A PIZZAONIAN CONCEPTION OF REALITY IF THERE IS SUCH A THING.
LUNCH WITH PICASSO
WAITING FOR CIVILISATION
STILL WAITING FOR CIVILISATION
THIS IS WHAT WE WERE WAITING FOR?
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF THE PIZZAONIAN ART INSTITUTE. PAINTINGS (PHOTOS?) BY PIZZAONIUS, cira 345 PET (pizzaonian evolutionary time)
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(C)copyright Pizzaonian Art Institute, Abe Staction,curator
Image: Maturity waiting to happen, by Pizzaonious
It may be a long way to Tipari, but it is a longer road still to maturity. Maturity is the long-awaited condition that we hope age and experience will create - unfortunately, not always so.
In the American experience, maturity is perpetually delayed by entertainment – a process that keeps you from confronting yourself. The business of having to grow an economy cannot have its potential customers sitting around contemplating life. Economies require infusions of cash for new products that somehow always seem to resemble the old products they replace- without this infusion they die.
There is some good in this process. It brings some innovation and increases the so-called standard of living. And, if it does none of these things, it always creates the illusion that growing is good and necessary for our well-being.
The distinction between need and want is the problem that marketers face everyday. If you are lucky, or smart enough, to have a product that people need, you do not have to work as hard as the rest of us.
Most of us have to create the illusion that what people want is also what they need. That is the little kept secret: Making something no one needs, and making that something that everyone wants is the gateway to success. We call this successful marketing. Without it, we would all be in big trouble.
As time goes by actual products run their course. The natural progression of continually making the same look like the new runs out – there are only so many products. Thus was born the service industry. Now we have always had necessary services, but as an industry, we matured. There are only so many necessary services. The rest we call entertainment. In the United States we also call it politics.
The service industry creates distraction: works of art that only exist for the moment. This makes the artist, Christo, a prophet. He said, “Do you know that I don’t have any artworks that exist? They all go away when they’re finished.” Does anything better define the service industry?
Now even contemplation is a product. Create a culture where every waking moment is necessary to survive, and top it off with products that require constant reinventing. Nice work if you can get it.
And we wonder why maturity is a delayed process.
Brother Giovanni, reporting for Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network, Diverti Mento, director
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An interesting thought occurred to me this morning. Nothing corrupts a process more than money. This is hardly a revelation, I’m sure, but sometimes we need to stop and think about it. Nowhere is this more obvious than in sports and show business.
Often when an aging star or athlete goes on beyond their time, we continue to enjoy them, not because they are still great, but because of what they were in their past. Our memory of their past greatness overshadows the present, and we continue to compulsively enjoy watching them perform.
It also occurred to me that this does not go unnoticed by the promoters - those people who make these talented individuals multi-million-dollar industries. As long as there’s a dollar to be sucked out of the public, they will continue to ply their wares and parade there stable of “over the hill stars" to an all too willing public - that is so desperate for shared community, they will throw their dollars at anything that allows them to be part of something bigger than themselves.
It is wonderful to see that unusual person – who was given the gift of rare talent, who knows when their time has passed and voluntarily chooses to get off the stage. I admire them because I can appreciate how difficult this must be for them. Part of the drive to stardom has got to be the public’s admiration and constant attention that you receive daily. This is a mighty elixir that I am sure is very hard to give up.
For this rare group that knows when to quit, it is not their past greatness that we admire. We admire them for what they are and continue to be in our memory - something special and uncommon - talent combined with dignity and grace.
For them, they will not let their promoters or money corrupt the process - and for that I am especially grateful.
Brother Franco
As I listen to radio talk shows in the United States now that I am back in Pizzaonia, I spend more time reflecting on their worth as an information medium. Granted they are entertaining, but what purpose do they serve?
No doubt, they make money for the stations that broadcast them. The people who run the networks are experts on how to feed their respective markets. This is the problem. Since they understand their markets so well, each talk-show host knows which buttons to push to keep their listeners frothing at the mouth.
Nothing promotes ignorance faster than restricting your listening to those shows that reaffirm your established bias. Moreover, since these shows are editorial in nature, they use the “truth” very selectively to reinforce their particular editorial slant. Since this is only entertainment, you might ask what is the big deal?
If the surveys we read have merit, we are asked to believe that most folks get their information from the various radio and television talk shows they listen to and watch. Wow, how is that for a democratically informed electorate?
We live in a transformational time. The world is changing all around us. During times of transformational change, fear is always a by-product. Fear can be alleviated by accurate and intelligently presented points of view that help us shape our opinions. Alternatively, this fear can be used to create larger audiences by using demagoguery to feed the flames.
Profit trumps(Trump?) truth again. This fear mongering creates larger constituencies, and this creates larger audiences and bigger profits. Unfortunately, it also makes winning elections easier.
Pablum rules the day. Chicken or the egg? Do we get what we deserve or is what we are getting the best we have?
America needs a reality check if it is to have a meaningful presidential election that can reestablish the American democracy as the model for the world. The American people will decide if they have the necessary will and courage to demand leadership instead of patronization. Or, have they already decided, only time will tell.
