February 14

Quote of the Day

In a mad world.

Only the mad are sane.

Akira Kurosawa

Picture from the Sleep No More production,

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For some reason I like to read this quote as two separate parts.

In a mad world.

In a mad world makes me think of life. Of the craziness of people tolerating unhappiness in the pursuit of something commonly accepted as "the ultimate goal." Whatever that may be - money, power, God...In a mad world makes me think of the homeless man I saw sleeping on the floor of the 59th st. station, covered in a sheet head to toes, with hundreds of people rushing by. In a mad world makes me think of Wall street, and India, and economics in Greece. In a mad world makes me think of Sleep No More, and in a mad world makes me think of Donnie Darko.

In a sense, in a mad world stops my train of thought and just makes me wonder at all that is.

Only the mad are sane.

On Valentine's day it's fitting to think of those madly in love. Perhaps the most sought after madness, in today's world crazed with sanity, intellect, logic, clarity of mind is that brought about by love. Crazy, head-over-heels, blind, mesmerizing, irrational and dangerous, lose-my-mind because of how much I love you kind of love. In our madly sane world, those lucky enough (?) to be madly in love are the only ones living life as it should be lived, are the only ones with proper priorities, and the only ones sane enough to not waste time in pursuits such as fame, making money, living their careers and being politically relevant. Does this equal sanity? I don't know, but somehow it all makes sense.

Only the mad are sane.

The blurring of the lines between sanity and Insanity is ever so present, not only in my field, but in the world in general. We look at people going nuts over the latest gadget, giving up their health, family life, and love for things such as career, status, excitement. But they're not insane like those declared "not guilty by the reason of insanity." Right?

Only the mad are sane.

Does the insane man live in a better world, because he is out of touch with the mad world we live in?

The above video was taken during Fashions Night Out in NYC last fall.

The image with envelopes is a detail from "Come&Go" by Petra Valdimarsdottir.