What does it mean to be human? To be alive? To exist? The individuals of Issue #1 examined these subjects intently. The body of work developing our first issue informed us as human beings and quite personally, transformed me as a person. As a result of these works and the many that I have since discovered down this path, the meaning of art and science has changed for me.
While we may not be able to answer all of the questions posed in Issue #1, we are still very present and effectual in form. Just like a platyhelminth, we receive information to then react but even more, as the unusual organisms that we are, we process, we feel…we think. With this advanced capacity we can respond to our environment based on how our emotions inform our thoughts or respond based on how our thoughts inform our emotions. As the living, breathing creature that you are, what best describes your experience? And, despite our advancements as humans, do we really understand any more than that of a primitive flatworm?
All things considered, there is an immense storm at bay with erosive powers greater than we will ever be able to comprehend. The legitimacy of science and art is in question. Technology like CRISPR-Cas9 is already well underway in laboratories around the world. Demand for action to lessen the impacts of climate change has never been more apparent. Nuclear power as a sustainable source of energy is being considered, the same source from which we derive nuclear weaponry. As environmental degradation continues to rise and technologies rapidly develop, we are being surpassed by our ability to understand, control, and lessen the impacts of said developments.
Much of Issue #2 addresses these topics and from multiple vantage points. In honest reflection of the subject material, our world outlook can start to look rather grim. Regardless of our differences and how we process information to then react, we are all here together interacting on this planet. At times, the waters may seem turbulent and the light, gloomy. Our own axis of rotation may become a little titled now and then, but we must continue moving forward to realize the sobering global truths that we and future generations will have to face; to be proactive rather than reactive.
Admittedly, the task at hand is great but the sooner it is realized, the more prepared we can be. As human beings, we have the power to create and think to reevaluate the function of art and science, both of which are functions of humanity. There is great vulnerability in being human, but stripped down to a mere pattern of skeletal, we still have organization and unyielding structure.
Let us build upon our form – truly feel and think and make adjustments for the betterment of the future. How will you choose to react/act?
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman
Thoughtfully yours,
Emily Dustman
