Agoraphobia

Roman Agora Built in Athens (photo: Robert Freeman)

You think someone is bad if they withhold what you want. Writers and artists who tend to confuse their selves with the work they’re trying to hawk are most prone to make these kinds of moral judgements. For them it's not a product that's being rejected, rather an iteration of one's being. They feel themselves elevated by the esteem of the all giving earth mother only to be annihilated and condemned to wander an underworld of unending darkness. In fact, the buyers in the market of sensibility have different styles of dealing with the sometimes unwanted attention they're receiving. It’s like the old days before #MeToo when women still got whistled at on the street by hardhats. A man or woman valued for their appearance may wish more attention were paid to their minds. Similarly most artists want to get their paintings into Gagosian, Zwirner or whatever gallery is the flavor du jour. Years ago it was Castelli. While there are maestros who are humane, many are like the woman wearing the short skirt who feels in danger of being raped. How to deal with all this angry talent? Kindliness may be looked at as an invitation while dismissiveness may be treated as a human rights abuse. There are different styles of desiring and being desired and that in short accounts for the Agora.

read "What's It Like to Be a Fly?" by Francis Levy, HuffPost

and listen to Beethoven Symphony No. 5