by my parents and picked up afterwards. Showered with all their everything. I had consumed them as a part of me. I had consumed all their assistance, support, and love, but then something happened. You realize that you are growing up and they realize that too, and now, you are in charge of you. So, I have been thinking, can a child overconsume their parents’ love and affection? Can that be why some people have a difficult time jumpstarting their life and leaving the nest? I can guarantee that the answer is yes, but I truly want to know, what is the solution?