Saturday 8 August 2009

Fetishism

Human fetishes can often appear bizarre. They don't even have to be of a sexual complexion. Stamp collecting is just as good an example as those strange beings who are obsessed with women's feet.

There is an important thing going on in such behavior. This human endeavor is often motivated by individuals who seek out an area of control in their lives. Expertise can be developed, interests are refined constantly until an unique expression is formed.

To understand this manifestation of conduct one should always look beyond the object of concern. Stamp collecting is not just about stamps. Foot fetishes are not just about feet. Yet, It is easy to think so when one concedes to the bizarreness of any given fetish.

The stamp collector might find herself further ingrained in the world by her collection and knowledge of stamps. The foot fetishist may feel himself to be closer to women, in his habit of treating women as goddesses. The interest always lies beyond the object of concern.

Probably all important human trends started off as fetishes. The first humans to create an alphabet and to write about their world were probably motivated in a similar way. Those paintings we find in caves of animals and warriors expresses a particular concern with the environment and societies involvement with it. Such activity would have only started off in small groups until it caught on more generally.

We should not then, be overly concerned with the strange behavior of human beings, when they become obsessive- as long as people are not being harmed by these activities. Strangeness should be celebrated. Once we have then understood the strangeness of human fetishes, we will find that they become part of normal realm of our experiences; that is until other manifestations morph our perceptions.

Art- what for?

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