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Meditation 7.21
Forum for Contemporary Art
St. Louis, Missouri, January 24-March 15, 1997
"Soon you will have forgotten the world and soon the world
will have forgotten you."
To hand someone your business card is to say, "remember me."
What more incongruous building block could one find to construct
the above quotation from the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius regarding
the ultimate futility of human endeavor? Meditation 7.21
consists of more than 9000 one-of-a-kind business cards collected
from the United States and abroad during the past few years. Earnestly
reflected in these cards are the worldly accomplishments and aspirations
of those they represent. In them one can find the facts of our existence:
name, occupation, title, address, phone-fax-e-mail, nickname, motto,
logo, etc. In them one can read the details of our busy lives--things
bought and sold, services rendered, claims and guarantees made.
And in their color, texture, type style and layout one can even
find a record of our far-ranging aesthetic sensibilities.
The endless combinations of information and design result in the
seemingly impossible. Like fingerprints, no two business cards are
alike. Given the same standard format, each card somehow becomes
a unique, pocket-sized self-portrait. Gathered together on an enormous
bulletin board, they form a mosaic of human enterprise both awesome
and, when seen in the light of Aurelius' stark reminder, absurd.
Yet despite the overriding presence of the Roman emperor's irrefutable
reflection, Meditation 7.21 should not necessarily be construed
as pessimistic or despairing. Like life itself, this paper microcosm
is subject to multiple interpretations. Yes, there is something
inherently sad and pathetic about all of our busy, earthly effort
in the face of certain death. But there is also something heartwarming,
noble, and beautiful about it. The presence of so much confetti
signals a celebration, albeit a bittersweet one.
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