The German philosopher Theodor Adorno once said, “It is self-evident that nothing concerning art is self-evident.” We’re at a point in time when nearly everyone has access to producing artistic things. But when replication, sampling, mashups and mixdowns are thought of as art — what becomes of process? The making of art? Does it vanish into a programmed format or does it flourish?
A sleepy-eyed early-morning riser retrieving the morning paper in her bathrobe stands bow-legged, slack-mouth stunned. A driver of a Toyota van brakes abruptly to a stop — blocking an intersection. Ignoring my 7 a.m. walk through central Irvine, the group lopes down the middle of the street (one with a sideways glance). In close formation, their tongues dangling, they pass the community clubhouse, the pool, the tennis courts and the…
