The Unbelievable Indifference of Strangers VI
c. Michael St.Mark 2010
Latest in the series in which Michael St.Mark explores the dramatic shift in human
demeanour once outside ordinary social interaction with colleages, family and friends.
Highlighting the extreme dichotomies between the “party personality”, the “at home personality”,
or the “at work personality” …and the emotionless – almost robotic- masks on display when
out and about mixing with “strangers”.
“Sociaphrenia”TM , or necessary self-protection?
Digital photo montage.
Sale details
LONDON DADA 
Zhu Yu might have mistimed his baby-soup cannibalistic work, hitting the mainstream headlines as a baby girl is fatally wounded and left to die through the real indifference of strangers on China’s streets.
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There’s some pretty disturbing stuff going on in that society – and the rolled-over baby incident puts the spotlight right on it, including the unbelievable indifference of Chinese strangers.
Zhu Yu’s a good example of shock tactics ( alleged foetus-eating ) paying off for ambitious emerging artists. Otherwise I doubt he’d be a collectable and presumably wealthy “artist” now.
Hirst was keen to go along those black lines too, as we know, en route to “art superstardom”.
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I think you’re probably right when you say necessary self-protection. Most people aren’t aware of the different faces they present to the world but usually realise they act with a difference to strangers.
Walking down the high street wearing a ‘party face’ would leave us open to ridicule, so a bland face is perfect when faced with people we don’t know.
People watching is one of my favourite pastimes [and no doubt yours too!] and after a while you get to recognise the expressions and what they mean ie/ angry face, fed up face, happy face etc.
great photo 😀
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Sure, that’s true in itself. Yet beneath the “bland face” however, I can’t help feeling there is also a general attitude of suspicion and distrust between strangers these days – in most cases unjustifiably so, as most folk are inherently quite decent at heart – I think that is what I’m digging at here.
Most likely the mainstream media, including the visual arts, play a part in generating this public defence mechanism, pumping out a 24/7/52 sewer pipe diet of murder and mayhem, as they do.
It doesn’t help either, when people have less and less physical space around them – they’ve done studies on rats in confined spaces.
They go crazy.
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In my opinion a lot of people are inherently decent but certainly not MOST! If most people were there wouldn’t be anywhere near as much trouble in the world as there is.
The media definately doesn’t help things, they perpetuate fear through their lurid headlines. I’m reminded of the tv programme ‘Crimewatch’ when at the end the presenter says ‘don’t have nightmares’—-oh yeah! 😀
An interesting point about the confined rats, does that include human rats in prison cells or are they already crazy when they go in?
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Nice to see someone at least delving into, and even offering new takes on, subjects that relate to actual daily life; in the stead of the usual banal or sensationalist ( getting to feel like the same thing! )all – pervading shallowness on offer throughout the UK visual arts today.
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