PREFACE
Welcome to the mind of R. Scott MacLeay. Thoughts On…, his latest publication, probes deeply into his expressive soul as it will yours. This is the intended objective.
I have had the privilege of knowing Scott as mentor, thinker, teacher and most importantly friend for most of our respective lives. But there was a gap with our connection that occurred as he entered university; the same point of departure for this work. It was a time when readings, debates and exposure to bright minds within honored academic institutions began to shape his thoughts, opinions, and ability to challenge; important skills that he offers today to you, the reader.
Thoughts on… contains a series of succinctly worded phrases based on his journey through life, initially as a student of the moribund study of economics and later as an innovative artist in the fields of photography, musical composition and new media art. The eclectic blend of these oftendivergent disciplines created a unique cerebral conflict that this publication will invoke in its readers. Over 100 of his thoughts are presented covering a broad array of topics that include philosophy, sociology, politics, economics, and culture to name a few. Specific sub-reflections include, ‘Being Lost’, “Mediocrity”, ”Transitions” and “Progress” along with numerous others. All are framed within the vivid imagery of his photographic expressiveness.
Although primarily composed for his daughter Adriane, Thoughts On…is also shared with you, the reader, with the intention of mental stimulation, action, reflection and conflict. As you ponder this unique synthesis of concepts, allow each one to seep deeply into your soul for these are the forces that shape the mind, a mind that the author is sharing with you. Many of these ideas have challenged my own thinking and changed my perspectives; others have focused my beliefs and affirmed vague assumptions. Embrace and engage this dynamic process as you read and explore Thoughts On...
Dr. David Hamilton
Tarpon Springs, FL, USA, February 28th, 2022
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INTRODUCTION
I began writing down my thoughts on various topics during my university days. I purposely framed the process as one dedicated to the creation of very succinct summaries of my thoughts. I felt that it was essential to be brief. It obliged me to take sides on issues that I obviously realized were far more nuanced and multi-dimensional than such summaries could ever represent. This avowed shortcoming was unimportant to me because the objective of the exercise was to synthesize my thoughts in a manner conducive to the development of positions capable of stimulating possible actions in order to avoid the paralyzing inaction that often accompanies comprehensive understanding. While the latter course may seem preferable with its inferred refusal to engage in conflict, its success depends on everyone playing the game of life in good faith, and as such, is simply not a viable option.
In the 90s, what had been a paper-based exercise was transferred to the virtual world and I began compiling my pared-down opinions on my computer. It was a very sporadic activity until I moved to Brazil in 2010 and found myself with more time to reflect on a number of issues that had always been of interest to me. Perhaps it was the change in cultural context that provoked my renewed interest. I really do not know. In any case, I began sharing my thoughts online and documenting them on my website. I thought they might stimulate some potentially interesting interactions. They didn’t.
The reason I began to formalize the presentation of my thoughts on a wide variety of topics was to provide my daughter, Adriane, with a record of my personal positions on philosophical, ethical, sociopolitical, economic and cultural issues that I felt affected our daily lives. I wanted her to have a trace of my positions in these areas long after I was gone and so I decided during the Covid-19 pandemic to create this book.
The book is more of a diary than anything else - a collection of concise reflections on everyday topics I have always felt were somehow central to my journey through life. I have made no attempt to weed out the repetition of subject matter that inevitably inhabits any personal universe. Nor have I attempted to eliminate contradictions or inconsistencies. I have simply presented my thoughts as they evolved. Nothing more, nothing less.
R. Scott MacLeay
Florianópolis/SC, Brazil, February 24th, 2022
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The Creative Process
Interference
THOUGHTS ON...
Failure
11
Education
Importance of
Mediocrity Evolution Immortality Ignorance Indivisibility The Unknown Being lost
THOUGHTS ON DESTINATIONS
November 7th, 2011
Destinations are simply a pretext for departure.
We never actually arrive.
It is the act of departing that is important.
13
THOUGHTS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS
December 26th, 2011
“Process”, a great noun and an indispensable verb.
Objectives are empty without it.
17
THOUGHTS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS
July 16th,
2011
If we really understood precisely how we got to where we are, we might never have arrived.
19
THOUGHTS ON AGEING
August
20th, 2012
When I was young I thought I knew what I was doing. Now I know I don’t.
It is liberating.
21
THOUGHTS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS
January
9th, 2013
Some things are not meant to be found.
The fact that finding them is impossible only heightens the importance of looking for them.
The objective is simply to keep searching. This absurdity is perfectly rational.
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THOUGHTS ON PERSPECTIVE September 11th, 2013
Inward-looking cultures create inward-looking people who educate others to be.... guess what? ... Inward-looking.
Given the challenges of global proportions facing the world today, it is difficult to imagine a more perilous perspective.
31
THOUGHTS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS
November 8th, 2013
I have never understood why most people never tire of visiting the same destinations in exactly the same manner .
Process renewal is akin to breathing. It is essential.
Without such ongoing reoxygenation, we cease to exist as artists.
33
THOUGHTS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS
November
22nd, 2013
If I had one piece of advice to give to young photographers it would be to stop
order to experience more fully what they are documenting. All photography, including studio work, is documentary at the shooting stage.
Some photographers feel that retaining this quality in an explicit manner is our work and the personal perspective that generates it, are both enriched by a more participatory approach at the documentation phase, as opposed to simply observing the scene to be recorded hiding behind a rather silly looking object with a lens.
We do not see as cameras see and I feel it is most useful to perpetuate our unique way of scanning a situation at the very moment that the camera perverts this vision from its static perspective based on a single point in space and time. in this delicious perversion of perceived reality.
