Let your imagination die

This is probably a side effect of thinking to early, but . .
Perhaps it’s the crisp cold smell of fallen leaves that bring up the topic of change and death. The topic of death seems to be following me slightly closer. Lyle Owerko has put out some cool work but he keeps being noted as that one guy who photographed the world trade center jumpers (his work is worth more credit than a one hit wonder). However people’s draw towards the work is undeniable. What is it with people’s fascination of death? “What were they thinking right before they jumped?” “The rush of oxygen must have made them pass out, no-one would jump in their right mind” “does your life actually flash before your eyes?”
Maybe it’s the looming of all hallows eve (the best holiday in American culture, in my humble opinion), but the personage of how American’s think about death, is all about us. The ominous scarecrows on porches and the shadowy faces carved in pumpkins, all point us to America’s fear of death. SIDE NOTE: Most countries in the world celebrate death, as much as anyone can celebrate the death of friends, family, et cetera. Other cultures understand that death is inevitable and celebrate death as another step in life. Just as you have your years of teenage angst, you have your dead years. We on the other hand have built a billion dollar industry on shielding us from death. We have medicine to extend a terminal life, we have housing for our elderly loved ones (healthcare provides approx. 13 million job of which 25% are for elder care); death seems to be an admission of our flaws, loss and defeat. One the other side of our coin of denial is a bottomless pit of imagination that fosters its own industry, scary movies, Halloween costumes and candies.
All industry and notes aside, when people talk about death they talk about it with imagination. I’m sure you could pass people through MRI machines and see the creative centers in their brain light up like a Technicolor dream. I’m sure this isn’t any profound idea. Any time you peer into the unknown, you use your creativity. The simple fact is, that it is unknown.
I was discussing with some friends earlier this week, as Chuck Klosterman nears the end of his novel, living to die, I half expected a summation of why we canonize all of the artists that die. Some artist live underwhelmed lives but their death creates an explosion of fame. Other artist, meet death as they were half expected to die, that would be the only way people could see that artists career go. However they die and what their path may have been fans like to preserve the image of their death famed artists in their own mind. In a fans mind they can have a pristine image of what they want, with out any corruption. With art creativity come easily, with the fear of the unknown dusting off the unfamiliar art of creativity is harder. Fear seems to become some. It seems as though some people have a fear of their creative side just as much as they fear death. Maybe chuck had it right, don’t tell us what to think about death leave us to our own tools, let us become the artists of fame and the result will be much more fearful.