Schlock

Schlock: noun, Sites of mass consumption often in the form of large cement (sometimes limestone or brick) blocks turned into outside shopping centers, indoor shopping malls, or stand-alone restaurants and stores found throughout the United States-- particularly in suburban areas. Yes, this is my own working definition, but I first heard this word come from my high school senior English Composition teacher, Mr. B (I'll let him remain somewhat anonymous). And it has stuck with me and been part of my vocabulary ever since. For your information, this is also the same teacher who threw a puppet parrot at me from across the room while I gave a speech in front of the class, but this is neither here nor there and is a story for another day. So, I bring up this term schlock now for I am hanging out in Dallas... enough said, right? If you aren't familiar with Dallas, let me explain a bit. Basically, you can find every imaginable chain store, restaurant, or whatever throughout the city (including the 'burbs) in many and multiple locations. Granted this is probably true for most large cities in the United States, there is just something that urks me about Dallas and its whole layout, vibe, population --basically its entire existence. And when I say Dallas I also want to include Fort Worth...oh do I want to include Fort Worth...

During this trip I went to Fort Worth for the first time to go to the Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art. While I overall loved the museum and the art and the entire space and architecture of the building, my experience was a bit tainted during a moment when I looked out from a balcony towards a potentially beautiful view of the museum premises with the cityscape in the background to find a large construction site and a Wendy's billboard robbing this otherwise breathtaking site of any sliver of escapism. Perhaps, I am being too hasty to denounce any ability for there to be some kind of pleasure to be taken from seeing these signs of development and capitalistic endeavors to be enmeshed with modern art and architecture. The more I think about it the more I realize that my view from that balcony was a moment removed from doing exactly the same thing that I was doing immediately prior to and following. Standing in front of a piece of art to interact with it by judging it and looking for its "beauty" is in many ways similar to the position the architecture of the museum presented by having these spaces for reflection on the outside, (post)modern world to be enjoyed (arguably) from within its confines surrounded by modern art. In other words, the more I think about it the more I'm finding similarities between the often ironic beauty and intrigue I found in many of the pieces and the view of the museum compound being loomed over by the city and its schlock. Both sites --at least for me-- mix the ambivalent feelings invoked by escapism, social critique, cultural commentary, capitalism, etc. Truly, the more I think about it the more I sort of appreciate in a weird way that freckled, redhead's mug making her presence known.


(Note: I promise to wait to use the phrase "The more I think about it..." for at least a few more posts.)