Am I weird, strange, sexually deviant, or eccentric? My whole adult life Iâve been referred to as crazy. And worse. As Rick James sang in 1981, âIâm a super freak, a super freak. Iâm super freakyâ (was he ever). In actuality, Why is it that anything (or anyone) out of the ordinary is ostracised, marginalised, made to feel like a pariah? Thinking differently should be encouraged and affirmed but is often viewed as a red flag pigeonholing those that dare to dwell beyond societal norms as aberrant. Human comportments of all stripes should be celebrated, as long as youâre not responsible for someone ending up in scraps hidden under the floorboards.
When people or phenomena deviate from the norm, the tendency is to push away, criticise, and dismiss, rather than encourage unorthodox approaches to the status quo; which could usually benefit from a swift kick in the ass, that especially rings true in the art world. Change is essential to rupture states of complacency and to establish new paradigms in art and science. Itâs a shame that contrarian behaviour is so readily perceived as threatening and deleterious instead of embraced. This is precisely analogous to the traditional art worldâs knee jerk reaction to crypto art.
There is a long history of âFreak Showsâ also referred to as âOdditoriumsâ which dates back to mediaeval times, where people considered physically unusual were put on display like caged animals. Exhibiting those with deformitiesâextreme diseases and conditionsâas objects of interest and entertainment is barbaric and sadistic (especially by todayâs standards), but had been routine for hundreds (and hundreds) of years.
The same could be said for those of us that think in an atypical, nonconformist manner. We are dismissed as âspecialââsignifying a degree of mental malformationâand menacing in an increasingly homogenous, conservative society; which is, in fact, scarier than all of the nutters I know combined. Consider this a clarion call to fight the fear, let your guard down, and, as Missy Elliot sang, Get Ur Freak On!
Kenny Schachter
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