Open Ended Struggle by David

Open Ended Struggle by David - December 2015 Scholarship Essay

I attend an institution that prides itself on open-endedness in one's path forward in the arts. The merits of that philosophy inspire constant debate among my peers but this is not the place to contribute to that argument. The point I wish to make is that I refuse to predict my path forwards as an artist (I aspire to be an illustrator but I could very well end up a sculptor instead), but rather as a human being and what the purpose behind my existence and practice will be. Of this, I am convinced that I know where I will be.

My strongest and most dearly-held belief in life is that all humans are deserving of equal treatment and provision for the basics of existence. I believe that greed and profit are the driving force of evil and suffering since time immemorial and that this will always be our worst quality as a species. Thus I have dedicated every bone and neuron in my body, to the best of my ability to command them, in service of the fight for those principles I hold in such high regard, because they are right and true, and not because of any cynical desire to manipulate or financially gain (as many today are wont to do).

Admittedly, the art and work of struggle and justice necessitates the banishment of any dream of comfortable means of existence, or so you would think from the way my colleagues and friends dress. Thus the traditonal American definition of success (which I caution is and always was generally a lie, now so thoroughly cooked into our social conscious that any alternative system is viewed as subversive and wrong, fails- but is that not my goal? To convince America and the world (mostly America) that there is another reason to live, a world that transcends financial wealth in which we are free of the tyranny of profit-driven exploitation to pursue our interests for the common good?

By no means will the great breakthrough occur in ten years or even a hundred. So I am pre-selected to fail in my purpose. That is false. It is a gradual process and while I and possibly even my children will never live to see it take on its shape as conceived by theory and philosophy there are real, physical gains to be made in the present and this is a manageable and even realistic goal. And I know that in ten years, at the very least more people will be convinced of the current society's flaws and contradictions and support a just, equal system. And I know that however I achieve such a thing, be it through illustration or sculpture or even old-fashioned writing and talking, I will have achieved my goal.

In ten years, I will lean back a second and reflect on the progress and setbacks of the previous decade. And I will be satisfied, for a second, knowing I have played a part in something beyond myself.
And then I will go back to work, because the struggle will not end.