Brother Giovanni, observations from Pizzaonia
"...what really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out - not the sunshine patriots but those who are willing to stand for a long period of time." John F. Kennedy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: PIZZAONIAN NEWSERTAINMENT NETWORK (PNN)
Contact: Publicio Relationio at the PNN office of Public Relations at: [email protected]
SUBJECT: THE DEATH OF THE LITERAL IMAGE
Image - delegates at the Pizzaonian Art Institute, Abe Straction, curator
All images are from the private collection of the PIZZAONIAN ART INSTITUTE - Contact Abe Straction, curator, for more information" [email protected] copyright - (C) all rights are the exclusive property of the Pizzaonian Art Institute and images cannot be reproduced without written permission.
Today at the opening of the Pizzaonian Art Institute’s seminar on the state of Pizzaonian art, Abe Straction, newly appointed curator of the Institute declared the death of the literal image as a viable art form.
It should be clear to all who have followed art for the last 100 years that the literal image has become so ubiquitous, clichéd and mechanical in its rendition it is now insignificant as a form of communication in the digital age. This is the major theme of this year’s meetings.
“Perhaps, one could argue there is some usefulness in the literal image as a reminder of a past age, but when examined closely even that fades,” declared Mr. Straction
The focus of discussions here at the seminar is on what happened to the literal image after it was co-opted as a marketing tool to sell and propagandize. The advance of technology and the notion that everyone is “an artist” was simply one more “nail in the coffin.”
Obviously, not everyone agrees, however, this controversy will only grow louder as Mr. Straction gains more credibility in the Pizzaonian art establishment.
Next: How and why photography died.
Reporting from Pizzaonia, Brother Giovanni for PNN
July 2015
Diverti Mento, editor of Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network, gave a spirited defense to thwart the criticism he received with his appointment of Abe Surdity as a PNN political correspondent.
“If you want journalism, go listen to Edward R. Murrow tapes. We are in the age of Newsertainment and our policies at PNN will continue to bring the public the best in Newsertainment service.
If you want reality, watch reality shows. Today, news programs are the new sitcoms of entertainment, and we at PNN are determined to lead the way. Abe Surdity, with his background in horse racing and dog breeding is the perfect man for the job,” declared Mr. Mento
Public reaction is vocal and mixed, but we are getting what the Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network expected when they hired Mr. Mento, a well- known Pizzaonian mystic, as their new editor
More as it develops………
By Pizzaonius, Pizzaonian Easter, cira 325 Pizzaonian Entenial Time
All images are from the private collection of the PIZZAONIAN ART INSTITUTE - Contact Abe Straction, curator, for more information" [email protected] copyright - (C) all rights are the exclusive property of the Pizzaonian Art Institute and images cannot be reproduced without written permission.
Pizzaonius, founder of Pizzaonia, delivering his annual Pizzaonian entenial address
Crowd in a moment of private reflection on the virtues of Pizzaonian culture
Beginning of festivities at the annual Pizzaonian Entenial Ball
Pizzaonius arriving at the annual Pizzaonian Entenial Ball
All images are from the private collection of the PIZZAONIAN ART INSTITUTE - Contact Abe Straction, curator, for more information" [email protected] copyright - (C) all rights are the exclusive property of the Pizzaonian Art Institute and images cannot be reproduced without written permission.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: PIZZAONIAN NEWS SERVICE (PNS)
Contact: Publicio Relationio at the PNS office of Public Relations at [email protected]
SUBJECT: Shake up at Pizzaonian News Service. Major changes coming
In a major shakeup at Pizzaonian News Service, Brother Giovanni will no longer be Worldonian Bureau Chief for PNS. No successor has been named at this time, but Diverti Mento, Pizzaonian Mystic, and newly appointed director of Pizzaonian News Service will name a new Chief soon.
Mento, new to the news business is creating serious upheaval at PNS with his unorthodox methods of news reporting.
Mento, who prefers to be called DiMento, is a disciple of the new school of reporting known as “Newsertainment” and is determined to make news the entertainment vehicle of the coming decade.
“The notion that news is about news is long gone. Today’s reporting is about filling the void that the entertainment industry once filled. Our new policy is to leave them laughing or crying, that’s what Newsertainment is about,” said DiMento
Brother Giovanni, relieved of all administrative duties, will be reassigned as a feature writer covering both Pizzaonian and Worldonian affairs.
Pizzaonian News Service where all the news is reported, whether it is news or not, without bias or inclination to check the facts.
“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.” Reinhold Niebuhr
Customer service is not a department, it’s an attitude.” Unknown
“Some of us think that holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.” Hermann Hesse
“If you owe your bank a hundred pounds, you have a problem. But, if you owe your bank a million pounds, it has a problem.” John M. Keynes
“It’s amazing how positive religion becomes when throw open the windows and let in some fresh air.” Pizzaonian spelunker (John XXIII)
Italians come to ruin most generally in three ways, women, gambling, and farming. My family chose the slowest one.
Pope John XXIII
“ODYSSEY DAWN, come on - is someone pulling our leg?” Pizzaonian spelunker
"Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward." Thomas Merton
“Up to now in this country we are warned not to waste our time, but we are brought up to waste our lives.” Eric Hoffer
“The business of an automated economy can no longer be business.” Eric Hoffer
“Art is never finished, only abandoned.” Leonardo da Vinci
"Man did not weave the web of life: he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. To harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator." Red Indian Chief (1854)
“It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism, while the wolf remains of a different opinion.” William Ralph Inge
“Spiritual progress does demand, at some stage, we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants.” M. Gandhi