37
THOUGHTS ON MEDIOCRITY
December 10th, 2013
Mediocrity that is of natural origins, born of ignorance and uncontrolled spontaneous outbursts, harms no one.
Mediocrity that is disseminated by those with the power to do so effectively deadens the senses in an insidious manner, its propagation usually serving only the material needs and psychological shortcomings of those who choose to exploit it. It is a reactionary conservative force designed to limit the horizons of those who are targeted. Such behaviour should be unmasked and confronted with determination whenever and wherever it is uncovered.
47
THOUGHTS ON CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
December
13th, 2013
When incompetence, blind ambition and ignorance unite and are given free rein in a society, there are no effective limits to their contagious proliferation and to the damage done to progress on all fronts that might have been.
The desperate nature of the climate that often frames such activity and the institutional complicity that often serves to legitimize its existence, render attempts at dialogue based on coherent counter-propositions ineffective leaving the necessity to compellingly promote and pursue the investigation and development of completely independent, contamination-free routes as the only viable alternative for survival.
51
THOUGHTS ON EVOLUTION
January 8th, 2014
Did integrity become irrelevant, was it destroyed or abolished or did it just go out of style?
It was such a civilized, honourable, productive and character-defining quality. Like all elements that constitute societal foundations, it was important that its presence be widespread and that it be built to last.
Apparently, its validity date has passed and this poses major problems, many yet unknown, many too painful to contemplate.
55
THOUGHTS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS
January 10th, 2014
Progress (or evolution) is not about forgetting the past, ignoring it or repeating it. It is about building on the foundations of the past and taking relevant proven processes further down the conceptual road. Subject matter never changes and only innovative, process-based perspectives can breathe new life into old subject matter. Photographers would do well to remember this.
We don’t need clones of Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Ralph Gibson, Stephen Shore, Cindy Sherman or anyone else. Their genius is their uniqueness. We need new work that reflects new perspectives and vectors of investigation. This requires looking inside ourselves and asking some fundamental questions … and doing so over and over again. This is apparently more difficult than it would appear at first glance, but is definitely worth the effort.
57
THOUGHTS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS
May 8th, 2014
Interfering with memories and traces of where I once was is how I get to where I am going, totally unaware of my destination.
59
THOUGHTS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS
May 8th, 2014
Art is process: process of transition, process of transformation, process of assimilation, process of introspection and process of learning. All the rest is superfluous detail masquerading as relevance.
61
THOUGHTS ON IMMORTALITY
May 13th, 2014
We should not be the same people we were yesterday. If we are, we are missing something essential - the apprenticeship of life, a challenging but essential daily rite of passage that inevitably decides the quality and relevance of what we leave behind - that essence of ourselves that lives on well after we have departed.
65
THOUGHTS ON CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
July
20th, 2014
It is important to know how to enjoy being lost, to know how to provoke it and how to manage and exploit it. It is how we discover who we really are. Without this journey, we are condemned to repeat what others have done with neither the impact, nor the relevance.
69
THOUGHTS ON IGNORANCE
July 20th, 2014
Ignorance is not necessarily a problem; lack of desire to eradicate it is.
71
THOUGHTS ON HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
September 5th, 2014
A country that fails to respect, preserve and nurture its cultural heritage will most definitely have difficulty providing adequate support to those institutions whose role it is to promote the conception and production of new work meriting respect and preservation for future generations. Such societies usually harbour educational priorities focused almost exclusively on the production of material wealth.
81
THOUGHTS ON BEAUTY AND PERSONAL TRUTH
May
21st, 2015
Genuine freedom of expression begins where the obligation to please stops.
113
THOUGHTS ON RELEVANCE
January 18th, 2016
It is easy to occupy the moral high ground when you have absolutely no responsibility for undertaking any action relevant to the subject in question. It is immoral to choose not to assume any relevant responsibility that is yours, while fighting to maintain control of this noble terrain.
169
THOUGHTS ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
March 29th,
2021
Stupidity is not the enemy of progress.
The enemies of progress are the apathy, the lack of courage and the ignorance of intelligent people.
225
THOUGHTS ON THE ROAD TO MEDIOCRITY
September 14th, 2021
Always striving to be reasonable, to be nice, to avoid conflict and to conform to traditional perspectives and accepted good behavior may offer a certain form of comfort and security on a daily basis, but it also is the most direct road to stagnation and mediocrity.
Such an attitude represents a concerted effort to avoid confrontation at all costs and implies one of two things: either you do not have informed opinions on inherently divisive issues or you do, and you choose to suppress them out of fear and/or some misguided sense of etiquette. In both cases you are sleepwalking through life.
Such an attitude is often considered synonymous with simply using common sense to guide our lives. It is no such thing, for genuine common sense involves situating our existence in a time frame involving both present and hypothetical future situations, thereby creating a multitude of scenarios incapable of leaving any thinking human being free of confrontational circumstances in our dynamic evolving world, ... unless, of course, we are asleep or we are actively promoting such an attitude as a possible solution to the problems of our troubled world, in which case we are contradicting ourselves by entering into conflict with those who disagree.
Ignored problems do not disappear. Confrontation in one form or another is inevitable. Its consequences as an active strategy are less subversive and often far less dangerous than those which emerge when its inevitability comes as a surprise.
231
THOUGHTS ON FACTS
January
10th, 2022
Facts are not imbued with inherent power. Their power is limited by the number and integrity of those individuals and institutions that choose to defend and promote them.
241
THOUGHTS ON POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
January 24th, 2022
It sucks.
249
THOUGHTS ON HOPE FOR CHANGE
February 9th, 2022
When dealing with the theme of social justice, hope is little more than waiting for someone else to do what you feel in your heart and mind should be done.
In this context, it is simply a noble form of cowardice.
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