vision loss

Mansplaining Modernism

Why? This post serves two purposes.:
1. as my central vision degenerates, I need to develop a least frustrating method for sharing my insights. Trust me, unless you are visually impaired, you are not interested in me explaining further*.
2. Recently I have had several lively conversations on Modernism and Postmodernism where the other party and I could not agree on the scope and meaning of those terms. I want to resolve that. Here goes.

roller and spatual

Broadly, the Modern Era philosophically emerges in the late 18th century with the Enlightenment, urbanization and the Industrial Revolution.

It embodies an outlook that affirms Progress, that is, the power of humans to create, improve, and reshape the world with the aid of rational thought, scientific knowledge, and technology.

Optimistically, it promotes new outlooks and methods that will provide the means to overcome historical limitation and expand possibilities. .

This is reflected in the many manifestos written and distributed expressing modern political ideologies and cultural artistic movements. These epistal expressed a hopeful train of thought. Interestingly, these Truths are not dissimilar to the singular paths to salvation expressed in the religious orthodoxies most modernists dismissed as antique.

If Modernism is objective, theoretical and singular, Postmodernism is based on subjectivity., skeptically rejecting a universal worldview

PS That’s it. I’m ready. That’s enough to make my point in conversation before. pivoting to social and artistic “isms.”

*I am exhausted. This took me hours of research, composing and editing,.
Q. What did I learn? Did I make any progress with writing workflow.
A. Some. I am not discouraged.

With my visual limitations, I need text-to-speech for editing. After I compose a sentence, I highlight it and hit my keyboard shortcut to hear what I wrote, listening for errors. Zooming in 800% on my 32 inch monitor, I can make corrections. The result is short paragraphs, hopefully without distracting typos.

That was my method today.

UPDATE 10/17/22
I recently stumbled on two YouTube posts from the channel Then and Now:
Modernity: An Analysis > Excellent
What Makes us Postmodern? > Interesting
I was provoked. So many more strands to consider. I changed my Twitter profile to Unlicensed Artist, Unpublished Poet. Pseudo Sociologist. I’m ready.


My Big VIP Adventure

Listen (sticky post)

M ore than 20 years ago, I was diagnosed with late onset Stargardt Disease. It is a progressive form of macular degeneration where the build up of Vitamin A kills retina cells leading to central vision loss. I cannot read a menu or a book. By comparison my peripheral vision is absolutely amazing.

amsler grid - me
How I see the Amsler Grid

This blog is my journal of how I am adjusting as a VIP (visually impaired person). Adapting to Vision Loss is a bit like going through the stages of grief. Consequently, I have quietly experienced periods of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. as well as sporadic moments of profound philosophical insights into , cribbage, shoveling snow and the human comedy.

A timeline of that path would include: Eight years ago I stopped playing basketball. Six years ago I stopped driving Five years ago ended my commercial graphic design business as my skillsets slowed,. Two years ago I stopped reading print, transitioning to software that converts text-to-speech. Last year, thanks to ZOOM, I hired an assistant to screen share and aid me with intricate computer tasks. Technology Rocks. I ❤️ Voice Over.

As an artist, the impact has been disturbing. but I am determined to not let that defeat me. I am resolved to persist and record this journey. –KBS June 5, 2021