I am a sucker for good travel writing. "Blue Highways" chronicles the journey of a man as he circles the country in a van, searching for "his" America. "Take Me with You" tells the story of a man that scoured the world searching for that “perfect someone” to give the gift of America. Kerouac’s manic cross-country runs in "On the Road". I even read (and reread many times over) "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" for the thrill of the open-road odyssey as opposed to the much more relevant Chautauquas (well, more relevant from Pirsig’s point of view).
A few posts back, I mentioned the relevance of travel to my painting process and self-survival. How many more of us are out there? Could “travel” be the common source? It is very common for members of my generation to be well-traveled in comparison to their families. It certainly not that the airlines have gotten any easier or faster. So what is this urge to keep moving and continue the journey for the next thing? Is EXPERIENCE the new form of materialism?
One popular opinion is that the contemporary art movements of the twentieth century were pushing us into the direction of exposing and embracing materialism. If “travel” is the new materialism - then is it so radical to embrace travel as the new art movement? From the individual nomadic writers to the globe-trotting bands of gypsy art school students; this is happening without approval. It only makes since that formal powers will eventually embrace this “artistic history of movement” as artists use the internet to learn about exotic locales where which to create. - DN
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