Saturday, 23 August 2008

Complicated principles which seem important right now #130


Off-modern art and lifestyle explores the hybrids of past and present. Some of the meanings of the adverb off relevant to this discussion include: ‘aside’ and ‘offstage,’ ‘extending and branching out from,’ ‘somewhat crazy and eccentric’ (off-kilter), ‘absent or away from work or duty,’ ‘off-key,’ ‘offbeat,’ occasionally off colour but not offcast. In this version of modernity, affection and reflection are not mutually exclusive but reciprocally illuminating, even when the tension remains unresolved and longing incurable.
Svetlana Boym, The Future of Nostalgia

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