*When the social position of the artist was that of an artisan or a super-crafts person, the spirit of competition acted as a stimulus.  Today the position of the artist has changed.  They are no longer valued as the producer of their work, but for the quality of their vision and imagination as expressed in their work.  They are no longer a maker of art: they are an example of a human, and it is their art which exemplifies them.  This is true at an appreciative and philosophical level even under capitalism, where works of art are are treated on the market like any other commodity.  In the artist's new role there is no place for comparative competition.  One cannot properly compete to be a representative of Humankind.  It is the contradiction between this truth and the dominance of the art market over all art production which destroys so much talent and creates so much confused desperation among artists in the capitalists countries.
-John Berger[gender modified]




Truth

Is this what Truth is:
a disguise behind words
a life hid under cloaks?
Is there no truth to be spoke
beyond life lived in disguise
parading behind masks
prancing 'round maypoles
as if a pillar of fire?

O that un-truths were vaginal: 

un-poked, sewn, strapped to appear as whole! 

We humans speak with twists 

contrived nuances chiseled into lies. 

But we are what we are: 

broken, bent, contorted 

hiding behind goodness 

lest we meet God 

and drop our props 

bearing Truth cause She's more pure 

than any money at hand 

or fecal stench exiting our bowels.

Truth seeks to breathe free
that lies by stagnation will die.
The noble speakers' task will be
the pursuit of Truth that She'll run free.